Please check your calendars and plan to join us all for the Magical Mystery Mini Tour 2008 in San Francisco, September 5-7, 2008. Please visit www.magicalmysteryminitour.com for more details and to sign up for the mailing list.

Here is an outline of what we have planned:






Friday – Saturday – Sunday

We are looking into using one of the SF piers or a location at the Presidio or Fort Mason for the event headquarters. We hope to get a spot where we can all park our MINIs. We hope to have 24 hour security with "in & out" privileges. San Francisco has plenty of public transportation so it would be easy to park the MINI and get around SF via cable car, bus, Golden Gate Ferry, taxi, bicycle, tugboat, rickshaw, BART, etc.

We have several vendors that have expressed and interest to attend and have booths. It will also provide a visible spot of a large banner with the corporate sponsor’s name. This could also house a “live broadcast” radio station at the headquarters and on Treasure Island

A Saturday nightcatered BBQ dinner followed by a live concert on Treasure Island. This will provide quite a spectacular back-drop with the San Francisco nighttime skyline in the background. Should make for some awesome photos.

We will have a Sunday early morning "sunrise" run through the streets of San Francisco (aka Steve McQueen memorial run). We plan for a beach bonfire and breakfast before the run. The streets of San Francisco will be fairly empty early Sunday morning which should make for a smooth run.

Other Daily MINI Driving Events:

We have MINI runs planned: Saturday morning to the Golden Gate Bridge, Marin Headlands, Mount Tamalpias, and the Marin Coast.

Sunday afternoon: A run through the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Friday/Sunday: A run to the Sonoma & Napa county wine country is also very close for those that wish to pay a visit to the wineries. Possibly a visit to Infineon Race Track ( aka Sears Point )

We have posted links where MINIs available for rent in the SF area. [FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2

Non-Driving Activities:

Giants baseball game at AT&T Park. The Giants will be at home for this weekend. They will be playing the Pittsburg Pirates. They have games scheduled for Friday, Saturday, & Sunday.

We have spoken with the Giants sales staff and can arrange a MINI Cooper group. Since we have season tickets and REME has been a group ticket buyer the past two years, we will be moved to the front of the line as far as available seating and preferred seating. The Giants can provide us with special “picnic” or banquet areas in the park. These would be either in center field behind the scoreboard or on the club level.

Other Non-Driving activities will include visits to Golden Gate Bridge, Angel Island, Alcatraz, Ferry Dinner Bay Cruise, cable cars, Fisherman’s' Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, watching Sea Lions, Pier 39, Russian Hill, picnic in Golden Gate Park, visit the Cliff House, Beach Blanket Babylon Show, the De Young Museum, the Exploratorium, The Metreon Theater at Moscone Center, Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate Park, China Town, Japan Center, Muir Woods, and the Haight-Ashbury district.

Publicity and Promotions:

Press:

We will be contacting all the local radios TV, and newspapers. We will see if we can get a radio station to provide “live” broadcasts from Treasure Island and our headquarters[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2

We will have T-shirts, CDs, hand bills and posters made up to commemorate the event. These can be sold to help off-set costs

Hotels and accommodations:

We are working with SF hotels to provide enough rooms for our expected visitors. There are several hotels on or near the San Francisco waterfront. We are working to get group rates.

We will be talking with local SF restaurants/bars and will try to set up some “Beer Fest” or meals for our group. Gordon Bierch is a local restaurant which I think would be receptive. Also MOMO’s across from AT&T Park . Other possibilities: Hard Rock Café, Bimbo’s, The Buena Vista near Fisherman’s Warf next to the cable cars.

This is the best time of year in SF, warm, clear, sunny, with beautiful clear starry nights.

For more information and to sign up for the mailing list please visit www.magicalmysteryminitour.com

Cheers,

 

Woo-hoo! An event in my back yard!!

 

awwww man- i LOVE SF!

i own a t-shirt printing studio if you need a printer.

 

You could make a run to Lake County. Fun twisty roads plus wine plus views!

 

Sweet! My buddy lives in San Fran! I could have a free place to stay AND kick it with a bunch of MINI freaks? Sign me up!!!

 

I am REALLY excited for this!

 

Hey MINI_Pooper,
I registered on the site to be on the tour but did not get any response. Can you see if i'm registered.

