Event Coverage LA Roadsters Fathers Day Show

I agree Groucho but who knows if there are any binding contracts with fairplex, if there is, the only way out is to get rid of the shiny paint rule so the car show can grow.
Another option is to move the show to the Orange county fairgrounds, and maybe have a roadster cruize. Let's face it, except for the museum, Pomona dos' ent offer much and it's a hot shit hole in June.
Another option is move it to the Delmar fairgrounds in San Diego or Ventura. At least the weather is cool because they are by the beach.

 

Gla

Glad to hear john is listening, in the end, we all want the show to be successful. Some of my friends from Hop Up magazine and the Road devils c.c. called john office. They tried to organize a area for the car clubs to park in the swappmeet, but nobody from John's office fit back.

 

I talked to my friend who has been a member of the Roadster club forever and used to be in charge of the vendor area. According to him the picture is not as bleak as all these negative comments make it out to be. There were more Vendors than last year, the swapmeet did OK and he said that more roadster owners showed up for the BBQ than there were roadsters in the show. Must have been the heat.
He thinks that John's company probably broke even and that next year will see changes for the better. About it being so spread out he said that the fairgrounds make them rent "zones" with "no go" areas in between. Currently there are 4 zones being rented.
The Vendor area looked emptier because there were now 4 rows of Vendors in the same space that occupied 3 rows last year. And the last tidbit of info the fairgrounds charges $1000 a day extra when the A/C is turned on in the building. Sounds like a bargain to me on a 100 degree day.

 

Yes! Del mar sounds interesting, cool ocean breezes!

 

The horse is dead. LARS is not going to move. There is nothing to bitch about anymore. Don't listen to the rumors and don't put them out.

Either go or don't go.

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I know it's the oldest. BUT, my reference to infancy/reborn, or whatever you wanna call it, was the huge move to Pomona. Sorry if I didn't have a more eloquent presentation. To thousands of guys like me that never went to it's other location it was a new deal. Thousands of us locals watched GNRS grow like a newer show. Maybe agree to stop the comparison already! LARS? Not so much since it's in the same location. We were there for all it's glory, and also for many years of a huge decline. My guess people are not going to be as patient/forgiving, or whatever the "correct" term is. My opinion is far too much of it has fallen way to far. Again, I hope I'm wrong. But, raising the free cars to a whopping $50 with no baby steps on the way from ZERO sure shows them off to a BAD start!! Maybe $50 isn't much, but I woulda snuck up on it in much lower increments, that's for sure. It'll be interesting at the least. My guess the masses have grown increasingly disenchanted on may levels and this last one possibly being the final straw. I mean what business plan raises prices across the board on an ailing event?

 

Sounds like most the woe' s are being caused by the fairplex.
Santa maria would be a good place too and would pull a lot of hot rods from the bay area and sacramento.
Let's face it, Pomona does'ent have much to offer, shity hot weather, smog, lots of trafic, the restaurants suck, nothing to do in town and lots of crime.
I spent the whole night baby sitting my car. The motel parking lot was crawling with drug dealers and there was even some hookers doing their John's in a mini van in the parking lot. Even the Sheraton, how roadsters have been stolen from there in the past.
But the main reason is that the venue shouldn't box you in or limit the layout of the show.

 

As an out of towner you could not know that there is a wholesome world just a few blocks north of the fairplex with all the restaurants you could want.

 

Lunch at La Paloma, ice cold Dos Equis.

 

Well this topic is getting very heated. I have to chime in on magoozi's post . First I agree with most of what he has stated but the one I don't agree on is the reason the show is so spread out. The Fairplex is the problem and the reason and Again I will mention what another member touched on. when Fairplex tore down the outside canopies a few years that were in front of the stadium "THEY" ruined the show!! It wasn't the LA Roadster club or John Buck. this happened a few years ago and FORCED 1/2 of the show to move way down to the big building 4 and the surrounding Area. This created the main problem with the whole show from that point on and that is the one complaint that most people have is that the whole show is to spread out. we have the swap meet and specialty cars on one end and main vendors and roadsters way down at the other end. All the vendors were in years past under the shady canopies and The entire gathering of roadsters were right next to the vendors. The swap meet and specialty cars were in the same place as they had been for decades and all sections were nice and close to together. I have never heard the reason why the Fairplex decided to tear down the canopies but it is my opinion that this decision is what really ruined the show. I am positive that the vendors love that big air-conditionined building four but no matter what anybody's opinion is the fact is the show is too damn spread out and nobody that I have talked to is happy with this. The good news is John is listening to the criticism and they are going to make the show work better next year ..What is going to change I'm not sure but he is very interested in making a better.


