When I got in line to gather my registration materials, a volunteer asked all new participants to line up on the left, so I obliged. When I reached the front of the line, the lady at the desk didn’t see my reservation. She asked, ‘Is this your first time at a Parade?’. It technically was not. But so much time had passed, I figured it was largely a new experience for me.
In late 2005, I bought my first Porsche; a guards red 1985 Porsche 944. It was a pretty exciting experience for me. I learned how to drive stick on it, did my first autocross, and registered for my first Parade. Living in Seattle at the time, I had the good fortune of having my first Parade in the next town over; Portland. Unfortunately, the car didn’t have the best of luck and had broken down by the time the Parade was scheduled. So, I joined the carvan down to the event; in my Mitsubishi Eclipse.
Since then, I have dreamt of driving to a Parade; but, it just hasn’t worked out. Either I didn’t have a car, the event was too far of a drive, or I had a scheduling conflict. Finally everything aligned for me to attend the the Parade in Palm Springs. Then we had a pandemic.
With the Parade held in Oklahoma City in 2025, I had hope that the 2026 event would be drivable for me in my new home in Alexandria. And, it did in fact happen. Lake Placid is about a 9 hour drive. So, I put the registration date in my calendar and promptly signed up at 10 AM.
To get to Lake Placid, I split the trip in half; stopping to visit friends in NYC. It was a great day to do so too as the whole city was abuzz for the city’s first game of this year’s World Cup (Brazil vs. Morocco) and the final game of the Knicks’ championship in the NBA. The second day I finally left the East Coast urban corrodor and final got to some scenic driving. As you get closer to the Parade, you get this steady rise in Porsche volume. You pass a truck towing a 356 on the highway. When you get off the highway, every cluster of cars in town has at least one Porsche. Then two. Then you arrive at the high school to check-in and it’s a parking lot full of Porsches!
The Parade began for me with a shift as a timer for a group of judges at the Concours d’ Elegance. Our group was tasked with reviewing a handful of spectacular G-Series, 964, and 993 911s. The life of a volunteer is tough, but we all must make sacrifices to support the community.
Back at the hotel, the license plates were a show in and of themselves. Trying to explain my license plate to friends and family has been met with blank stares and suggestions of better ways to spend my money. It was great to find a couple of kindred spirits.
The Potomac Tour at the Parade was actually my first tour with the Founder’s Region. It became a bit of a scramble as different groups veered of in different directions when a road on the route was closed and we were rerouted. With Google Maps and a few extra left turns, I think we all managed to make it to the dinner at the end of the drive. Special thanks to LeRoy Mills for accepting my last minute registration.
If you love Porsche, the Parade had something for you. My other volunteer shift was at the Art Show which has inspired me to pick back up my camera. The Tech Tactics sessions provided details on the monstrous horsepower of the brand new Porsche Cayenne EV and its routing tech that allowed the Porsche rep to make it to the Parade from Atlanta without range anxiety. And, while I did not make it to autocross, I’m more than happy to share with anyone my blazing fast lap times at Watkins Glen (on the e-sim racer).
Next year’s Parade will be held in Boise, Idaho with Traverse City, Michigan announced as the site for 2028. I was also introduced to the idea of Werks Reunions and Treffens. So, it sounds like there a lot of great opportunities for epic road trips for years to come.
