Despite a week of weather forecasters saying Luft Wasser was going to be a day of rain, we were greeted in Brevard with sun, and a clear, beautiful day to enjoy Porsches, Brevard and friends

 

Photo:  Jasmine Aves

This was the first year to use Luft Wasser as a fundraiser, and the sun was also shining on The Cindy Platt Boys & Girls Club of Transylvania County thanks to registrations and donations from PCA members. We still need to conduct a final accounting, but thanks to over 200 registrations with donations of close to $2,000 from participants and an anonymous matching donation from an Appalachian Region member, we will be looking at raising over $10,000 for the boys and girls supported by this great local organization.  Thank you to everyone.

Photo:  Jim Gauntt

The Fourth Annual Luft Wasser Porsche Celebration in Brevard saw PCA members arrive from 13 regions and nine states.  Over 170 Porsches participated in spite of the gloomy weather forecast with 251 participants.  It was really great to see the support from Porsche PCA owners who didn’t want to miss the drives and comradery of Luft Wasser.

 

Photo:  Keith Lloyd

Luft Wasser is an early start with drive meet-ups as early as 7:30 a.m. at eight different tour start locations throughout the Appalachian Region of Western North Carolina.  Over 100 Porsches drove in one of the tours through the mountains to arrive in Brevard.  Another 50 Porsches found their own way to Brevard to meet up for a parade of Porsches into town.

In addition to the 24 drive leads and sweeps Appalachian Region member stepped up another 30 members working on-site registration and parade staging, Main Street staging and the Hospitality Tent.  Luft Wasser couldn’t happen without these 55 volunteers giving their time and talents to deliver this event.

All morning as the sun shone on the multi-Porsche colors, the common refrain was: “The Sun Gods were shining on Brevard. How did we order up this weather?”  It was a great weather day for the event up until lunch hour when the skies darkened and the clouds finally opened on Main Street.  Many participants were sheltered in Restaurants and enjoying the varied dishes being offered from Italian, to burgers, to deli sandwiches and American fare.

 

Appalachian Region had their new hospitality tent in full operation as it became the central hub for the event with participants stopping for water, a decal or to buy a shirt or poster. We also had our Region partners/sponsors, Porsche Asheville, K&M Collision and Hagerty Insurance on board in vendor row.

The last Porsche left Main Street at 2:05 p.m. with thanks from the Police and Fire teams for being so respectful of the city.  An informal survey of restaurants and stores, had staff feeling that business was up this day to the influx of Porsche owners. It was good to hear the stores and restaurants sensed a positive impact on their business as that is the goal for the Brevard as to why they host us.

         

Photos:  Scott Rowbotham

We are already thinking about 2023.  Don’t forget to sign up quick when 2023 registration opens.

There were many photos posted on Facebook but if you are not a Facebook user, you can see photos from Guest Photographer Jasmine Aves available at this link:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/_jpro/sets/72177720298936370/with/52073001288/

Jerry Mattox also did his annual video recap of Luft Wasser that you can view here at this link:  https://youtu.be/yoTqKjwqDpE

Thanks to all our volunteers:

Event Organizers

  • Jim Moore
  • Gerhard Hillmann
  • Jim Symington

Hospitality Tent

  • Linda Davis-Moore
  • Cindy Cain
  • Toni Goetzman
  • Gale Dazzo
  • Karen Phillips (The Cindy Platt Boys & Girls Club of Transylvania County)

Driver Leads and Sweeps

  • Don Therien
  • Bob Poe
  • Bob Disney
  • Jim Davis
  • John Long
  • Leo Nascimento
  • Dave White
  • Phil Leftwich
  • David Raznick
  • David Linton
  • Peter Graham
  • David Langston
  • Robert Larsen
  • Bob Herrmann
  • Jim Gauntt
  • Bill Price
  • Dan Dazzo
  • Don Grainger
  • Allen Peerson
  • Kim LaRowe
  • Don Lowcavage
  • Scott Pluene
  • Richard Little
  • Bill Wolfe

Web Site and Registration

  • Dick Maybach

On-Site Registration and Parade Staging

  • David Butler (Lead)
  • Judy Butler
  • David Angelus
  • Dianne Bienick
  • Michael Baldwin
  • Wilma Baldwin
  • Mark Feightner
  • Amy Feightner

Main Street Staging

  • Scott Walker (Lead)
  • Todd Puhl
  • Rick Craddock
  • Karl Lail
  • Joe Esposito
  • John Goetzman
  • Karl Klepfer
  • Dan Leitner
  • Nort Northam
  • Yohan Sookdeo

Photography and Video

  • Jasmine Aves
  • Jerry Mattox
  • Keith Lloyd

See you Next Year in Brevard!  Remember, register early.

Upcoming Events for the Appalachian Region

Summer Picnic:  Meet New and Existing Members

The Appalachian Region Summer Picnic is designed to introduce New Members and existing members in a casual, relaxing atmosphere of a picnic.  The Region supplies the Fried Chicken and in true picnic fashion you bring a dish or picnic item to share.

Complete details are available on the calendar web site, but here are the date and time highlights:


When: Saturday, June 18, 2022                    4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Where:  Longmeadow Park in The Ramble, South Asheville

Registration:   Use this link for registration -  Picnic Registration Link

June Date Night Drive & Dine

John and Toni Goetzman are introducing a new concept to the calendar; a "Date Night Drive" so your wife/husband/spouse or partner can enjoy a night on the town with a beautiful late day drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

The drive ends with a dinner at the fabulous East Asheville French Comfort Food restaurant, Rendezvous. Registration opens today, May 15 at noon using this link for this event.

See you at the Picnic and Date Night!

Photo:  Matthew Leach Photo:  Jasmine Aves

 

Jim Moore – Appalachian Region President