every year there is this local car show in town and its always been free for spectators, this year they moved it 12 miles out of town and are charging $9.00 per person to look around, so me and the 2 kids turned around and headed home, usually we spend a few dollars at vendors for drawings of the kids, a little food etc.. I spent most of my spare loot last week on our voyage so I was basically being cheap for not paying the admission but then the day would have been frustrating and low on the fun scale if the kids were complaining about being hungry or thirsty as kids will and me having to listen to said complaints there is no swap meet to it, or at least there wasn't one last year and I was told there wasn't going to be one this year either so we were just going to admire some other peoples cars/trucks what do alot of you guys expect for your admission fees? I like to go see how some other people did things on a budget, (lots of nice cars but only a few that draw my attention if you know what I mean?) I don't go to see the over abundance of muscle cars either on a lighter note lastnight there was a "cruise" of some of the rigs for the show and when we got back to the truck we got invited to bring the truck out to a show in alberta next month that we just might go to
Show admission fees (both for spectators and participants) around here vary widely. We have everything from local informal come-as-you-are free events, to the mega thousand car events that cost upwards to 50-60 for the car. It all comes down to who is promoting the event and what their objectives are AND what the people are willing to pay. To say nothing of that never ending saga of the trophy chaser who's only goal is to win a trophy and go home. If I don't like the format, I don't go. I really belive a lot of rodders think just like I do. I continue to see cars at small local venues not far from here that I've never seen before. I also see car owners(myself included) at cartain shows without their cars. 10-15 bucks for a car is pretty nornal for local events, I can't think of anything except the big one in St.Paul and Goodguys Des Moines that charge spectators.
I very rarely pay more than $5 for admission unless there's a good swap. Then I'll pay up to $20 because I know I'll make that $ back and more if there is a swap. But I just don't see the point in spending that kind of $ just to go look at someone else's cars. Maybe it's because I have just seen enough over the years, I don't know. Not to lay a guilt trip, but it's a little different with the kids. They haven't seen a lot of cars over the years, so they should be getting in to the shows.
I know some of the shows around me all the money raised gets donated to charity,,so thats kool...But on the other hand it takes alot to pull a show off....so why not support it...I would pitch a bitch if they started charging at cruise nights tho....lolol Dirty
Tough call...a show like Billetproof is well worth what you pay either as a participant or as a spectator. This year, your admission got you in to see over 300 cars and motorcycles tailored to "our" tastes, access to some of the most talented striper in the country, several live bands, food, drink, a burnout contest, swap meet area and even a figure eight race! Now, lots of other shows that just get ya in the gates to see a bunch of trailer queens parked behind their owners' lawn chairs and the chance to contribute to the college funds of the vendors...I don't go to them, even if they're free! Know a little bit about the show you plan to attend, and you can easily decide which ones are worth going to or not. I don't mind paying to get in if it's something I know I'll enjoy...but if it's gonna be a dud, I don't even wanna go for FREE!
It's always been common for the Entrants in the shows to pay into the kitty. Out of thet money goes to advertising, security, gorunds rental, Trophys, music if provided, ect, ect. What has changed recently is the Sue Crasy Public. Promoters Have to have Insurance $$$ for just about everything but backyard events now. Without it the promoter stands to loose everything just because someone finds a finger in their bowl of chilli (I said it was Chilli with Meat)... It's just another sad fact of how things have changed.