 

Emmett,

Got you on the registration list, thanks. We will be sending out formal registration packages as soon as we get things finalized and printed up.
We have 85 MINI/Minis that have taken the time to sign up and 134 participants, there are many more that have told me and emailed me they are coming. I will be posting more information here as it becomes available, plus I will be emailing everyone with updates.

Here is the overview of the event as of today:


Overview

This event will be a gathering of MINI/Mini Cooper enthusiasts from the west coast and some from overseas, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and others. We expect to have nearly 500 Minis. This will be a three-day event, starting on Friday and ending on Sunday evening.

Our event will be headquartered on the Great Lawn on Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay. There will be Reception booth & table, Mini Vendor booths, food vendors, tenting, Port-O-Lets/washing stations, dumpsters, fencing, tables & chairs, something like a Mini City onthe Bay. We will have parking along the lot along side the Great Lawn. Each participant will have a wrist band and their Mini will have a windshield sticker. This will provide identification and access to the Great Lawn and other events during the weekend. There will be dinner tickets for the BBQ dinner. There will be security & parking attendants.

The Great Lawn on Treasure Island offers one the most spectacular views of San Francisco, especially in the evening with the San Francisco skyline in the background. The centerpiece of the event will be a Saturday Night sunset BBQ dinner on Treasure Island, followed by a live concert playing into the evening.

There will be daily Mini runs into outlying areas, including the Golden Gate Bridge, the Marin Headlands, Mount Tamalpias, Stinson Beach, the Napa & Sonoma wine country, the Santa Cruz Mountains, and a Sunday morning sunrise bonfire and breakfast followed by a drive through the streets of San Francisco.

Non-Driving activities will include shopping and sightseeing to such favorites as the Golden Gate Bridge, Angel Island, Alcatraz, a Dinner Bay Cruise, a ride across San Francisco bay on the Golden Gate Ferry, cable cars rides, visits to Fisherman’s' Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, watching Sea Lions, Pier 39, Russian Hill, a visit to the Cliff House, Beach Blanket Babylon Show, the De Young Museum, the Exploratorium, The Metreon Theater at Moscone Center, Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate Park, China Town, Japan Center, Muir Woods, and the Haight-Ashbury district, shopping on Union Square.

Schedule:

Friday:

Friday morning we will begin gathering at the Great Lawn on Treasure Island. This will the time for people to register, check into hotels, and get acquainted with the events, programs, maps, and give time for some tourist sightseeing and shopping in San Francisco.

Friday evening we will have a DJ for 4 hours 6-10PM to provide music and entertainment.
There will also be a Giants baseball game that evening (7:15PM) for those that wish to visit AT&T Park (Pac-Bell Park), one of the “gems” of Major League Baseball

Saturday:

Saturday morning we will have a Mini run across the Golden Gate Bridge, then up to the Marin Headlands, Point Bonita Lighthouse and the retired Nike Missile Site, up Mount Tamalpias and Stinson Beach

Also for those that wish we will have Mini Cooper Day at Infineon Raceway Sears Point. For the entry fee of $20 we will be able to enjoy the “Pinks ALL-Out” drag races which will be telecast on SPEED TV. Infineon will provide a MINI only corral and perhaps (time permitting) some parade laps around the picturesque 12-turn 2.2 mile racetrack.

The racetrack is located right at the gate to the Napa/Sonoma wine country. For those that wish to visit the lush Northern California wine country and stop by and sample some of the finest wines in the world, we will provide maps with locations and routes

Saturday Evening will start at 5:00PM with a catered sunset BBQ dinner, followed by a live concert at 7:00PM featuring “Waterloo” – Northern California’s Premier Abba Tribute Band. Music will play until 10:00PM. Dinner will be prepaid and dinner tickets will be provided in the registration packets. These tickets will be required to get your dinner. Again there will be security, parking attendants, and a paramedic and fire marshal on duty.

The 10:00PM end to activities will allow those who wish to experience the San Francisco nightlife to return to the City by the Bay. We will of course be providing a list of hot spots & nightclubs for your entertainment. BUT beware…..

Sunday morning will arrive early. We have a sunrise beach bonfire and breakfast planned to get you started before the “Steve McQueen Memorial Run” begins through the streets of San Francisco. This run will include visits to Lombard Street , Coit Tower, Ocean Beach, the Broadway Tunnel, Twin Peaks amongst many other San Francisco Landmarks

Sunday afternoon we will hold our Santa Cruz Mountain Run. This will wind us through the twisty “roller coaster” roads in the South Bay.

