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All week long, the weather prognosticators had been forecasting gloom and doom for the weekend. On Thursday,
the staring contest between Show & Shine and Mother Nature entered its final day. We blinked and rented a second,
large tent to house the information tables, raffles and our "You Can Do It" installation demos. That seemed to do
the trick. Just as remembering to take your umbrella will almost guarantee it won't rain, once we put a waterproof
roof over more square feet in our parking lot, Mother Nature must have decided we had taken away her fun. She
left on Saturday night, taking her rain with her. When Sunday dawned, the ground was wet and the skies were overcast,
but we never felt a drop the entire day.
As for the turnout, the forecast may have discouraged some folks from making the drive to Portsmouth, but not too many.
Once again, Show & Shine attracted a huge crowd (folks came from as far away as Louisiana and Ontario) and we set a new
record for filling the lot. Thanks to the heroic efforts of our employees, we were able to open the parking lot before the
scheduled time of 8:00 am. (There were already several dozen cars lined up waiting to enter when we arrived at 6:00 am.)
By 9:20, the lot was full, containing more than 300 of the most beautiful BMWs you can imagine. (See them in our picture gallery.)
Another couple hundred Bimmers were parked on the street and in neighboring lots. All in all, we had an estimated 1,200 people
in attendance. (We know because we fed most of them with hamburgers, hot dogs, knockwurst and beverages provided by Portsmouth's
own, award-winning Smuttynose Brewing Company.)
But the most gratifying part of the day was the amount of money raised for Susan G. Komen for the Cure -- more than $7,000
(a significant increase over last year). Here's a list of the winners and their prizes:
Ron K., California -- Racing Dynamics Sway Bar set
Mark M., South Carolina -- set of four Hakkapelliita tires
Robert S., Georgia -- Infinity BassLink subwoofer kit
Greg T., Massachusetts -- Motorsports HERO wide-angle video camera
Dan C., New Hampshire -- aFe cold-air intake and 135i exhaust
Julio B., Florida -- Sprint Booster
Wesley W., Massachusetts -- Bavarian Autosport pre-painted rear wing
Max S., Massachusetts -- Bavarian Autosport high-performance ignition coils
Nicole P., Rhode Island -- Bavarian Autosport custom-fit front and rear seat covers
Kyle S., Maine -- RaceMesh Grilles
Richard H., New Hampshire -- Front and rear Cool Carbon S/T brake pads
Justin B., Connecticut -- Front and rear Bavarian Autosport adjustable camber kits
Jerry V. -- M-style front bumper
Gunnar H., Massachusetts -- Grand Prize worth more than $3,500 (including a set of Beyern wheels, Bilstein shocks, Eibach Pro-Kit springs, D-Force wheel spacers, MGP caliper covers, PIAA Xtreme White bulbs, P21s 100% Carnauba Auto Care Set, Zymöl Destiny wax, Playstation 3 courtesy of ICP, 26" flat-screen TV courtesy of Sachs, and a $250 gas card courtesy of Hella.
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