it was another exceptional turnout of nearly fifty people for the AONE Winter Party held on February 3rd at the Josiah Smith Tavern in Weston, MA. And there’s good reason for it—this is one of our club’s finest social events of the year!

A few of the gang arrived early to unlock the door, flick on the lights, turn up the heat (sort of), hang up some Alfa banners, set up the tables, and in general get prepared for the festivities to follow. Around 6 pm, everyone started to drift in (so to speak), hang up their coats, get their potluck dishes in the oven, pour a libation, and mingle and kibitz. At around 7, we declared dinner ready to be served, and everyone filled their plates with a wide variety of absolutely scrumptious delicacies—salads, breads, pastas, casseroles, and more—a veritable festività Italiana! This was followed by an equally delectable assortment of desserts. No one could possibly have left either hungry or disappointed in the caliber of the culinary fare brought forth by you all.

After dessert was consumed and coffee was poured, we wheeled out a table laden with every manner of Alfa-related door prizes. Our club purchased some (thanks, IAP, for the great discount!), but most were donated by generous Alfa parts and accessories suppliers from around the world (literally!). We’d like to offer our whole-hearted thanks to our donors—please see the list at the end of this article and thank them with your purchases! The prizes included T-shirts, car care kits, shop fender protectors, key fobs, baseball caps, coffee mugs, and the like—most sporting one form or other of the Alfa Romeo logo.

The way we worked the door prizes was that, as each person’s number was drawn, he or she got to go up to the table and choose what appealed to him or her the most. Unlike a Yankee Swap, he or she got to keep it! The first number drawn this year was that of your Editor! (Could this have been rigged? Nahhhhhhhh…………) Anyway, he chose a nifty Alfa Romeo wall clock (donated by Dean Russell of Trail Auto) straight from Alfa Romeo itself—the box even had an Alfa part number. (Of course, just like Alfa speedometers, it runs about 6% fast, and is starting to make some ominous clicking noises.) The door prizes were so numerous that everyone went home with something spiffy (and most likely Alfa-logo’d).

We then moved on to the highlight of the evening, namely the show that Bruce Murray had put together for us depicting his escapade copiloting a 1932 Maserati 8C3000 Grand Prix race car in the running of the 2005 Mille Miglia. He’d had the good fortune of being invited to participate in what is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, as part of a three-car team that also included a 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C2300 Monza and a 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C2300 Spider Corsa. All three are stunning examples of Italian pre-war racing technology and beauty.

After a refreshingly brief introduction by President Tom Lesko, Bruce started off his presentation wearing the traditional racing cap and goggles that adorned his cranium in the actual event. His show comprised an assortment of video clips, still photos, maps, charts, and graphics that drew and kept the crowd’s rapt attention. Bruce narrated with his usual humor and aplomb, and by the end we all had a great feeling for what it was like to wend through Italy’s city streets and countryside in a cramped, hot, but classic Italian race car, accompanied by a few hundred other significant world-class classic automobiles, for three days and 850 miles, dodging normal traffic in some places and waving to cheering throngs in others. Thanks, Bruce—it was fascinating, thrilling, and entertaining!

Despite the fine turnout, several party-goers were overheard to comment that we might get even greater attendance if it weren’t for the operatic background music that Tom Lesko plays every year. So we’re putting it to a vote: Click here to participate in the online AONE Winter Party Music Poll, where you can vote thumbs-up or thumbs-down and leave your comments. The majority rules in our club, and Tom will be statutorily and morally obligated to accede to the mandate of its members in future years.

Anyway, it was great to see so many of our Alfa friends, including many long-time members and quite a few new ones! We’re looking forward to seeing you all more often, as the weather gets warmer and our events more frequent!

(Click on the thumbnails below for a larger view,
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	George Dolak digs into one of the numerous scrumptious offerings laid out on the main serving table
	Giulietta Giubilee Chairman Brian Shorey (L) and AONE President Tom Lesko loading their plates and filling their cups
	The door prize table is laden with goodies just before the drawings begin
	Tom Letourneau’s happy with his prize - a beautiful print of an Alfa Giulietta parked outside a sidewalk cafe in Rome, donated by Alfa Stop in England
	Your editor’s number came up first, and he glommed onto this genuine Alfa Romeo wall clock donated by Trail Auto
	RJ Horwitz is delighted with his new Alfa Romeo fender protector, while Tom Lesko calls out the next number in the background
	Gearing up to give his presentation, Bruce Murray is somber as he dons the cap and goggles he wore in the 2005 Mille Miglia
	Bruce shows us just how close his forearm was to the Maserati’s uninsulated exhaust pipe throughout the thousand-mile trek
	When planning functions such as this, there’s always some concern whether the women in attendance will have a good time

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