Again, there will be a Giants/Pirates Game at AT&T Park for those who wish to go.

 

Thanks for the update. I look forward to MINI by the bay.

 

We are now getting signups in increasing numbers. If you are interested in attending what may end up being one of the biggest MINI/Mini events in the country, PLEASE go to the event website: www.magicalmysteryminitour.com then click on Event Mailing List at the top and sign up. We need to get accurate numbers. There is a tremendous amount of planning involved with an event this size and we need to know the numbers.

We are also asking for major corporate sponsorship. These people want to know how many to expect before they pull out their checkbook. The more people we can show the more likely we will get the funds we want to make this a event to remember.

Even at this early date, we have well over 100 Minis signed up and over 200 people planning to attend. We have people coming from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and the UK. If you have not please sign up now.

Thanks,

 

There have been some asking about RV parking. There is no RV parking on Treasure Island, but there are a few RV Parks around the SF Bay Area. Here are a few:

Candlestick RV Park
650 Gilman Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94124
415-822-2299

Treasure Island RV Park
1700 El Camino Real
South San Francisco, CA 94080
650-994-3266
email: bghans@rcn.com

Marin Park Inc.
214o Redwood Highway
Greenbrea, CA 94904
888-461-5188
www.marinrvpark.com

 

To all Magical Mystery Mini Tour participants:

We now have participants coming from several countries, including Italy, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, and more. We have gotten requests from our friends abroad to see if there might be fellow Mini owners that would be willing to take along a passenger. Since it would be difficult and costly to bring their MINIs to San Francisco, we have set up some “sign-up” sheets on the Magical Mystery Mini Tour website ( www.magicalmysteryminitour.com) for share rides (check the headings).

If you are planning on attending and won’t have a Mini and would like to “hitch a ride” along with one of the local Mini owners, please fill out that form. Same goes for any of the local Mini owners, if you have space in your Mini for an “out-of-town” Mini Guest, please sign up and let us know so we can match you up. These will be just for the runs. This is not an obligation to be taxi service for the entire weekend.

I think this is a great way for us to show our MINI community solidarity. I plan to take along a Mini guest for as many runs as I can.
I hope that they can learn as much about San Francisco as I will learn about their country.

Just a note of interest on the “Steve McQueen Memorial Run”. This run is being held in memory of Steve McQueen, star of the movie “Bullitt”, a 1968 Oscar wining action packed movie. This movie featured some great chase scenes through the streets of San Francisco. Steve McQueen also starred in other great motorsports movies such as “Le Mans” and “The Great Escape”. Our run will begin after a sunrise bonfire and breakfast on Ocean Beach (Pacific Ocean) on the Great Highway. Our starting point will be on the beach; just below the historic “Cliff House” perched on the cliffs above. We will head along the coastline and cut across to Twin Peaks for a panoramic view of San Francisco from high atop the hills. There we will….. (stay tuned much to follow J)

Added note: PDX Minis out of Oregon will be planning a caravan to San Francisco. They plan to come south on interstate I-5 and take a very popular deviation on highway 36 at Red Bluff. There they will head up to Fortuna and catch US 101 south through the “Avenue of the Giants” Redwoods. They have extended an invitation to all that would like to join in.

By the way we do plan to have the movies “Bullitt” and the “Italian Job” (original & new) playing in the evenings on a big screen on Treasure Island.

Cheers,

Norman Nelson
Redwood Empire Mini Enthusiasts
norm@redwoodempiremini.com

 

Although we would never suggest or endorce driving your Mini as depicted in the 1968 movie "Bullitt", I thought that showing this 7 1/2 minute clip might help the younger members of the Mini community understand the concept of the "Steve McQueen Memorial Run" that we will be having on Sunday morning. The movie had one of the best car chase scenes of all time. The scenes are filmed on the streets of San Francisco and thus the tie to the Magical Mystery Mini Tour.

Here is a little clip from Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ym6NuQ2Jk0

 

Did you also know that Sept 7th is round 16 (last event) of the '08 SCCA Auto-x ?
This will be at Golden Gate Fields and all you need to do to spectate is ... sign a waiver !
My Son and I are running the full seasion and a MINI cheering squad would be REALLY FUN

 

Brian

Thanks for the information on the SCCA. This could be a fun addition to the event.

