Author Archives: Keith

Important Dates Fest 2023

MidAmerica is fast approaching – your faithful team is hard at preparation.

Important Dates

  • April 23 – Last day to pre-order t-shirts, fleece, etc. on our web site. Registration will continue, but we need numbers finalized so we can go to production of the gear.
  • May 14 – is the last day to register and reserve a meal for Friday and/or Saturday night.

VERY IMPORTANT…

IF you haven’t done it yet – PLEASE take a few minutes and go to register, order gear, and get meal tickets. This is a real help to us in planning and keeping cost down.
LINK: https://midamerica02fest.com/store/

Lodging – If you still need it

  • Option 1 – rooms at the second hotel – Wyndham Super 8 479-253-5040
    This hotel is east of our fest hotel location, ask for Lynn Worley – tell her you are part of the BMW Group to get access to a block of rooms they are holding for us. Their address is 3010 East Van Buren, Eureka Springs , AR, 72632
  • Option 2 – Host hotel – which is currently sold out – Best Western Inn of the Ozarks 479-253-9768, but it’s always worth calling the host hotel and checking on room availability as people do cancel, and there is another group that same weekend as we are, there will be cancelations.

Regardless of either of the two hotels we’ve listed, when making reservations, please use the above numbers, ask for the BMW group block and rate.

As of today… April 13, we have a great turnout… 97 rooms are booked for the Fest.

Get Ready!
Barb & Bo Black
QUESTIONS – Bo at [email protected]

March 23 – Fest Update

Greetings 02ers,

Get those 2002s ready, we are getting closer to June 1,2,3 and our largest group of 02s to date.

We have a new home, and while some things have changed, we feel like this is an opportunity to make the event more enjoyable.  We have a very nice hotel, great meeting space, and a large parking area.
Keith will have the website updated with registration, meal info, and gear preorder shortly.

Important info about this year’s fest…

  • If you wish to arrive Wednesday, the hotel discount rate for our group will be available.
  • The hotel is full service, we will no longer be able to provide our own Friday and Saturday evening meals and bring our beverages into the meeting room.
  • Meal tickets must be reserved on the website.  Tickets are $15.
  • All individuals planning to eat dinner on Friday and Saturday night must have a ticket for each meal.  Friday will be BBQ, Saturday hamburgers and brats.  Debbie and Terry for many years have paid for the Friday night meal.  They along with the True Friends are helping keep the meal cost down.
  • As usual we will have space at Sparky’s Thursday evening.  Many will join us there, but there are other good places to eat in Eureka Springs – you are on your own.
  • There will be a cash bar outside our meeting room in the evenings.
  • Please, no glass bottles in the parking lot.  Beer in cans or cups only.
  • Cash or check only for meal tickets and t-shirts, etc. at packet pickup.

Agenda – preliminary

THURSDAY – packet pickup, 1:00 pm drive to Crystal Bridges, evening – welcome and tech session
FRIDAY – packet pickup continues, tech session, drive to Rogers for lunch, outdoor tech demos, evening tech sessions
SATURDAY – tech sessions, car show + group photo, tech quiz, door prize drawing, special drawing, awards

If you still need lodging…

As of today… 3/23/2023 -Our primary hotel sold out in 48 hours.  The Wyndham Super 8 is holding rooms for us, there are 14 rooms available. This hotel is east of our fest hotel location, call (479) 253-5040 to reserve, ask for Lynn Worley – tell her you are part of the BMW Group to get access to a block of rooms they are holding for us.  Their address is 3010 East Van Buren, Eureka Springs , AR, 72632

For a full listing of accommodation options in and around Eureka Springs, see  the web site: https://www.eurekasprings.org/lodging/

Lots of 2002 activities – this is always great fun, but the 02 stories and the folks that drive these special cars are the real attraction.  Join us and be a part of MidAm 23!

Remember, as Commander Cody said “I AIN’T NEVER HAD TOO MUCH FUN”

Hotels in Eureka Springs

Our Fest Hotel will fill up fast each year. People have been coming long enough that they reserve their rooms a year in advance to be close to the event.

https://www.eurekasprings.org/best-western-eureka-inn/

Given that, there are quite a few hotels nearby as Eureka Springs is a tourist destination for many people and events. The link below can be used to easily find many of them.

Lodging

 

What Goes On at the Fest?

For the 2020 year, we put a small video together that talks about what goes on at a Fest.

Each year is different, but the cadence of how things are sequenced, prior to the event, are as follows:

Getting to MidAmerica’02 Fest

The actual street address for the Fest is the hotel, the Best Western Eureka Inn.

To get there, add this address to your GPS and start “calculating route”…

Primary Hotel

Best Western Inn of the Ozarks – (479) 253-9768
207 W Van Buren
Eureka Springs, AR  72632

Secondary Hotel

Wyndham Super 8 – (479) 253-5040
3010 East Van Buren
Eureka Springs , AR, 72632

My Favorite Paths To The Fest

Coming from North and West of Eureka Springs area?  For the last several years, a group of us meet just south of Harrisonville Missouri and caravan down to the Fest on Missouri 71 / I-49. Our route heading South from Harrisonville takes us the most expedient path towards Arkansas but it’s not what your GPS says is the fastest route.

Click for Enlarged Map View

We continue to just across the border into Arkansas towards the town of Bella Vista.  Continue South on I-49/71  until you see the exit for Arkansas 340/E. Lancashire Blvd Exit as shown on the map below.  About 1 mile or so east of I-49, you will see one of these signs as shown above about Steep Grades. In Arkansas terms, this means “Welcome to the amusement park ride” !!!

The drive continues  (see map below with inset) towards a Civil War historic town, Pea Ridge, Arkansas 62, which features a major open meadow where battles were fought. The town of Gateway isn’t to far from there, if you blink you might miss it but it has a small bridge you drive right through which is the “gateway” to the last 40 minutes or so of your trip to Eureka, which shows up at that point on just about every mile marker sign all the way to Eureka Springs.

There will be some more awesome roads near Beaver Lake, and before you know it you will be in the switch backs.  Back in 2007, we did some videos and posted it on YouTube, have a look.

I know if you love the curves,  you will find the roads truly designed for a BMW 2002 to take and enjoy as the cool down from a boring interstate highway drive to get you ready for the Fest!