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How about moving the whole show to the drag stripp, it can't be more than renting the 4 areas. You could lay it out like hot rod reunion and have some hot rods drags. I am shure that more than one would want to participate and see what their car would do going down the track.
It would bring more spectators too, because they would have more to look at besides lawn chairs and dust mops.

 

Nice idea, but would add a huge expense. You would need inspectors, security team, track safety team and equipment, ambulance and EMT's. Used to really enjoy the Goodguys Nitro nationals events at Pomona, but costs killed it.

 

The other option is to move the swappmeet to the car show area, maybe in between the buildings or the big wooden agricultural building behind the suede palace and mexican village. It's pretty much to the fairplex guys to what you can do.

 

Where would you put the roadsters?

 

Where they are now around building 4, maybe do a display of historic roadsters in the area inbetween

 

And eat enough carne to last you for 2 todays worth of Pepto.

 

I am all for that.

 

I do remember a Mexican sea food restaurant near the Kennedy bros. Shop, I had the shrimp ranchero and it was pretty good. That's a lot coming from me for I live in Mexico and I am use to all the good seafood down there.

 

....A colleague of mine recently commented on some "inter-club" static taking place over the actions of one member who violated one of their member code of conduct/rules that created a "situation" by saying, "Common sense doesn't seem to be very Common anymore".....

It's been stated in the quote by Quicksilverart46, earlier by Magoozi and before that by myself on this thread that a large part of the cause of the decline of the annual Los Angeles Roadster show began once the show layout was changed, separating the exhibitors & Roadster display from the swap meet and specialty parking. Sure, there had been some adjustments to make this new format a bit more palatable for spectators and participants alike (tram transportation & allowing buyers to drive up to swap entrance to pick up parts w/golf carts to help them haul back to parking lot). And of course, the record 100-plus degree heat in 2016 was a factor, but that would've affected any show's attendance (like GoodGuys West Coast Nationals in Pleasanton, where when it gets hot, people head for the hotel swimming pools and come back in the early evening). But, IMHO as a 16 year swap meet participant, the foot traffic in the swap meet has NEVER been what is was since the layout change of the show back around 2013-2014.

As I've read over the last couple of weeks posts presented on this thread since my last comments, there was one post claiming that the Fairplex rents out the facility in "zones". Assuming this to be true, based on this year's (and last 2-3 years) layout, the area of the swap meet/specialty vehicle parking must constitute one "zone" (again, we don't know for sure it is a "zone", but nevertheless this could be considered a "block" of square footage on the L.A. County fairgrounds property). Well, prior to the change in layout in 2013 or 2014, the entire L. A. Roadsters Exhibition, Show & Swap was encompassed entirely in this single "zone", "block" or area of the fairground facility. Why can't this be the case again? Especially because history has shown those of us who've been a participant or spectator to this event for many year's that there is no comparison to which is the preferable event layout; It's the old layout that worked best for both spectator, participant and swapper alike, PERIOD!

As stated previously, the old show layout now encompasses the swap meet and the specialty parking, both of which were far from full capacity. For example, the north side of the swap meet was appx. at 80-85% capacity while the south side of the swap meet (where the trees and static locomotive display is located) was possibly at 20-25% capacity. As for specialty parking, I never really have left my swap space for 3 years since the show was segregated, but I was told it was at least less than half. This being the case, and taking into account the low turnout numbers for the Roadster parking and vendors (sorry, don't buy the increase of "inside" vendors in attendance. Colleagues of mine w/associates who were exhibitors said their cost had increased and the floor space was "back-filled" with L. A. Roadster members club cars.), it seems there is enough room in the current swap meet/specialty car parking "zone" from this year to accommodate the whole show the way it used to be.

