Author: Josh

For those of you wanting a little bit of peace and quiet during MATG, we would like to offer a couple options:

Appalachian Inn
Just over 12 miles away from Fontana Village, Appalachian Inn offers 5 unique guest rooms on a knoll overlooking Stecoah Gap.
https://www.facebook.com/bednbreakfastlikenoother

Snowbird Mountain Lodge
Sitting 2 miles above Lake Santeetlah, Snowbird is celebrating their 80th birthday in 2021. They have 15 rooms in their main lodge as well as 2 secluded multi-unit cabins.
https://www.facebook.com/SnowbirdMountainLodge

Both lodgings have availability for MATG XXV, but don’t wait too long to reserve yours!

Tapoco Lodge has blocked off rooms and cabins for MATG XXV in 2021. Hurry and make your reservations before they’re all booked!

You can reserve the room online at www.Tapoco.com and click on Reservations.
Enter your arrival and departure dates, the number of people in your party and then enter the access code: MI080421
Room and cabin rates are discounted for MATG attendees.

Remember, Tapoco Lodge only has 9 Lodge Rooms and 18 Cabins so they’ll go quickly!

Now that cold weather is finally starting to move into some areas of the country, it’s time to think about winter time plans.
Do you store your car over the winter? Any big plans for improvements/modifications during the down time? What special surprise are you planning for MATG XXV?

Just a quick reminder… all unconfirmed reservations that have been rolled over from 2020 will be removed tonight at midnight. Tomorrow, open reservations begin!

Again, if you had a reservation at Fontana Village for the 2020 gathering and have not called to confirm it for 2021, you have the remainder of the day to do so. If you do not confirm you reservation today, you will forfeit your deposit!

Starting tomorrow, all MATG attendees interested in staying at Fontana for 2021 can call to start making their new reservations!

Please help us spread this information around the Miata community as much as possible. We don’t want anyone to be left out!

Starting tomorrow, Sept 9, all attendees who had a reservation for Fontana Village for 2020 must call to confirm their reservation for 2021. All reservations not confirmed by September 30, 2020 will be dismissed and open reservations will begin. You can reach Fontana Village at (828) 498-2211.

If you did not have a reservation for 2020 and would like to get a reservation for Fontana Village in 2021, you may begin calling on October 1. The staff at Fontana will not take new reservations for MATG XXV until that date. That gives enough time for all the people who had a previous reservation to ensure they can keep their deposit and room/cabin reservation.

We’re glad to hear that many of you are still going to head to Deal’s Gap this weekend despite the official MATG event being canceled for this year.  Plenty of Miatas will still be around the area, so be sure to say “hello”!

That said: please be mindful of the fact that even with the official event not happening, YOU are Miatas at the Gap.  The event wouldn’t happen without all of your attendance and support.  Locals are accustomed to seeing a mass of Miatas buzzing around at the end of July/beginning of August.

Because of that, please be sure to act accordingly.  On the roads, stay in your lane at all times and be mindful of those driving with you as well as your own limits.  Also, please be kind and cordial to all of the local businesses who are still open to visitors.  Deal’s Gap would be a lot less fun of a place to stay if you had to drive hours to get a meal (or anything else you need)!

Since the event was cancelled and we already have swag prepared for this year’s event, we’ve called an audible and set up a store to order the goods. The store will be live for 2 weeks and close on June 24th. Shipping and handling is a flat $9 per order. We aim to have them in your hands by the originally planned dates of MATG XXIV.

As an added bonus, the first 100 orders of the MATG Swag Pack (MATG XXIV T-shirt, MATG XXIV 3.5″ decal, and MATG keychain), will receive a MATG XXIV dash plaque for free. The dash plaque is not available separately, and can only be obtained by being one of the first 100 to order the Swag Pack.

We also have added a new MATG t-shirt that we are planning on stocking for future events. The design of this one WILL change in the future, so get this design while it’s available.

The store is hosted by Square, a well known and trusted credit/debit card processing company, so security is top-notch.

The store is available here:
https://miatasatthegap.square.site/

With just over two months (!!!!) to go until we descend upon our favorite mountain roads we would like to invite all of you to share your favorite, and even less than favorite, MATG images with us! We have been compiling all of our images and would love if you added yours to our Flickr so everyone can reflect back on how much fun was had over the past 24 years!.

You can find our Flickr group at the link below to get started.

https://www.flickr.com/groups/matg

See you in 72 days!

Out of an abundance of caution…. no, wait, that’s not right. With only 84 days left until Dragon Hunting Season, we thought we’d take a minute to discuss lunch plans during MATG.

Due to an overwhelming positive response, we will be issuing gift cards again in the swag bags from registration. The gift cards are good for food and beverage (no alcohol or gratuity) anywhere in Fontana Village. This includes the Marina, Pitstop, Wildwood Grill, General Store, Pool Bar, and the Bistro. Cards are valid for 1 year.

Hope to see you in August at the 24th annual MATG!

Don’t fret just yet, MATG XXIV is still planned to continue as scheduled.

With 86 days remaining until Miatas at the Gap 2020, we thought we’d provide a little update on the situation around Graham and Swain Counties in western North Carolina.
Graham County has reopened all borders and roads, reopened lodgings and restaurants, and lifted their curfew. Swain County is still limiting restaurants to take-out only, but has reopened retail and lodging businesses.

That said, the local governments are still encouraging all residents and visitors to exercise caution and common sense when it comes to safety, and to maintain social distancing. We aren’t back to the way things were before the virus outbreak, but things are improving.

Also, we are maintaining contact with both Graham County and Fontana Village Resort so we can have all the latest information. That way we are better able to make correct decisions and keep all MATG Miataphiles safe! We hope to see you in August!