Looking through some of the post on car shows and got to wondering about what is involved in putting off such a show.I am thinking more along the lines of a indoor show.I have been wanting to do one for some time now and would like to do one at the start of the season. There is alot more to putting off these types of show then just getting a pile of cars and jam them in one spot.around here there is alot of out door shows but back in the 80`s we had a start all to end all show.A place where people would first show there new builds off at the start of the season. This show has long gone and there has not been a event to replace it. Would like to know about costs and tips on how to put off a great event.
I'm not trying to be snarky but I'm just curious. "Put off"? Is that a Canadian thing? Here in the U.S. that means to not do it. Here it would be "pull off". Just curious about the different use of phrases.
Or Maybe "PUT ON" Just like building a car. Do a budget and then double it. If your lucky, you'll brake even.
pretty much what these guys said... especially if your time is worth anything to you... my friends dad has a big one every year here. Even with something like 15-20 sponsors he just barely breaks even if not losing some of his own money. But if you really like cars like most of us do then its not really a big deal.
Our club has had several indoor shows over the years,,,always in the winter when nothing else is going on. They are a lot of work,,,you must secure a building big enough for the cars but not so large you don't have enough to fill the place. Being a hot rod club most of our cars we use are T's thru mid 50's customs,,,a few 60's but thats about it,,people don't come wanting to see mini trucks,4 wheel drives or monster trucks,,,Or new cars,Elvis Impersonators or bands,,we keep it simple and the price of admisson is kept within reason. Insurance and advertisement is a must,commitment from the people that are going to help and the people that intend to show their cars,,,we don't charge the guys showing, Trophys ,,if you intend to give them,, Tickets cost money. It is a ton of work even for a club,,,and the weather can cause big problems. It's always a crap shoot,,,we have grown our club treasury a few times and it makes for great partys,,,we have also planed them for the wrong time an hurt attendence,,, Check your major/local sporting events and don't make the people choose. We start our shows on friday at 6 pm till 9 pm,,saturday 9 am till 9 pm and sunday 9 am til 5 pm. Good luck. HRP
It's a ton more work than you can anticipate if you've never done one. All good advice above. One thing HRP mentions, that I learned the hard way is to check for conflicts. That's very important. The first show I did was a marginal success, but attendance wasn't where I had expected because there was a big show in Richmond - over 100 miles away from me, but it was a big enough draw that guys had to choose and a lot of folks chose the big established show 100 miles away. You'll need more bodies, more help, and more money than you think - and to me this can be one of the harder pills to swallow - no matter how much time, work, money, and passion you put into it and no matter how well everything goes off you're going to have a bunch of guys pissing and moaning about something. You just can't keep everybody happy, so go into it knowing that. One thing that is a major factor in that is figuring out if you're catering to a trophy crowd or not. Trophy guys will be hot if they come and there are no trophies. And a lot of them will be pissed about the class breaks, the trophies, who won the trophy, etc. I actually had a guy win first place in his class, and he was mad that his buddy won second place in the same class. He thought they should have been in different classes because one was a ford and one was a chevy...but our class was clearly set as "late model domestic pickup". Some of these guys are just tools, and even if everything falls in their favor they still find something to cry about. I also had a lot of people bitch about the judging. I judged on five categories and had a different judge for each category - each a recognized expert in that area. Still, guys claim favoratism, that the judge didn't know what he was talking about (yes, my engine judge who is an ASE Master Tech and been building race engines longer than you've been alive must have been mistaken awarding more points to a detailed custom built mill instead of your dusty stocker with a cold air kit), etc. Anyhow, putting on a show can be a lot of fun, and a good party (if you have help and aren't running yourself ragged from before it opens til after it closes), but its a thankless job.
Volunteer to work somebody elses show first. Then look for 15 to 20 guys who all want to put on a show as much as you do. Hope that all 15 to 20 guys who helped will all still talk to you or you still want to talk to them after the show because you'll only have 364 days to get ready for the second one.
dont do it... Its a ton of work... especially doing it inside a building.. city ordinances and fire codes and all that come into play more. If you do do it.. make sure you have "event insurance".. a couple million dollars coverage... which helps cover your liability.. and create a corporation to manage the financials and taxes .. and remove you from liability etc etc. That way when someone tries to sue because they got run over by some jackass doing burnouts ... your house and kids college tuition fund wont become their vacation fund.
