Cinco de Mayo II- First Zone 8 Event

by Dee Rosado, (Historian, 1987)

PCA-SAR held their first Zone 8 Concours May 1 and 2, 1981. Headquarters was the Santa Rita Hotel and the cars were staged at La Placita in downtown Tucson.

The name Cinco de Mayo became a tradition as a result of the 3rd annual 356 Registry’s West Coast Holiday was held in Tucson May 4, 5, 6, 1979. That event established our reputation for well-organized, fun events along with friendliness and old-fashioned southwestern hospitality.

Generally, Tucson weather is at its best the first part of May but on Friday 1981, which was registration day, Mother Nature intervened with terrible rain, dust, and wind in the Phoenix-Tucson area. But the spirits and enthusiasm of our out-of-town guests were not dampened and they busily went about the business of Concouring under covered parking areas at the Santa Rita. Pat Scanlon floated in around 5 pm and was still bailing water out of the 356 by the time everyone else was ready to have a hearty meal. He was talked into joining us and we all piled in the back of Fred Moor’s van and drove over to El Charro, followed by a few Porsches. Pat was up extra early the next morning, sopping up water from the engine compartment!

Saturday was sunny and clear and the rain had settled the dust. By 8 am, most of the cars were in place at La Placita. After the judging was over, we all relaxed under the trees. The Porsches were not over exposed to the public and everybody had time for snacks, drinks and good conversation. By 4 pm, we were all back at the hotel and into clean clothes and cocktails. The Mexican Buffet was attended by approximately 70 people. Fred Moor took to the podium as Master of Ceremonies, disposing of door prizes and jokes.

Rick Hammel had the honor of presenting awards. As the awards were presented, a color slide of the winning car was shown. The pictures were taken in the morning by Pat Culver and processed in time for the evening presentations.

Everybody had a great time and the Southern Arizona Region, Zone 8 Concours was a success.