Official Notification On The Lake Dora Show! Just 3 Months-ish Away

For those of us looking forward to the Lake Dora Show, below is an official letter regarding the show.It’s long, and explains all that will be going on, so sit down and grab a cup of Joe. Or two, or three…

Dear Fellow Boaters:
Time to start thinking about the Sunnyland Antique Boat Festival and getting your boats ready for
the FIRST show of the 2019 Boating Season. As most of you know, we have suffered the wrath of
Hurricane Irma and the City of Tavares is working very diligently to re-build the Marina. A contract
has been issued to rebuild the entire water front and the completion date is scheduled for 2020.
The City has gone the “Extra Mile” to arrange for temporary docks for the up-coming show, and we
anticipate being able to have floating docks for 60 plus boats. We realize that we won’t be able to
accommodate all the water request.

Our plan is to put the larger boats in the water and the smaller
boats on land. The land display has many advantages, for example, trailer valet service to take your
boat and trailer to the display site, better visibility of your boat to the viewing public, no sleepless
nights worrying about an unanticipated leak or rain storm with a faulty bilge pump, and much easier
getting the cover on your boat at night. We are asking all of you to consider using land display for
this year, and as an added incentive, each boat Captain choosing land display will receive one
complimentary ticket to the Friday picnic event.

The boats that will be assigned to the temporary floating docks have several launch options. You can
use any of the ramps in proximity to the show, launch and recover on your own, and store your
trailer off site. If you choose to use the new ramp at the show site, we will have a launch crew on
site to help you. We will have limited trailer parking and tow vehicles will need to be disconnected
and vehicles parked in the public parking garage. We no longer can provide tractor valet service at
the launch ramp. You also have an option of pulling your boat up on the designated beach.

Time to put the snow shovels away, get the boat ready and come on down to Florida for some fun in
the sun. Rest assured that we are doing everything possible to accommodate everyone and this will
be another outstanding show. Joe Sabatini, who runs the very successful FESTIVAL OF SPEED
programs throughout Florida, will be bringing a display of up to 60 antique and classic cars, as well
as some modern supercars to complement our beautiful boats.

The Thursday night City of Tavares reception at the Pavilion and the Friday night Captain’s Party will offer some unique and different
experiences that you won’t want to miss.

The Friday night captains party we will enjoy the famous “Caribbean Chillers” beach band and we ask everyone to wear a “Beach Shirt”. Dress up in beach attire and have some fun.

All boat show participants are encouraged to park in the City parking garage which is two blocks
from the show. There will be a shuttle to and from the show site. The 2019 show promises to be a
spectacular event as we celebrate the 38 th year of the Sunnyland Antique Boat Festival.

As most of you know, we have the famous St John’s River cruise the week before our show. If you
can’t make the southbound cruise, we will have the north bound cruise following the show. When you
combine the North and Southbound river cruises and our spectacular event, it’s more than three
weeks of vintage boating on pristine lakes in central Florida. If you are a Race Boat fan, the new
Vintage Race Boat Association will host their event the week before our show.

ACBS meeting

This year, the ACBS Board will have their Quarterly Board meeting on Mar 21 at the Mission Inn
starting at 8am. This meeting is an open meeting and you are cordially invited to attend. If you
would like to join the board for lunch, there is a charge of $25 to cover the resort cost of the meal
which needs to be paid in advance. Please call Stacy at ACBS Headquarters in Clayton to sign up for
the meeting and make your reservation for lunch, if desired.

Go Terry go!

All the Sunnyland volunteers will be in place at 8am on Thursday Mar 21 to start the show, and we
close promptly at 5pm. If you arrive after 5pm on Thursday, you will have to come back on Friday
morning. We will not be accepting boats on Wednesday Mar 21. If you arrive early, you will not have
access to our facilities. All participants must pass through our registration facility located on
Joanna Street. There will be multiple signs to direct you to the show entrance.
Flea Market vendors will be allowed to go in and out of the site on a daily basis. We will allow you to
drive in on Thursday, set up and remove your vehicle. If you work out of your vehicle, you can leave
it on site for the duration of the show. If you are a Flea Market Vendor, you must set up on
THURSDAY Mar 21. There will be limited vehicle access to the Flea Market on Friday, Saturday and
Sunday prior to 8am. The Flea Market area has new concrete. If you use a tent, you CAN NOT drive
tent pegs into the concrete.

