Once I first moved to Cleveland about two years in the past, I wasn’t precisely enthralled with the native automotive gatherings. Any of the large vehicles and occasional kind occasions obtained overrun with revving supercars, children in search of TikTok clout, and hooligans making an attempt to show it right into a sideshow. Many of the cruise-ins are licensed boomer bait, full with “look however don’t contact” indicators, restoration documentation in a photograph album, and a crew of oldies in garden chairs imply mugging anybody who drives a four-cylinder. I knew we may do higher.
In speaking with buddy of the positioning Myron “Junkman” Vernis, we each knew sufficient folks within the space to arrange a low-key weekday morning gathering that may deal with friendliness and funky vehicles. We’ve each skilled a number of automotive tradition, and had inspiration from our collective time on the west coast. We put our heads collectively and got here up with a technique to convey a few of that west coast chill vibe to the midwest. Explicitly impressed by the unbelievable Good Vibes Breakfast Membership, a weekly Friday morning gathering up on Angeles Crest Freeway, we set the stage for our personal present, dubbed Valley Vibes.
Assembly each Friday down within the Cuyahoga Valley Nationwide Park, we maintain the gathering from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. There’s an appropriately sized parking zone on the practice station subsequent door to the customer heart, and so long as we aren’t promoting something, charging admission, or inflicting hassle for different park guests, the park rangers have been very happy to allow us to do our factor. The park is a ravishing place to satisfy up, and these are the one actual good driving roads inside a 3 hour drive anyway.
Inclusivity is the secret, inviting anybody and everybody (who isn’t a dickhead) to come back out and benefit from the mutual firm of different fans. We don’t care what sort of automotive you could have, the place it was made, how a lot it price, or what stage your ‘construct’ is in, it’s welcome. Within the 18 months that we’ve been internet hosting this weekly gathering, we’ve seen every little thing from model new Aston Martins to classic racing Alfas to a $3,000 Volvo C30 and an $800 Oldsmobile dustbuster van.
Each week is a roll of the cube. A few weeks in the past somebody confirmed up in a brand new Hummer and confirmed off the crab stroll characteristic. The primary time a Corolla GR confirmed up, it obtained a ton of consideration. The customs, the racers, the classic, the trendy, it’s all right here. You by no means actually know what’s going to indicate up at Valley Vibes.
Each Wednesday I make just a few social media posts and ship invitations to a couple of the regulars. On Friday mornings I rise up an hour sooner than regular and brew a carafe of high-test espresso. Myron brings the donuts and we set them out on my little camp desk. That’s it. That’s all of the prep it takes, and the present by no means fails to assemble 20 to 30 vehicles every Friday morning. (Until it rains. Ohio folks suppose their vehicles will soften in the event that they get moist.)
You and your automotive associates can develop automotive tradition in your neighborhood. Hopefully that is the push you could kick off your personal vibes-based present. Should you put aside a few hours each week to simply stand round and speak about vehicles and life, put your telephones down, welcome everybody, and hold the dickishness to a minimal, not solely will it enhance your personal life, it’ll enhance the neighborhood. I can’t suggest it extremely sufficient.
So in case you’re within the Cleveland/Akron space and have a cool automotive and a superb perspective, cease on out to our little occasion one Friday morning between 7 and 10. It’ll be price your time, for positive. We’ve had guests from as distant as Detroit and Pittsburgh, and even they mentioned it was price popping out for. It’s undoubtedly extra concerning the folks than it’s the vehicles or the espresso and even the donuts (although the donuts are superb.)
Come on down and really feel the vibes.
