By Ben Olson
Reader Staff
Bigger isn’t always better, but what about a whole heck of a lot of a small thing?
Fair warning to Sandpoint residents and business owners: Friday, July 19 will see upwards of 1,000 MINI vehicles descend on Sandpoint as a cross-country road rally passes through town around lunchtime.
The 2024 MINI Takes the States rally kicks off in New Mexico. Photo courtesy MINI.
The biennial MINI Takes the States is an 11-day road rally that starts in Albuquerque, N.M. and ends in Seattle. It’s the ninth time this unique rally for MINI owners has taken place, and up to 1,000 vehicles and 1,400 participants are expected to make an informal pit stop in Sandpoint en route from Missoula to Spokane.
“Our participants are encouraged to stretch their legs in Sandpoint before continuing into Spokane,” said Experiential Director Jamey Burrell. “[In Sandpoint] they’ll grab a slice of pizza, an ice cream cone, coffee or simply stroll through the downtown area.”
The rally will leave Missoula on the morning of July 19 and is expected to reach Sandpoint around lunchtime before continuing onto Spokane for the evening.
“There isn’t a designated stop point in Sandpoint, but I have reason to believe a lot of our owners will stop on their own in Sandpoint,” said Rob Duda, spokesperson for MINI. “They’ve probably done their research and realized Sandpoint is a cool town to stop, grab some groceries, check out the local restaurants and bars, antique shops and gas up before heading out.”
The MINI rally is a highly organized event with participants researching parking areas ahead of time, but maybe this would be a good day to leave your vehicle at home and walk to work if you can.
“While many events surely take place in the Sandpoint area throughout the year, and we’d likely be far from the biggest, we certainly didn’t want ours to catch any businesses off guard or unprepared,” Burrell said.
Translation for business owners: It might be good to keep an extra person on staff around lunchtime on July 19 when the “minvasion” hits.
Duda said while MINI Cooper is the most well known model of the wee cars, there are actually a half dozen different models spectators can see in the rally, including some really small pre-2000 models that were imported from overseas.
“We’ve been doing this every other summer since 2006,” Duda told the Reader. “We take a different route each time. It’s a great way for us to get all of our owners together and rally for a cause.”
The designated charities for the 2024 rally are Keep America Beautiful and the American Camp Association.
For more information about the MINI Takes the States rally, visit minitakesthestates.com.
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