Introducing the 2019 CORSA Convention

Contents

Postcards from Chicago


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Welcome!

The Chicagoland Corvair Enthusiasts (CCE) welcomes you to the 2019 CORSA Convention from July 23-27, 2019, at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Illinois. You may remember this excellent venue from the 2001 CORSA Convention.

Join us for five days of parties, dining, sightseeing, shopping, and, of course, fabulous cars!

The themes of the convention are the Fiftieth Anniversary of the production of the last year of the Corvair in 1969 and the Fiftieth Anniversary of the founding of the Corvair Society of America, also in 1969.

We hope your summer calendar is already marked to attend the Chicago Convention!

Your Hosts

Your host chapter, The Chicagoland Corvair Enthusiasts (CCE), traces its history to the 1960s, and it's been going strong ever since. Download your introduction to CCE here.

Venue

Pheasant Run Resort is located in St. Charles, Illinois, a far western suburb of Chicago, about 38 miles west of the center of the city. Its many amenities include four restaurants, pools, spa, fitness center, hot tub, 18-hole golf course, and, most importantly, ample parking to show off our Corvairs. Local restaurants are just a short drive away. A large shopping center is located just to the northwest of the resort with many fast-food outlets as well as a Target with a grocery store and a CVS drug store. Nearby Geneva has a historic district with many specialty and antique shops.

Pheasant Run Resort is filling up fast, so make your reservation today!

Directions to Pheasant Run

Pheasant Run is at 4051 E Main Street, St. Charles, Illinois. Main Street is Illinois Route 64. To the east of St. Charles, IL-64 is known as North Avenue.

If coming in from the north on the I-90 tollway, get off at Illinois Route 25 southbound. Follow Route 25 to Illinois Route 64. Turn right to go east on Route 64. Arrive at Pheasant Run on the south side of the street.

If coming in from the east on the Indiana toll road, I-80/I-90, follow I-80 all the way to the I-355 tollway. I-94 will merge in and split off. I-90 will split off to go north on the Illinois Skyway. I-94 will split off to be the Borman Expressway. Stay on I-80. At I-355, go north. Follow I-355 to North Avenue, Illinois Route 64. Go west about 18 minutes to Pheasant Run on the south side of the street.

While on west bound I-80 near the Illinois/Indiana border, note that some electronic navigation systems will ask you to leave I-80 and go north to I-90, the Indiana Tollway. Don’t. That route will take you through downtown Chicago on some of the most congested expressways in the Chicagoland area. Stay on I-80 to I-355 and save yourself a lot of time and aggravation.

If coming into Illinois from the west on I-80, go north on I-355 to North Avenue, IL-64, then west to Pheasant Run.

There a number of tollways in the Chicagoland area. Electronic tolls are taken with I-Pass transponders. If you are coming from one of the states with E-ZPass, those transponders will work in Illinois. If you don’t have a transponder, you will have to stop at toll booths and pay the tolls.

Reservations

Reserve your room online to receive our special group rate. To reserve a pet-friendly room, please call Pheasant Run Resort directly at (630) 584-6300.

A large and enthusiastic turnout is expected, and Pheasant Run Resort is filling up fast! If you are unable to make a reservation at Pheasant Run Resort or if you prefer to stay elsewhere, please refer to the section on alternate hotels.

Campers, trailers, RVs, motorhomes, etc.

There will be a separate parking area at Pheasant Run Resort for campers, motorhomes, etc. However, it is not permitted to live in your "home on wheels" on the Pheasant Run Resort property. For those who are attending the convention and wish to camp, arrangements have been made in nearby Elgin, Illinois, at the Paul Wolff Campground in Burnidge Forest Preserve. The park is a Kane County forest preserve located about 5 minutes off I-90 at exit 52 (Randall Road). It is under 30 minutes away from the Pheasant Run and offers nice clean sites each with water and electric for only $35.00/night. Reservations are not normally accepted, but special arrangements have been made with Chicagoland Corvair Enthusiasts to reserve a limited number of sites for the week of the event. For details or questions, send inquiries to jlnovak78@comcast.net or call Jim & Lelia Novak at 815.494.1096. Reservations must be secured with the Novaks (not the park) no later than July 3rd.

