International Jaguar Festival

Santa Barbara, California • November 1-4, 2018

The Jaguar Clubs of North America (JCNA) had selected the Jaguar Owners Club, Inc. Los Angeles to host the 2018 JCNA International Jaguar Festival. The International Jaguar Festival (IJF) is a festival of events that took place over five days and stretched from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara and beyond. The host hotel was the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort, formerly known as the Fess Parker Inn. The only thing between the resort and the Pacific Ocean was a stretch of sand, a road, and a grassy area they call “The Green”. Santa Barbara has been known as the Riviera of the Western United States, with its Mediterranean climate, pristine beaches, outstanding eateries, high fashion shopping, historic districts, and panoramic views.

Members of Jaguar clubs from across the United States attended. Registration was set up as a menu format where you could pick and choose to attend only the events you wanted. The festival was hosted by the Jaguar Owners Club of Los Angeles with significant help from the San Diego Jaguar Club. A committee was formed about two years ago, and while many people helped by working the different events, there were just a handful of people who actually planned and ran the events. Mark Mayuga was the IJF Chairman and overall planner. Mark was the guy who made this festival happen. The only two JCNA requirements for an IJF was it must have a slalom and it must have a Concours d’Elegance. Everything else could be do-as-you-please.

The event included a national competition in Concours d’Elegance- Champion and Driven Divisions, JCNA Slalom, and JCNA Rally. Also, there were displays of current and new Jaguar Land Rover products, Ride and Drive campaign, scenic tours of the Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and Santa Ynez Wine Country. A Special Dinner at the Petersen Automotive Museum, where “The Vault Tour” kicked off the IJF Event.

I.J.F. SLALOM RACING

Friday November 2, 2018:
JCNA SLALOM at the Solvang Airport

The JCNA Slalom offers challenges for the novice and expert alike; the only thing holding you back was your left foot saying NO and your right foot saying, “get out of the way!” The JCNA Slalom course was a modified figure eight layout, low speed event which tests your ability to keep going without spinning out and, more importantly, remembering the course layout; that’s the real challenge. There was a driver’s school and practice runs before times would count.

Friday November 2, 2018:
JCNA Concours for Champion and Driven Divisions

This event was held at the Hilton Santa Barbara "The Greens" facing the ocean. Presenting Sponsors- CLASSIC SHOWCASE- Champion Div., MOSS MOTORS Ltd.- Driven Div. The Concours portion of the International Jaguar Festival (IJF) was held Friday, November 1 “On the
Green”, a tree-lined grass area between the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort and the beach itself. As Concours chairman I planned and executed the event, not alone, but with lots of help. While the
festival itself was put on by the Los Angeles club, the Concours, which is the foundation of an IJF, was put on by the San Diego club. There were over 80 Jaguars entered in the show.

DEVELOPER

RANGE ROVERS invited to the Concours:

JUDGING AT THE I.J.F.

Of the 29 judges, 11 were from San Diego. Dave Allen, Dick Cavicke, Brian Ellis, Lisa Ellis, Tom Krefetz, Will Nighswonger, Paul Novak, Dave Putnam, Pete Rieth, Nedra Rummell, and Al Steele. Dick Cavicke and Dave Putnam took the train up Thursday just for the Concours events and then took the train back to San Diego Saturday morning. Talk about dedication. Judging finished a little before 3 p.m. With the help of hotel staff, everyone drove from the grounds without incident and were on their own until the awards banquet that evening.

San Diego Jaguar Club Member's Scores in Judged Divisions:

C-1 Tom & Debby Krefetz: 1939 SS 100 99.21 1st
C-5 Craig Wright & Mary Ann Ward: 1965 E-Type 99.95 3rd
C-9 Paul & Debby Novak: 1990 XJ12 99.62 2nd
C-11 Brian & Lisa Ellis: 1999 XJ8 100.0 1st
C-15 Mark & Diana Hodges: 2014 XKR 99.98 1st
D-5 Allen & Olga Quale: 1961 Mark 2 9.890 2nd
D-10 Will & Maritza Nighswonger: 2000 XKR 9.940 2nd
S-2 Tom Krefetz & Debby: 1963 XKE 9.995 2nd

Friday November 2, 2018:
The Awards Banquet

The Concours Awards Banquet was more than just a dinner. It was an event in and of itself. The emcee for the evening was Mark Mayuga, our host and IJF Chairman. Throughout the evening, Charles Anton, from JOCLA, put on a slide show of all the pictures taken during the events. Pretty much everyone from San Diego attended, whether they participated in the Concours or not: The evening began with a cocktail hour; then dinner, which included a chilled seafood bar, a chef carving station – NY steak, plank roasted salmon, greens, vegetables, sides, and desserts. After dinner, we had a panel discussion with VIP sponsors and Jaguar experts, including our own Tom Krefetz. The evening finished up with the Concours Awards. Your emcees for the awards portion were Chief Judge Charlie Hallums and Mark Hodges. Charlie called out the winners and the scores and Mark handed out the trophies. The trophies were special International Jaguar Festival platters with inserts for winner placement plates.

DEVELOPER

FIRST PLACE WINNERS:

Bud Marston

1961 E-type: First Place

Bill Lange

1954 XK-120: First Place

Steve Kirby

Mark 10: First Place

Paul Novak

1990 XJ12 Sedan: First Place

Deanie Kennedy

F-Type: First Place

Robert Goldman (left)
Brian Ellis (right)

XKJ6 Vanden Plas:

Saturday, November 3, 2018:
Luncheon and Rally awards: RIDEAU VINEYARD, Solvang, CA

A California gourmet food truck served a Santa Maria Style BBQ Picnic. The Santa Maria Style Tri-tip BBQ Sandwich was slow cooked, seasoned with hickory and mesquite woods, fresh vegetable salad locally grown. There were a host of other delicious items such as a Tri-tip and Linguisa sandwich tri-tip and shrimp sandwich, Shrimp Po’ Boy sandwich, Chicken Bacon Chipotle sandwich, Chicken Pesto sandwich, and a few Specials of the Day. All items included spring mix side salad and chips. We topped off this tasty lunch with local wines from the area and relaxed under 100-year-old oak trees for shade and enjoyed the sprawling green garden.