We advertise and sell tickets for our show based on three days; all day Friday, Saturday and until
noon on Sunday. Thursday is our set up day and WE HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU ARRIVE ON
THURSDAY. THERE WILL BE LIMITED ACCESS ON FRIDAY BECAUSE THE GATES ARE
CLOSED FOR TICKET SALES. ON FRIDAY OUR LAND DISPLAY AREA IS NOT ACCESABLE FOR
TRACTORS BECAUSE OF FOOT TRAFFIC. Our show ends Sunday at noon and if the weather is
great, the crowd is usually slow to depart.

Thursday evening March 21 at 6pm, we will have a City of Tavares reception at the new Pavilion at
the show site. On Friday March 22, we will have our traditional picnic at Hickory Point. We
anticipate that most people will travel by vehicle to the picnic. Friday night we will have our famous
“Captains Party” at the show site in the big tent at the center of the show. This will be a Beach
Party and everyone is encouraged to dress for a Beach Theme. Live music will be provided along with
food and adult beverages. On Saturday we will have something special for the ladies; a Style Show
Luncheon at the Lake View Hotel on site starting at 12 noon. Also on Saturday we will have the
informative ACBS Symposium designed around the wood boat hobby and this will be open to the
public. Saturday night we will have several cash bars and a dinner party catered by Carrabas.
Although our show is a non-judged ACBS event, our Corporate Sponsors will present awards on
Sunday morning. This will be followed by Church services at the Main Tent.

The Cities of Tavares and Mount Dora are working in concert to accommodate the large crowd and
there will be many activities. The Sea Plane Base at Wooton Park will be operational and rides will
be offered. In addition, there will be a new train operating between Tavares and Mount Dora.

The show location is Wooton Park on Lake Dora in Tavares. There are several new restaurants in
Tavares. In addition, we have a block of rooms reserved at the beautiful Mission Inn Resort located
at Howey-in-the-Hills, a short distance from the show. Reservations can be made by calling 352-
324-3101. Mention the Boat Show and you will receive a reduced rate.
The GPS address for the show site is: 123 South Joanna Ave, Tavares Florida 32778 or
GPS coordinates: 28.48.043N—–81.43.655W
On behalf of the Sunnyland Chapter of ACBS, we welcome you and your families to this historical
and charming community. REGISTRATION WILL OPEN ON OR ABOUT THE FIRST WEEK OF
JANUARY, 2019.
We will send an e-mail blast when the date is confirmed. You can register on
line at our website www.acbs-sunnyland.org or call Bill or Kathleen Root at 352-324-6010 to receive
a paper copy to register. We certainly look forward to seeing all of you at this Spectacular Boating
Event. You will have a great time.

We guarantee it!

Sincerely,
Terry
Terry Fiest,

Chairman

7 replies
  1. Troy in ANE
    Troy in ANE says:

    If you have never taken in the St. Johns river cruise it is a real highlight.

    Have fun we will miss you all this year.

  2. Roberta
    Roberta says:

    Spending the month of March in Welaka on the St. Johns, doing the South bound cruise with Guy, and attending the Show. Looking forward to March.

  3. Dave Shepler
    Dave Shepler says:

    Sorry I will miss it this year. We have made an appearnce at the show last three years and met a lot of new freinds.
    My youngest Daughters Senior year so she didn’t want to go back to Florida again.
    But good news is she will be in collage next year so I can do what I want for spring break trip.
    My plan is to bring Mom’s Mink to Dora show 2020!
    Have fun!
    Hopefully we will see everyone in NY. for the international show in September.

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