Event Coverage Camping at symco shakedown will not happen please read this.

As some of you have heard, Saturday night during the 2014 show, we had some drunk losers steal and damage one of our rented golf carts and drove it through the corn field to the west of the overflow camping area.

This damage has caused a significant amount of stress on the show. The property owners are upset, the Union Threshermen are upset, it has effected our show insurance not to mention the damage costs came OUT OF MY POCKET!!! There was even talk between Symco Shakedown and the UTC about not having a 2015 show because of the risk of drunken antics. Symco Shakedown makes $0 of the alcohol and beverage sales but I had to cover damages from drunken fools.

We thought we had found the culprit, but it turned out that the guy had an incident with a different golf cart at a different location on the same day. We had three different groups turn in this guy, but he was absolutely not at Symco that day and did not do it. I am sorry to this person for the trouble, more sorry that some of your friends were the ones that turned you in.

We are unsure where they got our cart, but we do think they had it to the bars downtown Saturday night before midnight. They must have been messing with it, because it had two flat rear tires. They were driving on the flat tires. They drove it through the show grounds and out to the parking lot or overflow camping area around midnight or slightly after that. It ended up in the corn field to the west of the overflow camping area. We had hundreds of people camping in overflow, someone had to have seen these two guys driving a golf cart with flat tires. Especially since it wasn't that late and there were still hundreds of people awake through the facility.

We think there may have been two vehicles involved based on how far the cart was into the cornfield. We think it may have been pushed. There were two guys involved for sure. One of them pooped near the golf cart in the field and wiped with their underwear, which was left near the cart. Very classy....NOT!

UNTIL THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE COME CLEAN AND COVER THE DAMAGES, WE WILL NOT HAVE GENERAL CAMPING AT THE 2015 SYMCO SHAKEDOWN! We will only have vintage camping by the river and our friends with show vehicles will be able to register for camping. I am sure this was done by someone new to our venue and not our show participants who have respected Unionville for the last 6 years. I am disappointed and hurt that we have to deal with things like this.

I find it hard to believe that someone didn't see these people do this damage or know who did. TURN THEM IN!!! The culprits have one opportunity to make this right without police involvement. They will immediately pay for 100% of the damages caused...which I will remind you again, came out of my pocket! It isn't an unreasonable amount that the average person can't afford to cover it. They will write apology letters to the Symco UTC, the farmer who has his corn damaged and the local golf course that we rented the carts from. They do this and I will not release their name to the public and will not get the police involved. They do this and I will open camping registration. They make it right and all is forgiven.

If I do not find out who did this, I will be raising general spectator admission SIGNIFICANTLY for 2015 to cover our increased risk and costs due to loss going forward. Most importantly, camping will be restricted to vintage campers and show vehicle participants ONLY from this date forth.

My personal cell phone number is Make this right! There are 4300 people who like this page and 10,000+ people at last year's event. Someone knows something and I expect to have this resolved within a few days. If not, anyone not directly involved in the production of this show or as an active participant with a show car, vendor or vintage camper will pay for the action of a few bad apples.


Allen Flattandscruggs1 this was posted tonight on facebook.

 

So you are going to punish 9,998 participants because of two idiots?

While unfortunate it's part of the risk you undertake by putting on something like this IMO. I understand being upset but IMO you would get more help without the threats to those who had absolutely nothing to do with this.

 

I agree. That threat publicly will cost you WAY more than the two drunks ever came close to.

 

it will be only 9997 people. i leave when the sun goes down. there are so many drunks staggering around i figure some thing bad is going to happen. I'm all for a good time but the night life at this show is out of hand. and gets worse every passing year. with the amount of overly intoxicated people its only a matter of time for a disaster to take place. the potential for a accident of some kind is huge. the price of some corn and a golf cart will be cheap when some thing does happen. someone will be held liable. its too bad a few have to ruin a part of the best show out there. this show started out fun with real hot rodders. now its a fratt party with some hot rods. some with taped on hub caps. its too bad it has come to this. the venue is by far the best out there. the activities during the day are far above any show out there. its the night life that will bring this show down.

 

Your idea works in school...everybody stays until somebody tells.....bootcamp, everybody does pushups except for the guilty party....but in the rest of the world everyone will oooooh and aaaahh at your misfortune in public.....but they really don't care enough in the long run to help you. All you are doing is punishing the innocent and costing yourself revenue. Dealing with the Public sucks...maybe it's not for you???

 

Sounds like a place I'd like to avoid. How about NO alcohol...

 

What does this statement mean? Does it mean you make none of the alcohol sales? Or does it mean you sell alcohol but make no profit off the sales?

If you're saying you sell it at zero profit then it could be that you're creating your own problems by selling it cheap. If, as racer-x says, you've got drunks stumbling around all over the place after dark, then you've got far more serious problems than golf carts and cornfields.

