MATG

. . . to get your items over to Dan at Ride Rage Powdercoating if you want him to have them ready to pick up (or even install) at MATG XXV in August! The cutoff date to get parts to Dan is July 9!

Dan is one of our long time vendors, always there with a display of beautifully coated parts for your Miata. He’s done parts for several Staff Miatae, as well as many, many attendees over the years. But doing a fantastic job cleaning and coating these parts takes time, so you need to be sure to reach out to Dan ASAP to be sure you can get your parts to him in time for him to get them prepped, coated, and complete before we all convene at Fontana Village!

Reach out to Dan at info@rideragecoatings.net or visit him on the web at https://www.rideragecoatings.net

Kicking off the Vendor Introductions for Miatas at the Gap XXV, we are happy to be able to introduce Jeff Dofing and Bonnie Weekes, returning once again to set up their booth in our Vendor area. Many, many faces have come and gone over the years, and only three of the original members are left amongst MATG attendees. They sell their own designs on T-Shirts and hats and other apparel and gifts and we look forward to greeting them each year.

Over the course of the next few weeks, we’ll be introducing all of our 2021 MATG XXV Vendors and Sponsors so you can become familiar with them and know what to expect in the Vendor Area when you arrive!

As we’re quickly approaching The Day of the Dragon, we wanted to put out a final call for run leaders. We need to get a count of those of you who are going to be leading runs this year. If this is your first time, or your 25th time leading a run, fear not, as we will do what we can to help you ensure a smooth run.

We can help you with everything from planning and mapping, posting about your runs, getting them on the official calendar and helping in other ways as we are able.

But it all starts with you. And you don’t even have to lead a run that “everyone wants to go on”. Maybe you’d like a smaller run. In the past we have had some amazing small group runs such as the Waterfall Tour, the Winery Run, A club run to Six Gap in Georgia, and others. So don’t be afraid to throw your hat in the ring. Step on up and be a run leader today!

Please respond no later than Friday, July 9 by sending us a message or comment on this post and we’ll work with you to get your run organized, advertised and ready to roll.

We’ve less than 50 days to go before MATG XXV kicks off and we’re super excited to see each and every one of you. One of the most common questions about the event we hear from new attendees is about what to bring along for your weekend of enjoyment on the wonderful roads and at the events we have going on. While we are all a bit different (we do drive Miatas…) a pretty simple list to start with is:

• Folding or Camp Chair
• Sunscreen
• Towel
• Umbrella
• Jacket (It can get chilly at night, especially if you’re on top of the mountains)
• Comfy Shoes
• FRS/GMRS radio (most people use Channel 5 to communicate)
• Maps/GPS units (There is very limited cell service, but Pro Tip, Google Maps will download offline maps to your phone for free, so download maps of the area around Fontana before you leave)
• Beer or Wine (for the Saturday Night Beer Swap and Wine Tasting)
• Cash (Fontana Village has one ATM in the main lodge and one at the Pit Stop) and our Vendors may or may not be set up to take credit cards, so plan accordingly.
• Hat
• Water (It can get very hot some days, so stay hydrated!)
• Camera
• GoPro or other video camera
• Epi Pen, Benadryl, and other medications
• Bug spray

Also, don’t forget to stop by the registration tent.  Registration is free and gets you a swag bag and annual dash plaque. You can also purchase your official event t-shirt there as well.

And don’t worry, toilet paper will be provided in all cabins and lodge rooms at Fontana Village.

If you’ve been to MATG before, you are likely very familiar with our Saturday Night Beer/Wine Swap and Charity Raffle. If this is your first time coming to join us at Fontana Village, then you’re in for a treat. Every year on Saturday evening many of us gather in the vendor area to swap local beers and wine, and to draw winning numbers from the raffle tickets we sell throughout the event to support local rescue squads.

We donate 100% of all raffle ticket proceeds in the name of all MATG attendees to one of the local rescue squads. This year we are donating the money to the Graham County Rescue Squad who works the NC side of the Dragon. If you’re ever in need of medical assistance, these are the fine folk who will come to your aid. Graham County Rescue Squad is completely volunteer and depends on donations from the community to pay for training and equipment to help save lives.

We collect some fantastic items from all our sponsors and vendors and raffle prizes in the past have ranged from small items like t-shirts and hats all the way up to free stays at local lodging, several hundreds off an Exocet kit and everything in between.

So when you’re registering for the event at the Reg Tent, be sure to buy some raffle tickets to support a worthy cause and win some great prizes.

As we are now less than 60 days out, the crew is working hard to get all the last minute details hammered out for the 25th Miatas at the Gap. Working with our great volunteers has made the event even more rewarding for us, giving us the chance to get to know some of our attendees even better. We’ve made some great friends along the way!

Please send an email to jeff@gapmiatas.com if you are interested in helping out!

Jeff will be working out the volunteer schedule soon and will be contacting everyone who responded with more concrete details, but before we finally close the roll book, we wanted to send one more shout out to see if there are others out there who are interested in helping us put on this crazy show.

We are looking for people to help staff shifts in the registration tent at Ground Zero, and we are also looking to connect with anyone who is interested and willing to lead a run. Remember, MATG is YOUR event, so if there’s ever been a run you’ve wanted to do, now’s the time to let us know! We’ll help as much as we can with getting your run on the schedule, help with mapping, and answering any questions you may have. Everyone loves variety, so lets see some new runs people haven’t done yet in addition to old favorites!

Did you just finish up your project car or just buy a new or new to you Miata? Have friends going and don’t want FOMO?

For anyone looking to make last minute plans to attend, we wanted to remind you know that Fontana is full, but it still makes sense to try the waiting list. One of our other partner resorts, Tapoco only has one cabin left open on their property as well. As usual there are alternatives on our website and the area is becoming more popular on VRBO and AirBnB so make those reservations and we’ll see you there!

Have you ever attended Miatas at the Gap and thought, “I would really enjoy helping other attendees for a little while”? Want to give something back to the MATG community? Interested in learning a bit about what goes on behind the scenes? We’re looking for volunteers to help with registration and other activities in the Registration Tent.

We have several 2 hour shifts to choose from on both Friday and Saturday. In the past we’ve had 4 – 5 volunteers per 2 hour block who have helped get attendees registered, handed out swag bags, assist with T-Shirt orders, and answering questions about runs, vendors, what to do, where to go, and so forth.

If you’re interested in being a volunteer, please send an email to Jeff who will reach out to give you more information.

While we are proud to note that Fontana Village Resort is entirely sold out to us for Miatas at the Gap this year, there are still other lodgings available in the area if you still have not found a place to stay for the weekend. We have a list compiled on our website at https://gapmiatas.com/Lodging. Also be sure to check for the array of AirBnB and VBRO options in the area.

Hope to see you there!

Hey y’all, we had one big surprise planned for 2020, we mentioned it in passing but are happy to (re)share it with you a year later.

Our vendor area is moving!!! While we’ve enjoyed our home down the hill it was time to move on up to the ENTIRE lot in front of Wildwood Grill. We look forward to having a bit more space and the change of scenery.