What is MINIs Take Vermont? The simplest answer I can say is a MINI event (yes, as in MINI Cooper, as in a car) that takes place in Vermont. The longer answer is that MINIs are a car that “comes standard with friends” and many of us like to get together and enjoy our cars together.

So MTVT is an annual event (this was the sixth event), usually taking place in the fall, obviously in Vermont. The event officially begins with a welcome reception on Thursday night, but many people link up and rally up together. Friday and Saturday there are rallies. And a farewell dinner Saturday night. There are a few other official and unofficial activities, but that’s the general idea. People come from all over to attend. Of course a large number of people are from the New England area, but people also attend from farther away like Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and Quebec.

This was my fourth time attending. 2021 was my first year, the event took place at Sugarbush. Smuggler’s Notch was in 2022. Okemo in 2023. And back at Smuggler’s this year. The event has grown over the years, I heard there were 148 registered MINIs this year.

So what really happens at these events? As I mentioned earlier, Thursday there are generally feeder rallies. MINIs will meet up at certain points and pick up other MINIs along the way. This year, David and I joined in at MINIs of Bedford, where we met up with other MINIs who had come up from Massachusetts. There is a set route, and we all follow each other up to the next destination. In this case, Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, VT, where we stopped for lunch and other groups met up and joined us for the final leg to the resort at Smuggler’s Notch. We communicate via radios so no one gets lost and to warn each other of possible hiccups or hazards.

That is snow in that photo! It had snowed earlier and hadn’t yet melted. This year had to have the best weather of the four years I’ve attended. In the past, we’ve had at least one day of rain, this time it was sunny every day. The high was in the 60s! It did get cold at nights, as expected, but we couldn’t have asked for better weather in October in Vermont!

Thursday night is the welcome reception, where you get your packets (and rally information).

Friday morning, it’s an early start to get to the launch location! Way before the event starts, people sign up for the rallies they want to go on. The rallies will each have a different route and often a theme, such as a Covered Bridge tour, or Beetlejuice! There are fun stops planned, and photo ops, and of course stops for gas! Rallies are usually around 10-15 MINIs each.

One of my absolute favorite things, is being in a group of MINIs driving down the street and seeing the light come on for people when they realize we’re all together. Most people break into a big smile, some wave, some record us. I’m sure some people are annoyed, but for the most part they all seem to get a kick out of it. We frequently get asked “Is this some kind of MINI convention?”. Something like that. 🙂

David and I had signed up for the Beetlejuice NEK rally, which included a covered bridge, lunch, some fun roads through Groton State Park, a Beetlejuice filming location, and a cider mill.

Friday night there was the beer swap, where people can bring beer local to them and swap it for beer someone else brought. There’s a big fire, we hang out, drink beer, and generally have a good time. People also bring smores and cookies and other non-beer treats in case beer isn’t your thing.

Saturday up again early for rally launch! We had signed up for the Champlain Coast and Cider Quest rally. Oddly enough, this rally never actually went to the coast of Lake Champlain, so David and I ducked out at the end and went to the lake ourselves. The actual rally included a stop at a coffee shop, MINI of Burlington, Shelburne Farms, and lunch at Citizen Cider.

Saturday night is the farewell dinner and MUCH MORE IMPORTANTLY the raffle! Sponsors and attendees donate items to be raffled off at the farewell dinner. Competition can get pretty fierce for the hot items. This year the raffle raised over $3,000, which gets donated to a local organization. For example, last year there was significant flooding in the area where the resort is located, and the money raised from the raffle was donated to organizations to help with efforts to clean up and help the Ludlow area.

Items donated range from MINI socks to hundreds of dollars worth of parts, and everything in between. It’s usually a lot of fun as one of the club admins is 100% willing to make a fool of himself for the sake of our entertainment.

Sunday most folks split and go their own ways to head home. After several days of zipping around Vermont following your friends around, and spending time with friends, and laughing until your face hurts, it’s sort of weird to be on the road WITHOUT all your buddies.

Next year’s dates and location have been announced, October 16-18 (I believe) at Mt. Snow. I’ll be there!