Those who've attended this event for years will recall that in the past, the area that is the "swap meet" now accommodated the swap meet and specialty parking; Swap meet on the South side near the tree line (you know, the area that was always already "saved" before the swappers were let in on Friday and the L. A. Roadster club members never had a clue about how it happened or who it was...) and locomotive areas with the specialty vehicles parked on the North side (where there are only a handful of single trees). Likewise, the area that is now the "specialty parking" accommodated both the automotive parts, service & apparel exhibitors/vendors and the roadster vehicle display area. It worked just fine until someone thought that tearing out & removing the permanent "open air" canopies & overhead gondola posts used during the L. A. county fair constituted the change to the current event layout. The experiment is over and the conclusion is obvious to most of us: no matter how many trams or golf carts are provided it was & still is a bad setup for this event!

As enthusiast who have enjoyed this event (particularly in its previous layout), we don't know all the facts and figures, what's possible and what's not possible with regards to the management, administration and negotiations between the event owner/promoter and the facility management. But as enthusiast's we do know whether something has the "It" factor that keeps us coming back year after year and it appears this event has lost some if this attraction for many of us. The financial cost is one of the reasons for some (and calling out fellow enthusiasts as unappreciative spendthrifts unwilling to pay & support the event is presumptive and counter-productive to the conversation) not showing up this year, but the other reason others haven't been showing up (and arguably in an increasing number) in the last 3 years is the layout change. All of us who've attended in the past, whether they showed up this year or not, have a right to voice their opinions, concerns and comments based on their personal experiences, whether we agree with them or not. Some of us choose to be hyper-critical, choose the event promoter/club side or the participant/spectator side or to share constructive criticisms and candid observations based on many years of attendance (as I've strived to do here on this post). After all the dust settles, the facts will bear out and it is ultimately up to the "powers that be" to decide what to do about changing the course of this 50-plus year annual event. It's not just up to the enthusiast spectator/participant to "pony-up & support this deal"; the enthusiast event promoter/club organization who are in charge of this event need to do their part by listening and taking the points made here and elsewhere under advisement and after careful consideration make changes necessary to move forward to preserve this event and make it a success that can be fiscally self sustaining and enjoyable as it arguable once was for all. Besides, the fact remains without a swap meet, without bitchin' cars in the roadster and specialty parking (and the swap meet), what's there to offer spectators? A middle ground must be found between the logistics and cost of the event and the enthusiast participant/spectator needs & expectations for this event to survive. Starting from it's original premise of recognizing roadster owners & dad's on Father's Day, giving them a place to hang out and do their thing they love to do (drive their cars or spectate & check out others vehicles and maybe get some new ideas or new/old parts for their vehicle Dad's Day) might be a good place to focus.

So, how to do this? Well, for starters, I think it's been proven the current layout it a loser and the old layout worked fine, but it was allegedly changed (again, an assumption based on observation and opinion) because there was no longer any shade after the permanent canopies were removed, hence the reason for renting out the exhibition building on the other side of the fairgrounds from the swap meet. My experience has been (as a previous past exhibitor) that today many vendors/exhibitors bring their own canopies w/their company logos on them or if they have a display trailer, it usually has a built in canopy attached to it. No A/C? Somehow it was okay when the permanent canopies were present; People stayed hydrated or had cage fans in their spots, same as they do today at similar events I regularly attend (manufacturers midway at NHRA Hot Rod Reunion held every Oct.-Nov. since 1992 or the GoodGuys West Coast Nat.'s @ Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA every 3rd weekend in Aug. since 1987). What about the Fairplex & if they say "No" to a request for layout change back to how it was? Well, what other event is going to rent real estate at the fairgrounds on Father's Day weekend? With the potential spectators and participants this event can/has the ability to pull in, surely it would give them pause if the event promoter/club called their bluff, and if not, maybe it's time to move elsewhere (which has been done in the past). I'm sure another facility more reasonable and accommodating would be happy to host the annual event, and proving so to the Fairplex management could provide negotiating leverage. And, keeping OPEN & CANDID lines of communication between event participant/spectators and event promoters/club organization would bolster and maintain loyal and enthusiastic support no matter whether the event venue changes or stays at the current facility. Either way, a more efficient layout for possibly less cost (again, we can only assume here as enthusiast spectators/participants) would bode well for all enthusiasts, both the spectator/participant and event promoter/club whose event is arguably their namesake, spirit and possibly the main reason they are still relevant.