 

Good luck,to penalize all the folks that attend your event because of a few bad apples may seem like the right thing to do but IMHO you will start loosing participants. HRP

 

this was posted on facebook by the promoter i have nothing to do with it

 

Thanks for the clarification. Point remains.

 

the threshare folks handle the beer and concessions. they get the profit not the show promoter. cutting off beer sales at a certain time might help a little but won't stop the campers that brought their own.

 

I agree and make the beer prices a little higher. Don't get me wrong I do enjoy a few cold beers but it would deter some of the riff raff I think.

 

I attended a show in north Georgia several years ago. A person [I do not know if he was drinking but a lot of people were} was doing do nuts and a rock broke a side window in my 48 chevy. So now when the drinking starts I leave.

 

I went to the Symco Shakedown last year as a spectator on Friday, (It was my brother Scott's goal to take his 55' Gasser their) and I wanted to check it out. I enjoyed myself checking out the cars, Unionville town & swap area! Really a cool setup!
I hope the culprits do the right thing & make things right!
But I think Racer-x nailed it! Sounds like the Shakedown is at a crossroads! The 2 clowns that wrecked a golf cart & some corn will be minor when the real disaster takes place! God Forbid...!
But it seems Alcohol is the real root problem, like Racer-x says it's turned into a frat party! What I'm wondering is if the 2 clowns had NOT wrecked a golf cart & corn & that never happened. Would the people the put on the Event think all is fine?!? And do they or would they of realized there is a over serving of alcohol? Will the people that serve the Beer concede on limiting hours Saloon is open & making less money? Lots of questions & what's the right answer?!? Maybe the Shakedown should post up a questionnaire people could print off & mail in with observances, thoughts & ideas?!? Or post Questionnaire on Facebook or HAMB? Will they be willing to hear feedback??? It will be sad that something that started out as a real cool idea ruined by alcohol!
Jim...

 

A suggestion, raise $$ admission to cover cost of security and better insurance, hire a security force, make some rules, enforce them, last year was my first time there, enjoyed it, Saturday, noticed plenty of drunken people by 3 pm, pick up trucks in vintage camping w/ enough booze in box to supply entire park w/ a shot and commented to friend, Bet this place gets nuts after dark. Drinking/ fun is great, BUT, there is and always was, a small percentage of people, that booze goes in, inner Ass and Stupid comes out. Sadley it came to this, but if you put this show on and in fact got stuck for damages, you should make some changes and somebody walks away w/ a huge pile of $$$ from this event, no way in hell it's a non profit event. Just an old timers thoughts

 

Do you really think a couple of drunken assholes are gonna give a shit about coming back? Keep them out and move on.

 

i attend shows all over the country and unfortunately this type of behavior is not limited to the shake down. the hot rod reunion gets down right crazy in the camp grounds. its out of control. the other year a guy drove a willys gasser right into a trailer with major damage to both. they had to flat bed the trailer out of there. this being a hot rod forum and most here attend the shows that cater to our kind of cars featured here maybe the time is right to discuss just what is happening to our hobby. some here complain about younger people not being interested in our kind of cars. as a parent would you bring your young kids to events with people exibiting poor behavior and judgement. is this kind of behavior a good example for our kids getting drunk and stupid? how many of these attendees got into their old car with old brakes and old suspension and drove home drunk? i hope those thresharee folks have good insurance after someone is over served. how do you bring your ride to a show with a history of lawlessness. a great example is what happens at the hot rod reunion hotel parking lot every night. like it or not the shows are a part of what us hot rodders do. the behavior exhibited at the shows is a reflection on us all. i think some out there need to clean up there act so the rest can feel safe and comfortable attending the shows. turning a blind eye to this very serious issue or banning it to a face book page does no body any good and does nothing to begin to solve the problems that effect us all.

 

As a 1% patch holder, alcohol/gasoline is not a new concept. I have ridden and shown my Knucklehead to/at the Shakedown several times. It is by far the very most cool period event I have attended. Having a few beers , listening to uber-cool rock-a-billy and checking out all the Rods in such a picturesque venue is true Hot Rod Heaven. I'm hoping to show my AV8 Tudor this year. Please don't spoil it with STUPID. I say cut the alcohol sales completely. If that is the price we need to pay for this event , so be it !

 

knucklenutz i agree. i have many miles under the tires of my knuck; chief and flatties. a few beers and some good tunes are part of our fabric. there does become a point were things go too far.

 

Actually, let the promotor make the public statements and don't jump to conclusions or spread rumors on what is the situation. Anyone has any specific comments or questions, you can ask me directly.