I wouldn't have minded paying to get in if there was lots of stuff there that interested me, and don't get me wrong there was alot of nice old pre50 cars there lastnight and likely more at the actual show but not put together the way I could appreciate fully as in them problem solving ones where stuff got adapted that wasn't intended and that sort of thing more off the shelf bought things I'm sure even the high end cars that the people bought or whatever could be appreciated but I really like to admire welds, structure stuff like that, not ratrod deathtrap crap tossed together but real ingenuity I would still have paid so the kids could see it but 15 minutes in theyd have wanted to get some pop and candy to start and I never brought the loot for that and admission call me a snob but I walk right on by the car with the guy sitting in a lawn chair glaring at people but I see something a guy has obviously done himself with a few runs in the paint, some welds showing thru a fender repair with a layer of primer over it or a dirty old motor seeping 30 weight on the ground but a smile on his face even though he/she is pretty much ignored cause of his "homemade" ugly machine I'll crawl around and ask questions I had not thought about insurances and that sort of stuff to be honest or I may have grabbed a few more dollars and went back we only have the one show here a year and I'd like to see it succeed year after year rather than fold up even if I ain't interested in most of the cars but there is always a few and my interests are'nt neccessarily the only ones that count
Years ago most of the car shows around here charged an admission fee. By the time you added up the fee for me, the little lady, and the two kids, through in some eats and drinks, it added up pretty fast. I started entering my heap (and it was a heap). They always ask me "why do you want to bring that thing into our show?" I told em it was cause I was proud of it. Really, it was always cheaper to enter a show as a participant the as a spectator. As a participant, I could bring a cooler full of pop, a bag of chips, and something to sit on. At big shows we could park in perfered parking and could go look at a few cars, come back to ours and "rest" then go look at a few more cars. It also turned into a great way to find parts for my heap. Guys would stop by and say things like "I got one of these out back at my place if you ever need anything, I'd sell it to you cheap." When we got tired of the car show we just left. Back to the fifties is a great example. It used to cost $10 per person to enter the spectator gate per day. It cost $25 to enter a car (pre 64) and that got 2 of you into the fair grounds for the whole weekend, a free drink mug, a free poster, free entertainment, a place to park where you could walk back to your car and unload all the cool things you bought from the venders, have a seat, have a soda and a sandwich from your cooler. You could come and go as you wanted. If my wife is with me, I pretty much do not ever pay a spectator admission fee, I'll enter a car. Usually a pre entery is even cheaper. Gene
to be honest i haven't gone to a "real" show in a few years,i really lost the taste for it...... i just can't stand being around SOO many people,even MORE venders,yet there is less cars,or cars that are even worth looking at.....so i'm paying to get hassled by people,and venders......ha!....screw that....... and hell,cover charges,.....i'm Waaay to broke for that,a bar/club i can see a cover,But to walk around in a sea of people sitting around and giving everybody else the "evil eye".....screw that,too......... not worth the Price,Not worth the mental stress...... to be even more honest, giving the chance i might not even go to a cool show like Paso.......now Hamb or billet,i might stop by....but there's still a chance i wouldn't..... guess i'm a cheap ass hermit,haha.........
I'm really interested in hearing everyone's opinion about this. Me and a friend of mine put on a show every year and ours was today. We had 55 cars show up and we were pretty happy with that. It's free for everyone, spectators and entrants, but we were considering making entry $5 so we could have more trophies and give-away stuff for the people. Basically I would like to know if people would rather have no entry fee and only a couple prizes or would you rather pay $5 to get more prizes and stuff going on. Sorry to hijack the thread but I think this all ties together somehow. As a side note, the most expensive show that me and/or my friend that puts the show on has ever been to was Cowboy Bob's Pig and Piston show, $15 to enter a car, and we both agree that it's the best show we've been to yet. I'll pay the entry fee if it's going to be worth it, and that show was a lot of fun.
. Basically I would like to know if people would rather have no entry fee and only a couple prizes or would you rather pay $5 to get more prizes and stuff going on. Sorry to hijack the thread but I think this all ties together somehow. As a side note, the most expensive show that me and/or my friend that puts the show on has ever been to was Cowboy Bob's Pig and Piston show, $15 to enter a car, and we both agree that it's the best show we've been to yet. I'll pay the entry fee if it's going to be worth it, and that show was a lot of fun.[/QUOTE] have ya thought about a 50/50 drawing....a couple of the local cruise nites do them .....cost nothing to bring your car in ....and you buy the tickets if you want......usually good for a couple hundred bucks around here......brandon
if its an outside show..in a damn parking lot....with 1 stinky portajohn.....DONT ASK ME FOR MONEY. ask the vendors or the guys showing for a few bucks 15-25 if its indoors....10 bucks under 12 free sounds good to me as I understand it costs a little dough to run a show like that. for shows outside that require a bum off the street with a flag and no teeth waving people in....and 1 or 2 people setting up the show entrys, etc. most of the time the parking lot is given to them for free as the place its at usually benefits greatly.... most the shows out here are free unless they are indoors.
Here in West Union, OH. the local car club (Ramblin' Relics) put on a 2 day show at the fairgrounds. Paved roads, lots of grass, even some shade. They organize a cruise through Amish country Saturday afternoon and a poker run after supper. Pre-regestered entry fee is $15.00. That fee includes a tee shirt, a full chicken supper for 2 adults and 2 children and admission for Saturday and Sunday. Show usually draws around 300 cars. Spectators are not charged an admission. There is usualy NOT a delay when trophys are presented. They are pretty well organized; this will be their 32nd show. Any profits from the show go to the Make a Wish Foundation.
Back in the 80's and early 90's........ Fellow Hamber A-Bomb and I ran the largest 1 day car show in our state ( 450 cars was normal ) It cost a ton of money to do this.........rent the state fairgrounds, insurance, police, trophys, flyers and advertising. We charged $15 a car entry fee and $3 a head for spectators. We also had food vendors paying us....$$$ .... We made money......many thousands each event....and gave it to the local Childrens Home........we were their largest supporter.....at the time..... If the admission fee is for charity....... It does NOT bother me.....but some of the big shows..........please....just too high........and give us a car show entrants a break....... if it was not for our cars...there would be no show for the promoters to sell tickets on.......$50 to $60 to get in to some of them........I stay home.......and will continue to do so. NSRA is reasonable on it's fees.........if you pre reqister.....and I do. .