Lastly, admittedly this is all one enthusiast opinion, but it is well intended and presented in a constructively critical, positive format in the hope of making all of us pause and think a bit more about this event and what the possibilities are to change its' course away from the current direction it's moving in: a slow demise. But if the right changes are made, there's no reason it can't regroup and rebound to what it used to be! As Magoozi so aptly pointed out, it was a great social event, a fusion of old & young enthusiasts with newly built "finished" or "edgy" hot rods, customs, street rods & stockers, either closed or open car and everything inbetween. Friends congregated in the swap meet area and BBQ'd, drank brews & howled at the moon on Sat. evenings while others in the roadster area parked in the shade by the permanent bathrooms listening to the disc jockey announce donations by individuals to The City of Hope cancer medical hospital or hung out in the shade by the big yellow slide on the outside perimeter of the roadster parking area. People in the specialty parking area would park together & share a canopy and check out the other parts of the event & be able to come back to their "home base" because everything was so INCLUSIVE. I miss that personally; Every year I'd leave my swap space late Sat. afternoon and spend about 1-1/2 hour checking out the roadster and specialty parking, snapping images of stuff I liked, new vehicles (and some unusual) along with looking at the exhibitors wares, picking up a new Drake catalogue and waiting in line for a soft-serve chocolate ice cream cone (later on with my so in his '32 Ford roadster pedal car) before returning to my space to be entertained by Magoozi's colleagues having a blast across the aisle from me This is gone now because the new layout has created a logistical difficulty for many of us (increased distances) and is the main reason I haven't been over to see the roadster display/exhibition area for the last 3 years. Naysayers may say that I only have myself to blame for not taking the time out to take the trams or walk to the roadster/exhibitor area(which I suppose is true) but one can't argue with the number of fellow enthusiast participants/spectators who hold the same view and arguably voiced it by not attending this year (for this and other reasons as mentioned earlier).

Final thought: I will be back next year, and probably will always moving forward. Call it "nostalgia" or being a "creature of habit". To this point I still go to the Long Beach Model T swap meet as well, which I started attending with my dad and grandfather in the early 1970's at the "Hamilton Bowl" next to Long Beach City College. Today finds the Long Beach Model T swap meet is a fraction of the size it used to be (now being held @ Veterans Stadium, Long Beach City College Carson St. Campus on Sat., July 22, 2017 for one day only from 7am until it ends) due to lack of enthusiasm from younger generations who can't identify with Model T Fords. It isn't hard to imagine the L. A. Roadster show following the same path, but as the saying goes, "those who don't learn from history are bound to repeat it". So, hopefully those who have control of the decision making process of the L. A. Roadster Exhibition, Show & Swap meet will choose to (or continue to be as it's been said here on this thread) be "INCLUSIVE", open minded and take into consideration all that's been said thus far about this year's event (and those in the recent past since the layout change) here on this thread and anywhere else to make changes necessary to preserve it for the future enjoyment of ALL enthusiasts. This includes the swapper, the "finished" roadster owner, the specialty car owner, car club members (in the swap with their jalopies or in the specialty parking w/their sleds), vendors, exhibitors and spectators (both enthusiast and the curious). If not , we may find my aforementioned colleague is correct in his claim that, "Common sense is not so Common anymore....". Thanks for YOUR time & hope this read was worth it in some positive way! PRE48V-8\;^]

 

LA Roadsters and Buck are catching some heat about this but the LA Fair Grounds should be held RESPONSIBLE also!

 

That makes a lot more sense. Thank you for your explanation.

 

PRE48V-8....this years Long Beach Model T Swap is back at Vets Stadium....7-22...

