I need some help guys. Our car club is putting on a show in the fall and I was wondering if you guys had any cool ideas for events at the show. We will have some bands and food, but what really sticks out in your mind about a show? Anything will help.
At the 'Beaches' show here in Portland (every Wed nite, all summer) they have a 1/2 and 1/2 raffle. One half of the raffle ticket sales are given to the winner. Last week it was $255
Drag races!.....Hook a chain to an engine block and have a marked distance for dragging. You can go for time or head to head. Singles , team , powderpuff.....fun to watch!
You need to buddy-up with some lifestyle supply stores in your area. Offer them free space in return for kick-ass prices for the event. Things like: 1. Cigar store. Gimme a killer stogie at any guy event. Yum. 2. Any place that sells cool small grilling stuff. Think as in "what would fit in a cool old car like ours- and not get it messy?" 3. Junkyards. Have an Ugly Betty raffle for some rebuildable survivor. Money goes to charity. Junkyard writes it off. Winner gets cool potential. 4. Pinup Pic-Ops. Whether it's a local/semi-local cheering squad, dance troupe, heck- strippers if they're not hideous- have them dress in 40's - 70's clothes (pick an era/decade for each girl), and have them make $ taking posed pics with people's cars. They could also be prize presenters, etc. It's about atmosphere. Uh...chicks...and atmosphere. 5. Local video store that's not some ridiculous chain: Could they order/sell classic hot rod/road/car movies? From Gone in 60 Seconds (original and new) to Deathrace to Mad Max to American Graffitti. If it's about cars, maybe this place could source'm. 6. Invite the local TV folks for a "ride along". From a total cherry original, to a wicked custom- let them share this awesome experience with the audience. And let the folks bringing their cars to the show "show off." What fun. Just know that a TV camera is bulky and my bump your headliner. 7. The ever-present (and useful!) Swap-N-Shop. Got extra parts? Sell'em here. Need extra parts? Find'em here. Set up a tent, let first come first sell, and move on. 8. Best classic pic contest. Pay some homage to the car folks in our past. Your dad, granddad (grandmom too?), etc. Ge the pics emailed to you or have the pic owner bring an 8x10. Set'em up as an "art show". Let people vote on'em by donating 25 cents per vote. Money can go to charity, or can go to the 3 winners as grand prize, whatever. Usually charity gets more voting going. Then have an award for 1st, 2nd, 3rd. Could be having the pic blown up and framed, could be a gift card to YOUR STORE HERE, etc. If it goes to charity, and your group is a non-profit, you might be able to get stores to donate. It helps if it's non-profit, so they can deduct. Just some ideas off the top of my head. See, it's not just about talking cars. It's about having fun- with the car as the theme, but the fun as the cause. Shopping for fun/cool stuff that's related to the LIFESTYLE if not the car itself is a good time. Allow the sellers free/cheap access to a focused group of buyers, and the people who come to this walk away with more than pics of beautiful cars. They walk away with cool things found, fun that goes beyond a day with fellow gearheads. My 2 cents, worth only .7 cents on the current market (damned economy).
Timed engine teardown and rebuild contest. Relay teams. Get two (or three or four, depending uponm how many teams you will have) identically prepared short blocks. Half of each team tears down and the other half puts it together. Quickest team wins, but judges tear down winning block to see if it was properly built. If not, next quickest team wins (if their block passes inspection). You have to provide specs before they start for what is considered proper (i.e. rings, proper gasketing, bolt torque specs, etc.) Each team brings their own tools. You can limit the tools they can have or say tool selection is unlimited; depends what you want. Keep it fairly simple so it doesn't take all day. First rule - No whining. Second rule - No cheating. Third rule - Judges decision is final. Fourth rule- See First Rule.
Our carclub was low on treasury funds so we hosted a "Beans & Wienies" show. We contacted Oscar Mayer, and got a couple of hundred "wienie whistles" to give out, instead of dash plaques. We served up baked beans, wieners, and potato salad. We all pitched in and re-finished an old gas pump as a raffle prize. We sold tickets for it to re-imburse out of pocket expenses. We had a peg board with bizarre tools and parts, and had a contest to see if anyone could guess them all correctly. We had a fan belt toss contest. We had a contest where you drop a pushrod into a small hole. If you keep folks busy, I guarantee you they will enjoy themselves. Think of it as a picnic with friends who enjoy old cars, not as another dull carshow...
Lots of pick awards. Not judged awards. Hottest engine, Koolest kustom, Ladies choice, people's choice, Rattiest rat, You get the idea. Make it fun. Give the little guy a chance to win. Give lots of people a chance to win something. Guarantee they will come back next year.
Friends of mine put on car show and it was at a I HOP resturant, I sugested we have a tribute to the car hops, we put out a notice for all that was car hops, I knew a few ladies that was still in the area, I made up plaques for the car hops, we had a raffle to see who would present one award to one car hop until all got a award. It was a big hit with the guys an the ladies.
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