Activities

  • Download the complete activity schedule here. A few highlights are listed below.
  • Tuesday, July 23
    • Registration and Concours Classification. Registration opens on the first day of the convention, with classification for the Concours being held.
    • Car On Trial. The Corvair Preservation Foundation will present a showing of Car On Trial, an internal GM film presentation that was produced in the late 1960s, designed to educate lawyers in how to handle lawsuits relating to alleged design flaws concerning the Corvair automobiles.
  • Wednesday, July 24
    • Concours d’Elegance. The Concours d’Elegance will be held on the grounds of the Pheasant Run Resort. It will not be necessary to leave the property to participate in or view the event.
    • Chicago Architecture Boat Tour. The architecture in the City of Chicago is spectacular! What better way to see and learn about some of our most famous landmarks! Join us for a cruise on Chicago’s First Lady Boat for the Chicago Architecture Center River Cruise. This tour is a must for out-of-towners and Chicagoans alike. Certified volunteer docents will interpret more than 50 buildings along the Chicago River. In a very informative 90 minutes, you’ll get the real story on Chicago architecture and its history. Chicago-style pizza from Gino’s East Pizzeria will be served for lunch.
  • Thursday, July 25
    • Economy Run and Road Rally. The Economy Run and Road Rally will be held on the same day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. They will start on or near Pheasant Run and will travel over roads around the St. Charles/Geneva/Fox River area. The courses will be different.
    • Book Discussion. Click here for details..
  • Friday, July 26
    • Autocross. The Autocross will be held in a large parking lot on the grounds of Pheasant Run. The parking lot is a short walk from the hotel buildings. The lot is completely open with no curbs, parking bumpers or light poles. The pits and marshalling area is another smaller parking lot just north of the main Autocross course parking lot.
    • Local shopping day. A chartered bus will take you on a short but scenic drive to Geneva, Illinois, just across the Fox River. Downtown Geneva’s environment is that of charm and character, featuring locally owned and operated shops and restaurants. Foremost among these is The Little Traveler, a Geneva landmark. This Victorian home boasts thirty-six rooms of treasures as well as a café where you can enjoy a light lunch. At 2:30 p.m., we will meet at The Little Traveler to board the chartered bus and return to Pheasant Run Resort.
    • Awards Banquet. Dinner will be served. Scoring for the competitive events will be announced, and trophies for these events will be presented.
  • Saturday, July 27
    • Car Display. The Car Display will be held on the grounds of Pheasant Run, most likely on the same venue as the Concours.

Book Discussion

For those who are literary minded, at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 25, CCE member Donna Naymola is hosting a book discussion on the book LifeMobile by Jonathan Rintels. An invitation has been extended to Jonathan and he said he would be “honored” and will be attending the Convention. Donna has been a CCE member for 17 years and has worked at a library for 19 years.

LifeMobile is a story about a father and a son and how a Corvair came to help form a better bond between the two of them. The son has Asperger’s Syndrome (a form of high functioning autism) and comes to realize his father’s Corvair is a little different kind of a car, in a way that he, with Asperger’s, is a little different kind of a person. They work together to restore the Corvair and in the process, strengthen their father/son relationship.

This event is not on the main convention registration form. Cost for this event is $5. For information on how to obtain an autographed copy of Jonathan Rintels’ book and to register for this event, download the registration form here.

Club Banners

Club banners will be hung in the Mega Center on tack strips above the tops of the doors. Banners are to be dropped off at the convention Registration area. The banners will be hung by Pheasant Run staff. They will only hang banners approved by convention Registration.

The banners will be taken down during the banquet (which is not held in the Mega Center exposition hall) and will be available for chapter representatives to pick up at or near the counter in the hallway outside the Banquet Room (east end, near the washrooms).

Banners not picked up by the end of the convention will be shipped back to the respective chapters for the cost of packaging material and shipping (USPS, UPS or FedEx).

Other Events

  • Other events, not yet firmly scheduled, will be a Welcome Party, Valve Cover Races, Model Car Concours, CORSA Annual meeting, Indoor Vendors, Outdoor Swap Meet, Tech Sessions and a variety of Tours. There will also be meetings for various special interest groups within CORSA.
  • Convention participants can register to compete for the Edward N. Cole Award. Ed Cole was considered the Father of the Corvair. The Ed Cole Award is presented to the convention registrant who cumulatively collects the most points in the competitive events of the Concours, Economy Run, Road Rally and Autocross.

For More Information

Please note...

  • Registrants for competition events must be CORSA members.
  • The convention is planning some child-oriented events (more information to come).



We're looking forward to hosting all of you at Pheasant Run Resort in July!