WinterFest was created as FlaCarShows.com's way of saying thanks for the car club and individual support of the web site during the past year. It was intended to be a get-together where you could renew friendships, as well as make some new ones. And before the weekend was over, it seems that everyone did just that!

During planning, it was necessary to find a hosting location that was convenient to most of Florida's car show enthusiasts, and the Ramada Inn Cocoa, fit the bill nicely, being about a two-hour ride (or less) from most everywhere in the state. Add to that a lake adjacent to the property, with room for plenty of vehicles to park around it, which is a step up from parking on the asphalt.

The Ramada Inn offered one-third off the advertised room rate for those that planned to spend the weekend. Everyone appreciated that they could park their car when they arrived, and wouldn't have to travel back and forth.

Mid-afternoon Friday, those that were spending the weekend at the hotel began arriving, and the hotel arranged for everyone to occupy rooms in the same part of the building, right across from the lake. By 5:00 PM, with Butch Johnston of WJBJ spinning the oldies, more than thirty reserved parking spaces were already filled. The skies were cloudy, but the weather wasn't threatening...yet.

The hotel would provide food for the entire weekend...pizza Friday evening, a deli sandwich platter Saturday afternoon, and a very simple buffet dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, wings and salads Saturday evening.

The food was the weak point of the show...the pizza looked good, but was over-sauced and under-cooked. The overstuffed deli sandwiches were actually understuffed, and the Saturday buffet was way overcooked. Those that opted to visit some of the local Cocoa restaurants were much happier!

Saturday morning, we woke up to a disheartening weather report. There was a major storm over Ocala, with near tropical storm winds and heavy rain, and it was moving south. The good news is that while it was cloudy, it wasn't yet raining anywhere south of Orlando.

During the day, as the show field began filling up, the sun came out briefly, and as eighty cars filled in around the lake, everyone hoped for the best.

A 2:00 PM, the awards began, as did the rain. Everyone found cover, and the presentations began. The Guest of Honor arrived in his classic silver-with-gray-stripes 1966 Chevelle.

It was Florida Senator Bill Posey, who spoke briefly about the recently-passed Street Rod and Custom Car legislation he spearheaded, and then handed out the Senator Bill Posey's Choice award to...go figure...Charlie Fontaino and his 1966 Chevelle! Senator Posey is from Florida District 24, and Charlie's Show Registration Number was also 24!

As the Senator's Choice, Charlie will receive a 24" x 30" custom-designed car story board from CarArtSigns.com, valued at nearly $300!

The marquee club this first year was the Sunshine State Cougar Club, and their vehicles were parked across the front of the show field. They also received the Club Participation award, with sixteen cars on the show field. In addition to the acrylic plaque and $50 cash, each member of the club received a bottle of Auto Detailer from Meguiar's Car Care Products.

There was also the Ramada Inn's Choice award, The Longest Distance Driven, and $100 cash to the lucky pre-registered entrant.

Senator Posey stayed to help with the door prizes, which were done in Lets Make A Deal fashion (lots of laughter there), and then drew the winning raffle prize numbers. The ladies were delighted that they had their own prizes, and the guys made it plain they all wanted to win the 26" HDTV flat-screen TV, but would settle for either the GPS, the aluminum racing jack, the beer keg BBQ grill, or even the rolling shop cart!

At the conclusion of the awards, of course, the rain stopped. Those there for the day said their goodbye's, wiped down their cars, and headed for home. The gang from South East Rods and Customs took photos of Charlie's car at the edge of the lake, to have the prefect background for Charlie's CarArtSign.

Will we produce the show differently next year? You betcha! We appreciated hearing your thoughts and comments, and will work to incorporate them into WinterFest 2009! We hope we'll see y'all there!