derBayerische July /August 2022 - 16

T H E 2 0 2 2 C H E R R Y B L O S S O M R U N
After the last car passed, we
hopped back in my E30 and met the
group on the west side of the Tidal
Basin. Everyone had parked and was
enjoying the scenery, the cars, and
each other's company.
Thanks to Jorge, we added a
whole new element to the event this
year. After leaving DC, we drove to
the Mosaic District in Fairfax, VA
where Urbano restaurant opened early
just for our group. There was even a
special menu and a DJ! We had an
■(From the Left) Attendees stand opposite the group of BMWs to make introductions,
talk, and take photos. Jorge Figueredo takes the lead of the group at
the Tidal Basin while Josue Angulo and I took photos of the cars passing under
a tunnel of cherry blossoms.
Well, it did become an annual
event on Sunday, March 27th of
2022. This time it was bigger and
better. Fellow NCC member, Jorge
Figueredo, and I came together to
plan everything in just a couple short
weeks. We had over 60 cars in attendance
with 30 E30s! People even
traveled from out of state and stayed
in hotels to join us. This included
Izzy Sanchez and his son, Mark
Anthony, who came from North
Jersey. They run E30MOB, my
favorite E30-inspired Instagram and
FaceBook account. I love what they
do for the community, the positive
culture they encourage, and the content
they post. Their promotion of
the event, attendance, and social
media coverage via photos, videos,
and interviews certainly added to the
excitement of the day. After speaking
to Izzy via emails and messages for
so long, it was great to finally meet
him in person.
Similar to our first event, we
congregated in Tysons Corner, VA at
6 a.m. and cruised into DC (at exactly
the speed limit, mind you) to stage
our cars around the Tidal Basin for
group shots. I was in the lead car, my
1991 318is, and Jorge was behind
me in his 1989 325is. Seeing the
headlights of over 60 BMWs in my
rear view mirror trail off into the
distance was quite an experience.
As we arrived at the Tidal Basin, the
sunrise illuminated the tunnel of
cherry blossoms above us on Ohio
Drive SW. I pulled off to the side of
the road and got out of the car with
my friend, photographer, and copilot
for the day, Josue Angulo, so that
we could take photos of each car
passing by during this golden hour
of photography.
■ Classic BMWs and cherry blossoms as far as the eye can see on the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC.
" in " as Jorge is a Managing Partner
of the restaurant. As if this wasn't
enough, the Mosaic District shut
down two streets so we could have a
car show with parking directly in front
of the restaurant. It was a bit cold and
windy, so having the restaurant open
provided a nice place to warm up,
talk to fellow friends and enthusiasts,
and have some delicious food. Those
attending the adjacent farmers market
and other businesses in the Mosaic
District stopped by to see the many
classic and modern BMWs lining the
streets.
It was a relief to receive such
positive feedback from attendees
the week following the event. Alistar
Russel and his wife, Ruth, brought
their M52-swapped, left-hand-drive
converted 1990 E30 touring. Alistar
said, " we thoroughly enjoyed the
experience and appreciate the opportunity
to be along with so many great
cars and people. It was our first time
seeing the cherry blossoms and the
lunch and car show worked out really
well. I've certainly never seen so
many E30s in motion at one time! "
Pooyan Shafiei, who brought his
beautiful 1987 528e (E28), reached
out after the event and said " we all had
an amazing time. My favorite part of
the meet was entering the first
location with the cherry blossom
trees on both sides [of the road].
Absolutely epic! "
Mike Van Gheem traveled from
Virginia Beach in his Diamond
Schwartz 1987 535is (E28). He said,
" It was worth the trip! My favorite part
was the first parking event [on the
Tidal Basin]: meeting and greeting the
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