Event Report

the second annual AONE Holiday Party is now history, and a significant piece of history at that! The Larz Anderson Auto Museum again provided a sublime automotive venue for our shindig, and everyone once again had a terrific time.

At the Museum’s request, we allowed them to slip our date from Saturday, the 8th, to Sunday, the 9th, to allow them to accommodate another group that was donating $3500 to their worthy cause. (We can only afford to donate a measly $500.) So we effectively helped them out to the tune of several thousand bucks! We know that this move did cost us a few attendees who had early Monday obligations, and we regret that. But we also probably picked up a few attendees who otherwise had Saturday evening obligations—people do tend to have their weekends full this time of year! In the end, 48 members and their guests signed up, 8 more than last year, so the net effect of the move is hard to judge.

It did mean that travel home afterward was somewhat problematic for some of the revelers, since sleet began falling just as we were breaking up. Hopefully, the slow going just allowed people more time to bask in the party’s afterglow on their journeys home…

But we’re getting way ahead of ourselves. The crowd started gathering at around 6 pm, and we wandered to the back of the museum, where grape- and malt-based beverages were being served, to accompany a spread of delicious appetizers offered by our wonderful caterer, Tastings of Framingham. Sipping and nibbling, we chatted in groups of various sizes and sauntered around the Museum to ogle the cars on display. This year, these included one of Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari F1 race cars, a fly yellow Ferrari Dino 246, and AONEr John Darack’s red ’72 Montreal, all of which provided a taste of the upcoming exotic Italian car exhibit planned for the Museum in the spring.

And speaking of taste, we were then called to dinner, which was served with panache by the Tastings staff in the Museum’s main hall. All of the dishes on our menu were scrumptious and elegantly presented. And the desserts were to die for! We saw lots of people returning for seconds, and heard nothing but raves from the crowd.

Afterward came the eagerly-anticipated Yankee gift swap. This was again a ton of fun, with a wide assortment of gaily-wrapped presents being opened one after the other, and then either being swapped for ones that had already been opened or stealthily hustled off in hopes that no one would snag them away later. As always, there were a few items that particularly struck people’s fancies and got swapped around several times. These included an attractive shawl, some limoncello (a perennial hit), and a nifty wall clock made from a slotted and vented brake disk. And, as always, there were a few items that were singularly unique. Topping that category was the pair of live lobsters, packed on ice and gift-wrapped in a covered storage bin!

The Yankee swap was followed by our holiday sing-along, accompanied by the cheesy piano player (who offered to perform for half of last year’s fee, so we had to let him in). Whereas last year people joined in tentatively at first, this year everyone was belting them out right from the start, singing holiday tunes with lyrics that had been altered to conform to the sensibilities of the Alfa-oriented group that was gathered.

All good things must end, it’s said, and this was no exception, so at around 10 pm folks began searching for their coats and ambled outside to scrape the ice that was just starting to form on the windshields. And so ended AONE’s second Holiday Party at Larz Anderson. Our thanks go out to Kevin Murphy, who did the brunt of the planning and legwork, the Tastings Caterers chefs and servers, and the staff of the Museum—we all had a ball!

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	Lost? Just follow the signs...
	Gathering around the cocktails and hors d’oeuvres as the evening was getting under way
	John Darack’s ‘72 Montreal was on display in the Museum’s lower level
	A rustic display of vintage bicycles occupied a corner of the museum
	Event organizer Kevin Murphy gets his just desserts when he navigates his plate through the crowd back to his table
	Very-long-time AONE members and current club Directors Jim Miga (L) and Tom Ducibella share some ideas at the back of the hall
	Alas, the Dino was not one of this year’s Yankee swap gifts
	The throng watches the front of the hall, where all of the Yankee swap action is taking place
	Look at those air cleaners shine!
	RJ Horwitz is happy with his Yankee swap gift, even though he thought that a grinder was something you ate
	The look of surprise on Gary Venable’s face was genuine when he unwrapped a pair of live Maine lobsters
	A wreath on the Museum's entrance door sets off the gift table, including a framed Fenstermaker foto of the Fonte 6C2500 taken during the 2007 Il Giro Del Monadnock tour
	A table of carolers, intent on singing the holiday melodies without snickering
	The cheesy piano player, Museum Event Manager Elln Hagney, and AONE President Tom Lesko with his date for the evening
	This photo will probably get Kathi Lesko to make sure that she comes with Tom next year