2009 North Central Regional Convention, Bloomington, Minnesota

The last convention held in the Minnesota area was in 2003, five and a half years ago and so it’s time to do it again. The date for this convention is Thursday June 25^th through Sunday the 28^th in 2009. Our theme is “The Birds and the Bees” and we are having some fun working with it and hopefully you’ll enjoy it. It’s going to be an easy going convention in that you’ll be able to select and enjoy sites and activities that make up the Twin City area. The location site is the old Thunderbird Hotel where we’ve held previous conventions such as the Regional in 1990 and the International in 1993. It is now the Ramada Mall of America and it is conveniently located across the parking lot from the Mall so it’s as easy to get to, either a short walk or a shuttle ride.  

Thursday will be the first day where you can register for the convention and plan your activities for the day. All day will be yours with no planned convention activity but lots to do and see. Just to name a few; there’s the Mall of America, there’s IKEA, take the Light Rail to downtown Minneapolis, and much more. Dinner that night will also be on your own and the Hospitality Room will be open late so that you can meet with your friends, old and new. Friday will start off with the car judging activities which have been abbreviated a little to make time for some fun events. Just a few words on the judging…we’ll be judging the Senior and Primary cars only at this convention. The main reason for judging these classes is to give you the opportunity to have your car judged prior to the 2010 International Convention in Chicago. Secondly, the local cars will be judged prior to the convention which will then require fewer judges and a shortened judging session on that Friday. All other cars will be placed in multiple divisions of the Display Class/People’s Choice. Early Friday afternoon will see us cruise to a local favorite, the Como Park Zoo and the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory. After arriving and parking our cars, you’ll have several hours to explore the park and zoo and the Conservatory. Following a catered picnic, we’ll be entertained by the University of Minnesota Raptor Center. The main stars of the show will be a bald eagle, an owl, a hawk, and a falcon. This 1 to 1 ½ hour show has been very popular and you’ll get real close to these magnificent birds. Saturday events will be either a boat ride on the river including a luncheon buffet or you can take part in a car cruise, with as many TBirds as we can get, heading south along the great river road. The tour leader will make sure you stop for lunch along the way and you’ll see some interesting sites on this route. Saturday night will be our banquet and awards ceremony and a fun time for all.  

That’s an abbreviated summary of the convention plans but I’ll be sending more details to all of the local chapter presidents starting this November. We sincerely hope to see many of our old friends from across the country at this event.   

Cliff Lieske
Thunderbird Midwest

• 2009 Registration Form

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