Text & photos by Dave Pratt

'Twas another monster bash! The annual AONE Winter Potluck Dinner Party took place on February 13th, and a fine time it was. The temperature was hovering around 0 (no, not centigrade), but did that stop us? Hardly! Take a look for yourself:

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Well, okay. Those weren't really photos from this year's Pot Luck — they were taken at previous parties. In fact, some of them go back a dozen years! Truth is, the arctic blast did take its toll, as our Pot Luck assemblage this year totaled a mere 13 people. (13 on the 13th — is anyone superstitious?)

But the Faithful had a great time nonetheless! The food was terrific and plentiful; there just wasn't as much variety as there usually is. We gathered around two of the big tables and enjoyed the fine dishes and each other's company. "Intimate" was the key work for the evening.

After dinner, Tom Lesko showed some images and video clips from his recent trip to the Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese. Dan & Deb Donovan had visited last year as well, and they contributed to the descriptions. It's really a stunning experience, from many different perspectives. Anyone for organizing a club field trip to Arese sometime? Thanks, Tom, for putting this together for us!

Then it was time for the door prizes. There were obviously more than enough to go around, and the Board of Directors voted to send everybody through twice! (The remainder will be used for next year's Pot Luck.) There were everything from Alfa Romeo wallets to tools to T-shirts to shift knobs to patches/pens/key fobs to oil filters and shop rags. Kathi Lesko donated some of her beautiful ceramic art — thanks, Kathi! Special thanks go out to two Alfa parts and accessories suppliers for their kind donations: Centerline International contributed a box of door prizes and two $25 gift cards, and Jon Norman's Alfa Parts contributed some great stuff as well. Please show them your appreciation by patronizing their businesses! Other door prizes were either donated by club members or purchased by the club.

After the door prize feeding frenzy, people hung around for a spell before we called it a night, packed up our projector and supplies and prizes, and took out the trash. Thanks go to Tom Lesko, who made all the arrangements (even though he left the plates and utensils home again)! It's nice to know that our club has a wonderful time whether there are many or few of us!

See the original event announcement