We all know that there are a lot of “mini” owners out there in Buffalo. We see you with your snappy racing stripes zipping around corners. We see the mini waves that you give to each other. Yes, owning a Mini Cooper is like belonging to a club… similar to Jeep and VW owners I suppose, but miniature.
In one week’s time, hundreds of mini owners will be converging upon Buffalo to participate in a national road rally at Buffalo RiverWorks. This rally is the second event to be held at RiverWorks – the Labatt Pond Hockey Tournament and curling expo were the first to break the ice for what is expected to be dozens of monthly events down the road.
The mini expo aims to attract between 500 and 1,000 cars to the site. Many of the cars set out from San Francisco on July 26 before heading to cities and towns across the country. The event is being coordinated by Therese Forton-Barnes of Events to a Tee, and is being sponsored by Towne Mini Cooper. The expansive landscape of the site and the iconic industrial grain elevators lend to the perfect spot for such a gathering. “Once considered eyesores, these architectural giants are now part of the redevelopment landscape of Buffalo’s waterfront and landscape,” says Michael Monteith, general manager at Towne Mini, the local sponsor of the event.
The major mini jam is being held on Thursday, August 7, 2014 and is expected to draw mini fans and gawkers to the waterfront to see the escapades. “RiverWorks is in full build-out mode of our waterfront tourism destination. Our construction crews have been working tirelessly getting ready for this major national event,” says Doug Swift, project developer. “But we pulled if off for the Labatt Blue Pond Hockey tournament last winter, and we will make this happen as well. As we speak, the massive steel framework for our ice pavilion facility roof is going up. We also have a busy schedule to get our indoor facility with a capacity of 5000 people complete and weather tight by the end of the year.” Swift said.
“Taking every opportunity to introduce our visitors from out of town to the resurrected glories of the buffalo waterfront, we have asked the Fireboat Cotter to stop by and give our MINI drivers a tour of Buffalo River and Inner harbor including feature attractions like Silo City, RiverFest Park and Canalside,” adds Swift. “All of our upcoming events will be designed to let our visitors park their car and explore our waterfront by water taxi, kayak, or vessel of their choice.”
Earl Ketry, Buffalo RiverWorks Operating Partner says, “The more activity we have on the waterfront the better it is for everyone who is working to build new economic activity for downtown Buffalo. Our job is to get people out to have some fun and explore Buffalo’s exciting new waterfront attractions.”
See Facebook for details on the Buffalo gathering by clicking here.