If you charge participants an addmision, make it worth their dough. I was involved in a local show that charged $5 per car, well worth it, esp. considering most other shows charge upwards of $10 per car. Never charge spectators admission, but never give spectators free food or anything else. Reason?? Give the spectator a reason to get off his duff and build something to enter, yet still allow free access to admire (charge him for food etc.). This seems to be the norm 'round these parts (Chicago), and I would never pay to look, anyway. Cosmo
Once again I am on the other side of the board. I would have agreed with you until recently when me and a couple of friends decided to have our own show. Our twist was a car/stunt show. The first thing was finding a venue that was large enough and that would have us. That took months to find. Then the really big issue. INSURANCE...3MILLION WORTH and thats not cheap. That was almost impossible to find compared to the venue. So before the gates even open we'll already be out over $10,000. Keep in mind... we're not rich. Just some guys looking to have a cool show.
The thing that really chaps me is when there is a show advertised and nothing is mentioned about an entry fee in the advertising or on the website. Then when you drive to said show you find out it's 15 bones for an outdoor show with less than 50 cars I get a little pissed. I figured there would be an entry fee, and I'm willing to pay, but the price should be reflective of the size of the show. I've gone to tons of shows, but it seems that in recent years the price has risen to a point that it is not proportional to what you get. If I'm paying 20+ bones to get in a show then the likely hood of me buying other shit drops dramatically. Maybe I'm a cheap bastard but for that kinda money I at least want some boobs in my face. (exception to the rule if it's for charity or non profit I don't mind paying steep spectator fees) Saulgoode
I'm all for free car shows. I'm sick of paying $10-25 per car show every weekend. Were having another show this year "Greazy Bash" its all free, no fee's at all, no bands, no DJ, no award. We are having it the local drive in movie theater, just like last year. the drive-in owner sells the food, we wont need no food fenders that way, he pays for the ins and provides public rest rooms. Did I say its free? last year we had 132 cars, in the rain. We did charge for that show and donated the money. Oct. 8th in Maryville, TN........cough spam, spam
The Durango Old Car Club puts on the Durango Motor Expo on Memorial Day weekend. Six blocks of Main Avenue are blocked off with cars parked on both sides of the streets. This year there were 185 cars paying $25 each to register. No venders or admission fees as this show is designed to kick off the tourist season for local merchants. After advertising, t-shirts, dash plaques, etc. we cleared almost $3000 that will go to local charities. We've done "park" shows for 13 years before moving down town. The last two Main Street shows were artistic as well as financial successes. We get the city involved with the Mayor's choice, Fire chief picks best flame job, PD choses "car I'd most like to ticket!", etc. One of the reasons that this show works is because it draws a good mix of antiques, classics, hot rods, customs, motorcycles, lowriders and muscle cars. Next year, the Durango Arts Center will host an automotive art show a week prior to the event. We will also hold the Pedal Car Auction to benefit therapetic riding program. Quite frankly, I'm tired of going to shows that cater to a specific group of car owners/builders. If you're a car guy, you've got to appreciate the '29 LaSal phaeton as much as the '26 T coupe retro rod.