One of the problems of trying something you are not experienced at, you only think of the obvious things and have no knowledge of the bad things. Without experience, you have no idea of what NOT to do, and that is what will kill you. There are probably many people on this forum that have tried and failed at car show promotion. The count of successful car show promoters over the years is a small group and the failures are countless. Advertising, Insurance, Rain, Unions, Venues, Permits, Taxes, Parking, Accidents, Fights, Personnel, Theft, Poor press, Drunks, Pukers, Food vendors, Inappropriate vendor sales, Conflicting events, Lawyers, Police, Etc. Then mix in Posers, Rats, Goldchainers, Loud music of all kinds. Good luck with your project.
i put on a show for the first time last year and had a blast! i lost money on the deal, had a huge bar tab, and it rained the day of the show. sure was fun though! i will do it again this year!!
Promoting is difficult... For every 50 people that hear about something, you'll be lucky if one of them shows up.
I am doing our 4th year car show at our church.Lots of help needed for things you would never think you would.And you have to be a ring leader.People need to be told what to do and they will get mad.I hope you don't expect to hang out and talk cars that day.Because you won't have the time!Always chasing the help around wondering why this person is not were they need to be.But, the fun part is you get to go to all the shows around town and hand out flyers and talk with some cool people and make some new friends.I am looking forward to the new season.
Indoor shows also have to deal with the FIRE MARSHALL....drain all the tanks disconect all the batteries,Yadayadayada
. ..... What Makes a Good Car Show GREAT!!??... SOME MORE TIPS... http://www.northwestclassicautomall.com/articles.ihtml?pid=67&step=2
I wish I knew what the secret was too. My only guess is to host the show annually where it gets to be a traditional thing. It can be frustrating. I have friends that run an auto parts store and host an annual Halloween Cruise-In. They usually get around 100 cars because they have done it every year for 10+ years. This past show they allowed me to add a poker run to benefit a local cancer patient. My belief was due to having a long established show and lots of folks attend, the poker run was sure to be a stunning success. We had only 7 cars participate. Very disappointing. Thankfully, there were several generous people that made a cash donations so the benefit was not a total bust. If you find out what the secret is...PLEASE CLUE ME IN!!! Good Luck!
All you have to do is.... Dooo it. just do it. its simple. get your bros and their bros togather, advertise everywhere, market it, make calls shake hands, pat backs,
Putting off!! Sorry about the Newfie lingo. Some times it gets the better of me. Most understood what I ment but for those that didn`t it means "setting up and running a car show"!! We use this term alot in these parts along with a large number of other sayings Great info.Would like to know what some of these cost can be. How much is a Million coverage in insurance? Cost for a Building for 3 days? and things like Radio ads.I know it will be different from place to place but some idea of what dollors is needed to have something like this.
Judging is another issue.If you do the judging yourself you just added more stress to your day.I found out having partcipent judging is the best and you hear the least bitching that way.If you need a trophie shop I have a nice one that we used ,that worked out well. www.awardsservice.com
We put on an outdoor show every year (Monrovia, Ca) that was quite successful. This year- was nearly a break-even deal though (moved to Pasadena- a whole nother thread). Last year- we had 533 cars. set up & parking can be a nightmare. Get a hosting club to help w/ parking. Find out about permits- fire dept, fees 1st. I'd steer away from an indoor show to start. Do a few outdoor ones 1st. Indoor shows will require disconnecting batteries- cars w/ less than 1/8 of a tank and either locking caps or caps taped closed. Outdoor shows won't require any of this. Have the host club do judging & by all means- exclude the hosting club from awards! Or- have a few for them but keep them separate. You will need food vendors & if they are cooking- make sure it's away from the cars. Make sure you have ample bathrooms. Make sure you have vendors offering products of interest to car guys. Invite a hot rod shop to display a few cars in progress. Have one of the shops make some unique trophies (in exchange for free space). A recent show I went to was hosted by a custom paint shop. The awards were gallon thinner cans custom painted, lettered & pinstriped. Make the awards unique. Print flyers- lots of them & distribute them at car shows a few months in advance. Talk to the people - don't just throw it in the car. List the show on Drive Magazine. As far as judging- it is what it is. Make sure the classes are picked fairly. Don't have a 21-41 & a 42-61. Recently went to one of those & boy were they whining! Best for a 1st show is to do a top 10, best paint, best engine, best under construction & best of show. Something you almost never see is best traditional build. Be the 1st! Have a HAMB friendly award too. Get the police involved- have them pick a most likely to be cited- they love this & actually write a ticket to go w/ the award! I have one of those for my 55 Chevy. Have the fire department pick best flames. Have a mayor's pick or whatever. Have local merchants sponsor the awards if you are buying them from a trophy shop. We sell sponsors engraved on the trophies for 50-75 bucks a pop & have no problem getting them paid for. As for having entrants have a people's choice........ man- there's a can of worms. Usually it's just a popularity contest among friends. Goes like this. "I'm picking your car. Let me give you my entrant number so you can pick mine".
"Put off" means "delay" in most of Canada....I'm Canadian and have never heard it used the way he's using it. Weird...
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