2007 Boxstoberfest

the Auslander had already arranged alternate accommodations at “Silver Creek” , another great Fredericksburg restaurant across the street. The management and staff at
Silver Creek did an excellent job taking all of us in on
such short notice – creating a special menu, blocking off
the” back porch” making an impromptu registration desk
available , and catering to all our needs.
Boxstoberfest 2007
Bigger and better than ever!
By Michael Shassere
Photos: Michael Shassere, Steven Boyd
Michael Sorbera and txmotophoto.com
Bright an early Saturday morning, everyone starts arriving
all rested and clean (at least our cars) at the Gillespie
County Airport. We all line up for photos and prepare for
our departure for the main event – the drive in the Hill
Country. Everyone is very excited, but our second problem crops up – we have so many attendees this year, we
run out of runway to line up all the cars on the tarmac and
have to park some of the late arrivers in a regular parking
lot (oh no, not door dings). Regardless, seeing so many
Boxsters lined up as far as one can see just gets the heart
going early on a Saturday morning. Every color, every
model year, and virtually any combination of options you
could imagine is represented. Garage queens as well as
100K+mile examples sit side by side (and all looked fabulous). While Boxster focused, we had quite a good showing of Caymans, Carrerras, 968s and 944s.
With 125 attendees and 65 cars, Boxstoberfest 2007 was
another huge success. This annual event, held in Fredericksburg, TX , has grown to one of the most attended
gathering of it’s kind. Attendees come from not only the
local Texas Regions, but from Oklahoma, Missouri, Louisiana – and even one attendee came all he way from
Alaska.
This years event was dedicated to Chuck Hammersmith –
the founder of Porsche Pete’s Boxster Board
(www.ppbb.com) – a discussion board for all things related to the Boxster. Chuck passed away recently, and if
it had not have been for ppbb.com, Boxstoberfest might
never have happened. Way back in 1997, a few board
members were chatting on the discussion board Chuck
designed and ran, that they needed to get together for a
central US gathering to meet other Boxster owners and
explore the fabulous Texas Hill Country roads. That initial gathering of 6 drivers has grown to what it is today.
A very full weekend , with a focus on the Saturday
“Drive” – but more on that later.
After our drivers meeting, reviewing the PCA rules for
these events, we all queued up for the famous Hill Country drive. Since we had so many cars, we had to split into
two run groups – one ran the route clockwise, and the
other counterclockwise. If you have never driven the
Texas Hill Country, you have missed out on some of the
most Porsche friendly roads in the US. Tight twisties,
huge elevation changes, long sweepers and vast portions
of straight unpopulated stretches await you.
Our event has always started with a Friday night registration/social at The Auslander – a cornerstone Fredericksburg restaurant with wonderful German food and 70+
beers (mostly German – notice a trend?). At 2:00 pm on
the day of the event , a call comes into one of the event
organizers, who is on the way from Houston. There has
been a major electrical fire at the Auslander, and they are
closed by the fire department. Panic attack…. Just how,
and where, do you redirect and accommodate 125 hungry
and thirsty people, in 4 hours. Not to worry. Robin from
Both routes were designed to have exciting roads, and
from all the comments, everyone experienced permagrin
during the drives – especially in the curvy portions.
We all meet at the lunch stop at about the same time – at
the Frio Canyon Bike Stop. We had a wonderful BBQ
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lunch, at a great place to rest up for the afternoon return
drives. After lunch, a small group headed off for a longer
return route, but the majority returned to Fredericksburg
completing the opposing morning group’s route in an opposite direction, enjoying the roads the other group explored on their morning adventures. The final destination
was the Officers Club at the Hanger Hotel, on the
grounds of the Gillespie County Airport. As always, the
owners and staff treated us graciously, and provided a
well needed rest after a whole day of intense driving nirvana.
Dinner was at The Race Barn. We were treated to a wonderful Mexican inspired feast. But…… the food is not
what people come for. The post event discussions, and
door prizes - complements of our gracious sponsors, are a
major plus for the attendees. Our sponsors include (help
me guys). Our major door prizes this year was a 2 night
stay at Das Gelbe House ( A local Bed and Breakfest http://www.fbglodging.com/Lodging/gelbe.htm), and a
set of stainless steel headers from TurboWerkz - won by
Maria Bradley.
Boxstoberfest was a success, yet again, due to the timeless efforts of the organization committee: Lee Smith,
Ted Pietrzak, Michael Sorbera, Matt Marcelissen, and
Michael Shassere. The organizers look forward to seeing
you in 2008 (Fredericksburg TX, of course).
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