Well, around where I'm at here in Northeastern, PA, my pet peeve is how you can pay to go to a swap meet, car show or bike show and then when you get in the gates you start noticing all these people there with tables full of toys, beanie-babies, country crafts, or some other crap that has NOTHING to do with a "swap meet" or "car/bike show!!" I once asked for my money back because when I walked in i went straight for the swap meet area and there were only about four guys out of about 18-20 who had anything of interest that wasn't "NEW" or had a table full opf crap that wasn't car or bike related!!! We had some words and I never got a penny back,..I was there for only 15 minutes and left! Total rip off! I can understand paying a reasonable addmission fee to a show if you can see that cash going back into the show next year, (ie. more vendors, better facilities, more cars, better swap meet,...etc.) but I never pay more than about $5-7 bucks for a show. Most I paid was $15 and that was by mistake. I drove about 2 hours to a show that never advertised they had a fee to get in, it was a bike swap meet show,....lots of stuff, nothing much old and usable, lots of new billet crap!!! Never went again! I failed to go to the local Good Guys show because of the $15 buck admission fee. My reasonaing was, Ok, so I get there, have to pay for parking,...that's gonna be at least $10 or maybe $15 for parking, (always is at that particular venue), then $15 for my wife and I,...and I just spent about 3/4 of a tank to get there, so that's about $20-25 bucks with the rate of gas these days,....now I've spent roughly $65 and I've just got IN THE GATE!!????? SHIT! I mean c'mon people,....this is nuts! The bigger car show and swaps are getting to be a friggin rip off racket in my opinion! You end up paying to get into someplace where 95% of the cars suck ass and the swap guys have eitehr useless junk, new billet and chrome bling, bling Boyd crap, Little Susie-sunshine has her toy table and craft crap set up there,..OR,..by some luck you actually DO find a cat with some cool stuff, only to realize he thinks everything he has on his table is made of gold and one of a kind!!! So then you shell out more cash than anyone should ever do or you suck it up and move on hoping that down the aisle there just might be a glimmer of hope that some down to earth guy is waiting in the wings. its all getting to be BS! ...just my 2 cents worth Jason
AMEN brother, if it were not for our hard work and dollars spent on the car there would not be a show, so why the hell do these promototers charge the hell out of the participant. I personally think it sucks and unless it is for charity and even then the money doesn;t always get to the charity. I do not enter my car anymore, I didn't build it to pay entry fees, I built it to drive it. Most of these big shows (no names mentioned) have sponsers who help pay the insurance and other costs. I think it is getting out of hand with greed myself. Some of these shows cost the spectator $20 to 25 to park and get in and then they charge me to put my car in. "Bull shit"
We were in a club and started a show in 1979 that is still happening every year . We always had a small entry [pre entry] fee. It is really necessary to do a quality show.....we had to rent the facility[40 arcre park] insurance-live band- food for a supper and breakfast. we than got donations from local bussinesses for prizes.Made the trophys ourselves.... You see where I'm going here- I believe at this time it still is 15 dollars pre entry[shirt included]...... That is exactly my point-I think a fair charge to get in is expected. But to start with 45-65 dollars entry and then subject the same entrant or spectator to vendors [who also have been charged a too high fee].....who in turn, has to charge you 3.50 for a bottle of water-is a viscious cycle that should not be part of a car show as entertainment. I feel that in all fairness-any organization such as NSRA or GOODGUYS who are made up [ as an orginization of members]-should [as a matter of ethics]-disclose to their -"members" what the actual costs of said events and the amount of profits that are realized from these events. If this is not something they would be willing to disclose-then why is that? I think that if they are instead-"bussineses" as some will chime in here now ....Then why mislead the folks who were there [at their inception as an oganization] [to benefit the "participant/member"]-into thinking they are not an actual bussiness and not what they claimed to be at all....... And IF they WERE an organization of "members" whose benefits were of any importance to these organizations-why then are they not able to have ANY INPUT as to what they charge as an entry fee or how the event or its officials are conducted?....... This is why ,I am no longer Member #05382 of NSRA-and will never be a member of GoodGuys.
Here in the Nashville, TN area we have several free cruise-ins every weekend. The Stones River Mall on Friday nights will usually draw 300 cars. Most of the local car clubs will host a show every summer with free spectator entrance and a reasonable fee for participants with proceeds going to charity. This weekend I have a choice of the huge three day Tennessee Criuzin - with a $75 fee for participants who want a trophy and a $50 fee if you're not a trophy hound and a $10 a day spectator fee - or the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, KY. I sent my $50 to the NHRA. Tracy
Seems to me that I paid about $12 to get into York(NSRA) and about $9 to get into the ghiant swap meet at Carlisle. Both up from last year and that's a trend,but both shows were worth it. Parking at Carlisle is $5 and York is free if you find a street place.Last year there was one of those rod tours that hit the Bllomsburg,PA Fairgrounds and admission for four plus parking would have been about $80 and it looked like there were about 50 cars. We took our wives out to dinner instead-much better investment! Bets of all is Hershey-not really a rod show,it's the National Antique meet,but there is everyhting in the swap meet-I'd bet 5-8000 venders. Parking was $5 and admission was free! I guess what a meet charges depends on their greed and cost of production, but with gas,food and admissions going up, I suspect folks will begin to pick their spots and the whole scene will suffer.
I can see some money being charged for entry, but not much admission. Having to pay more than 5 bucks to walk around outside is crap, unless it's a huge show like goodguys or NSRA, maybe. The only show that I still pay for is Back to the Fifties back I actually enter my car there cause in the end, it actually is a better deal. It's more like a big cruise than a show in my opinion. And for what you pay to preregister, you get a full 3 days to come and go as you want, plus a big swap meet/car coral that's actually worth it. I bought my car up there a couple years back. The cars actually move around and cruise too, not just a bunch of parked middle-aged lawn-chair lizards. Lots of traditional stuff too.
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