 

Yeah, was aware of location change for this years L.B. Model T swap (sorry I can't make it this year 'cause I have to campout Friday night w/my sons Boy Scout Troop in the San Berdoo mtn.'s). Edited my post to include this factoid w/date. Hope folks here will notice and check it out! PRE48V-8\;^]

 

Well said brother!!! I did not know non shiny roadsters were still not allowed. I'm thinking a change back to the original layout as far as the West end swap meet and specialty cars across from each other rather than both lots North and South serving as a way too spread out swap meet. It is my opinion that the South side of the main path where the trains used to be is plenty large enough for the swap meet with nice long orderly rows . Any extra overflow can take the lot along North West passage into the show. then all the rest of the lot on the north side facing the swap-meet can be for SPECIALTY CAR Parking. T hat is how it was for years and worked well. people can cross back and forth between the cars and swap . Also I think there should be a zone at the East end of the Specialty car parking reserved for traditional and non shiny hot rods , Gassers ,Etc. call it something like the Cool Corral . Those lots are huge and can easily accommodate all the swappers and specialty cars and rods.
with that said we still have the Issue of the Roadsters and building 4 vendors being way the F down at the Far East end. I spoke with John today with a suggestion that may work and would bring the high end vendors and the roadsters back to the the West end directly next to the swap meet and specialty cars. I will not say at this time so as not to get hopes up too soon as to what and how this could happen but rest assured something good will happen. There are logistics and contracts with the fairgrounds that John needs re-negotiate and the cost of the change must be weighed against the cost of building 4. So if it is cost effective And the fair grounds agree to the Idea then you all will be amazed at how cool this show will become . Imagine it like the good Ol' days of the LARS but with a twist for the better and all condensed much like the old layout rather than spread way the F out !


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Good news Larry. Thanks for the update. Nice to see a positive post on this thread.

 

Boy we did have some good times, I guess my prowdest moment was three years back when I talked a few of the L.A. Roadster members to stay at our bar-b-que instead of theirs.

 

Well since we killed the horse and have beaten it to bloody pulp, I guess it´s good and soft enough to bar-b-que now, thats what they did in the eighteen hundreds when times were tough.
Now I never eaten horse meat knowing´´ly but I have eaten donkey meat so I´ll tell you guys the history of the burrito.
The original machaca burritos came from the state of chihuahua, just south of texas. They were a lot of wild donkeys in the hills out there and the mexican cowboys would slaghter them and cut the meat into thin slices, salt it and sun dry it, kind of like beef jerky. Once it was dried , you shreaded it and put it in pouches. when you got to your camp site , the wives would make the big flour tortillas and since the meat was salty, they would make a red dried chile sauce or eggs and mix it with the meat, roll it up in the flour tortilla and viola! you have your burrito.
My dad brought some back from there when I was a kid, good but quite salty for my taste.

 

....the 90-day deadline will be hear soon in about a month for those of us who participated in the 2017 L.A. Roadster Show, Exhibition & Swap Meet to reserve the same exact spots we had back in June. Just curious about two points from those of you who meet this criteria. First, has anyone heard anything more about any possible changes for next years' event (I assume they are still going to have it again) other than what's been eluded to on this thread for the sake of its' continued success and survival? Second, has anyone already reserved their swap spaces for next year, or are you waiting to hear if there will be any permanent, meaningful attempts at changing the format & layout of the show to improve it for the participants, swappers & spectators alike? I myself am at this particular time a bit hesitant and am contemplating addressing what has been shared on this thread directly with the RodShows management first to find out where they are & then make my decision based on their response. I'm not looking too fondly at the prospect of spending the money, time and effort to set up in my spots for the weekend for zip(even if it is FINALLY easier to secure swap spaces than in the past). I'd rather drive my car, park in specialty parking and just spectate like the aforementioned former retail vendor & his wife did this year as described in an earlier post. Thanks for reading this & look forward to any responses that come forth. PRE48V-8\:^]

 

I have some hippy friends (I'm a hippy on the inside, they are hippies on the outside too), all they talk about is "Burning Man". All year long. (Big festival). They take a lot of time and spend a whole lot of money to go. Then It takes place. They come back and are already talking about "Burning Man" for the next year. It means a lot to them. This reminds me of that. I don't really have anything like that, I wish I did. Sounds cool.


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