This show is absolutely NOT "out of hand" that someone stated above. We have a good grasp on it and what we need to do to keep it under control for years to come. The majority of the "drunks" are the same "drunks" who have been coming for the past 6 years and we are really a big happy family. With over 500 camping/vending sites, you can't expect to have a completely sober crowd. Drinking is not the problem, bad people is. We watch over each other and respect each other's stuff...for the most part. In 6 years, we have had just a few minor incidents, non of which have caused physical harm to anyone. MUCH less than any other event of this size. I question why it is wrong to ask my peers for help instead of just hiring a huge security team and making all kinds of strict rules....which will absolutely hurt the feel of the show.

I am not penalizing the people who have made the show what it is. The persons who did this surely are not a members on here. I am sure they do not have a hot rod or custom and is not one of the thousands of people who have made the show what it is. They were more than likely new to the event. The either camped in our overflow or were locals that came just for the day. It was not a person who brought a show car, was not a vendor and was not anyone in our vintage camping area.

If you read my statement, you will see that I am not cutting out all camping. I am certainly going to limit it for new participants going forward, unless someone comes forward. We are growing to the point I should probably start thinking about doing that anyway due to space. The "in crowd" who has been coming to the show for the last 6 years is a great group. They are not the problem. The problem is in people outside the hot rod community that do not respect what we have. The members here on the HAMB that have been coming to the show for the last 6 years will get the same treatment they always have by Symco Shakedown. Vintage campers pulled by show cars still get camping down by the river. My swap meet and commercial vendors get the same treatment. Anyone bringing a show vehicle still gets the same benefits. The people who preregister and have been supporting what we are doing for years still get the same deal. All issues we have had from the show growth have been from new participants, not the core group who has been supportive and awesome from day 1. Really, this will effect non-hot rod people, so it should be a non-issue for "participants" of the show, just new spectators. Also, ONLY if this is not resolved. Once it is made right, all is back to normal.

...BUT, if this is not resolved and I can't trust that we can police ourselves, I will be forced to pick up additional insurance, raise the amount of security we have and some other expenses. This will mean I will be raising Sat general admission rates to cover my liability and costs. If people want to come for Sat only, get drunk and cause problems, they can pay for the additional damage that is caused by that. Raising rates, day of show, will absolutely curb those who just want to come for cheap drunk and fight.

This is not a major problem we have. Overall, we have a very safe and friendly show. It is however something I do not tolerate and do not want. If anyone thinks I should just overlook it and move on, sorry, I will not.

We do not have a drunk driving problem, which I am very thankful for. Camping on site helps that.

I am easy to get a hold of. Anyone has any info, questions or concerns, contact me directly. I have heard lots of stupid rumors over the years about this show, most of which are a simple email, PM or phone call away from being put to rest.

 

Since it was me that was quoted, two things. First, I stand behind what I said, dont bite the hand that feeds you

Second, the OP copy/pasted it from the promoters facebook page, did he not? If he did, than I would say it did come directly from the horses mouth. If not, whos page did it come from???

https://www.facebook.com/SSHotRods/posts/778048772279332

 

Sounds like you already know who the drunks are and they perhaps are the ones causing trouble. If you know who they are then why have you condoned their actions and allowed their participation in the venue for the past 6 years? Shut them out plain and simple. Do not let them past the gate. If you do allow them on the property and they get rowdy or ugly have them removed before poop happens like its been explained.

 

If it wasn't for alcohol, many would not have old cars.

 

That is a problem with any show that allows camping and alcohol. I see that it says show participants are still allowed to camp. I don't see any problem with this. JalopyFest had posted last year that if there was any problems they wouldn't have camping this year. It sucks for people that like camping, but when its you having to deal with problems and you paying for damage, especially if its for charity, it's an easy decision to eliminate the problem.

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

If it wasn't for alcohol, many would not have old cars.

Please explain the logic of the statement?

 

We have attended this great show for a few years, but '14 was the first time camping. We got a spot that was as secluded as could be had in the field that is reserved for camping. Two sides had no chance of other tents or campers. But, we had some clowns set up their site close to ours. My best guess is that they had no car in the show. Seemed their main goal was to drink & party ALL NIGHT. Sleep was in short supply in our tent. Our truck & and trailer were also between our sites, but the volume of their music, voices, laughter, & shouting was too loud for us to get much sleep. I'm sure that after we were up & getting back to the show early, they had plenty of "quiet time" sleeping off the previous night's activities. They seemed to be at their site, every time we had wandered back to ours, so I'm not sure how much time they actually spent at the show. However, the young people who were walking by & offered to get high with us were nice enough. But, they had a hard time accepting our decline of their offer.

 

Coming from someone who likes a cold beer maybe its time to quit selling beer and only allow participants to camp so you will know who will have done the damage if it happens,the older I get the more I dislike sloppy drunks.

 

time to ban the golf carts