The Mini 50 Party in the Smokies!

2009 is the 50th birthday of the Mini and Classic Minis United is going to throw a BIG party!

Keeping in the UK tradition of camping at Mini meets, we think we've put together the ultimate camping (co-host hotel close by) and cruising gathering. We chose Townsend, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains to take the Mini back to the days of mountain domination, plus they're a blast and beautiful to drive in! We chose what is considered the most beautiful time of year there, still cool temps with plants blooming. We found a gorgeous campground on a river with lodges, cabins, tent sites, and RV sites (Did we mention, co-host hotel close by?). For the 3 day gathering we're planning a cruise into the mountains each day, a nighttime scavenger hunt, and a big birthday party. We hope that the start of Saturday's cruise becomes the new North American record for the most classic Minis cruising in one long line. The car show will be a 3 day moving car show, judged by their peers. Oh, and we will be able to take over the entire campground (except for the large amounts of RV sites); it'll be our own Mini Town USA!

If you haven't been to a CMU gathering before, we do it differently; we drive/cruise a lot, with plenty of stops and things to see. With this being a CMU gathering, you must be a member to enter a Mini. Membership is free, go to the join page and become a member! As with all of our gatherings, this is for everybody, but all of the drives/cruises/anything is only for classic Minis and its variants produced from 1959-2000, no exceptions. There's always room to ride in someone’s Mini if you come in something else.