Here are some notes on Treasure Island:

Driving to Treasure Island: Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island are accessible by car from the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge/Highway 80. Whether coming from San Francisco or Oakland, once on the Bay Bridge stay in the left lane and take the "Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island" exit just before the Yerba Buena Island tunnel. Please observe all posted on-Island speed limits.

Public Transportation to Treasure Island: From San Francisco: Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island are serviced by the San Francisco MUNI 108-Treasure Island bus line. The 108 line departs for Treasure Island from the Transbay Terminal (Mission St. @ Fremont St. in downtown San Francisco) approximately every 20 minutes. MUNI bus lines 5-Fulton, 6-Parnassus and 38-Geary provide service to the Transbay Terminal, with the Embarcadero MUNI underground station and the MUNI F line above-ground trolley located one block away (Market St. @ Fremont St.).

http://transit.511.org/schedules/routeinfo.asp?cid=SF&rte=25339

http://www.nextbus.com/predictor/prediction.shtml?a=sf-muni&r=108&d=23374&s=13THGTV0&ts=TBAYTERM_ar

http://www.nextbus.com/googleMap/googleMap.jsp?a=sf-muni&r=108

http://treasureislandonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=2 1&Itemid=120

Restaurants:

-Crossroads Cafe by the Bay Treasure Island Marina parking lot, outside the Treasure Island front gate Hours of operation: Tuesday through Friday: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m For to-go orders, please call (415) 362-5851 during regular business hours. Operated by students and faculty of the Delancey Street Life Learning Academy, Crossroads Cafe by the Bay offers dine-in and to-go service with indoor and outside patio seating available.

Markets:

-Treasure Island Mini-Market 9th Street and Avenue C Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday & Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Located just inside the Job Corps campus off 9th Street, the Treasure Island Mini-Market offers snacks, drinks and beverages, ice cream, non-perishable food items, toiletries, various sundries and more.

 

Gary Anderson was kind enough to send me this link of Bullitt
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=k&om=1&msid=10323800...

 

We have had an outpouring of generousity from the Mini community to share rides for those coming from abroad. Even with just the early sign-ups we have plenty of people willing to take along a fellow Mini owner from "across-the-pond" or "down-under". This will be a great way for visitors from abroad to meet some of the finest Mini owners from the US.

A great Mini cultural exchange.

 

I heard from Phil Wicks that there may be a track day at Sears Point in conjunction with this event. How real a possibility is that?

 

Tazio,

I spoke with Phil and he is working on putting something together with Infineon Raceway. We are not involved with that so you will have to check with Phil.

Infineon Raceway has offered to give us a Mini Corral and hospitality tent and more for Saturday's "Pinks All Out" drag event. This will be filmed for Speed Channel TV. We are trying to put some Mini exhibitions together but that has not been finalized yet.

There is also an SCCA Solo event on Sunday September 7, 2008 at Golden Gate Fields, but that is not associated with the Magical Mystery Mini Tour.

 

Thanks. Not so interested in watching a drag race , but would love to get out on the track with a swarm of Minis.

 

I see "vendor sign up" but no details on what we'd be signing up for. Is there any formal plan for a vendor area and such? What days and hours? Security? Cover?

 

Todd,

There will be a tented "vendor village" adjacent to the great lawn. This will have security, lighting, and I believe electrical. Still ironing out the details of how much power is available or if generators will be required. We plan to have the vendor area open from Friday noon until midnight, then Saturday 7AM to midnight, and Sunday 7AM until 10PM.

Security will be patrolling the area and we will have an overnight "on-site" manager in an RV to assist.

I still need to workout details and insurance requirements for any installs, if they are allowed.

I will work on getting more vendor details in the comming week and post it here and on the Magical Mystery Mini Tour website. If you would please sign up under "vendor sign up" and let us know that you are interested and what information and requirements you need. I will try to get any specific questions answered directly. You can email me at norm@redwoodempiremini.com if you wish.

Thanks for you interest and support.

 

Thanks for the informative reply Norm. It all sounds very good. I'll put my name on the list but I cannot give a full commitment yet pending a number of other things business wise. Again, thanks for working so hard on such an event.

 

The event will be held at the Great Lawn on Treasure Island. The lawn has a large parking lot adjacent. The Great Lawn is approximately 126,500 square feet. This is where we plan to have the vendor village, tenting, BBQ dinner and concert.

 

Here is Magical Mystery Mini Tour promo 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlqV0m_Vmzg gives you an idea of some of the other local sights.