Wagonfest 2015! Paging msdsm

I won't make the 6th (kids last day of school is the 4th, just can't commit to that time frame) but I'll help however I can from a distance.

June is a no go. Late August and September is normally the lull in my car guy event calendar.

Well, I have to lock a date. Then, I have to get a venue, and all that entails, clearing it with the city, organizing hotels, cops, etc. Then there's food, drink, press, etc. I dont even know what we want at this thing. It was just sort of handed to me. And.seriously, if someone has a better suggestion. For a date, I am all ears.

mndsm wrote: Well, I have to lock a date. Then, I have to get a venue, and all that entails, clearing it with the city, organizing hotels, cops, etc. Then there's food, drink, press, etc. I dont even know what we want at this thing. It was just sort of handed to me. And.seriously, if someone has a better suggestion. For a date, I am all ears.

I want to flash back to something you said on page 1

mndsm said: I'm terrible at execution. I tend to try and do too much with too little and then it explodes and burns down

Maybe I'm missing the point but I think you are definitely at the trying to do too much stage. As a first time event it's going to be smaller than you hope, and it doesn't have to be as built out as you may think.

Food/Drink? We run 3-6 day group adventures, food and drink are whatever people decide to eat. Don't get into the catering business, at least not with the first one. At most your obligation toward food and drink should be choosing a venue with food nearby and sending a heads up to the local food trucks.

Venue? Depends on what you are doing. Get a small enough hotel or large enough group and you can take over a hotel and use it as the venue too. Barring that the level of what you want to do will determine venue choices. If you are just having a mostly static show that should be an easy venue to procure. You want to do anything where the cars start moving, then it gets complicated.

Cops? Why? Only time we talk to the police is when someone calls them on us :)
This would generally apply toward talking to the city as well. There are only certain times they need to be involved, try to avoid those and save yourself the hassle.

Personally I'd organize it as part static show/social function and part scenic/adventure cruise similar to what we do with AA but probably a little more low key (or maybe not) It could be a nice 2-3 day weekend event and all I'd need is a hotel, a parking lot (could be the hotel, could be a local strip mall) and people to show up.

Dial it back and don't let it overstress you. :)

I'll admit I did miss the initial thread where the idea came up but I though the point here was to have a gathering of wagons, a big show with maybe some activities. Don't kill yourself with it :)

Oh, and as far as date setting....I once tried to accommodate everyone when planning an event. Never again. People will always find an excuse not to participate, if they want to be there they'll make the date work.

JThw8 wrote: Oh, and as far as date setting....I once tried to accommodate everyone when planning an event. Never again. People will always find an excuse not to participate, if they want to be there they'll make the date work.

This.

Don't make it too complicated; you're not going to enjoy it at all if you're stressing the whole time. Really all it needs is a coordinated place to park or drive during the day and maybe a recommended hotel/campground at night to hang out at. Maybe a good restaurant or bar or something in the area to eat at. Food trucks are a good idea too. I think the only other people I would involve are those that own the lot, so they know/support what's going on. I've found if it's in a somewhat high traffic area, like a restaurant, there will be a lot of other spectators passing through, which can get the restaurant or whatever some business. That's how I usually try to word it when talking to them. Depends what you're after though.

As for duration, doing a long weekend thing can limit it for people like me who don't have a whole lot of flexibility in the work schedule. Or, if it's a long weekend 3 day thing, you'll get the highest attendance from probably Saturday mid day to the same on Sunday. That's just from my experience, though.

Give me a field/parking lot and I can give you a slow cross. Give me roads and I can give you route books for a low key road rally.
I'd prefer a field where a two day event with an overnight campout/bonfire could be held. We don't really need organized stuff so much as a place to congregate.

I do really like the camping idea, for whatever that's worth. Plus, it's an event for wagons. People who don't like tents can just put an air mattress in the back of their wagon haha.

The Field/Parking lot for a slow cross would get the local authorities/town involved most likely sadly. If its private property with owner's permission then that may change.

Low key road rallies like the ones we do do not involve the authorities.

I was getting the "place to congregate" vibe as well which is why I was recommending that MNDSM might want to simplify it :)

At the risk of offending our hosts I'll quickly offer up that we take on contracted events too if you'd like to wash your hands of the whole planning portion. http://asphaultadventures.com/wordpress/?page_id=30

Agree with Jim and Gearhead and The Deuce. Provide a venue, let people make it their own. In my experience, "We're going to this place, at this time, play music, and have a bonfire" usually ends up better than micromanaging the whole thing.

I use to do this in Chicagoland for a segment of the euro community. Reserve a field house at the state park provide burgers, brats, buns. Hang out and talk cars.

Find a large parking lot with a tgifridays/Applebee's/chilies and meet there. People coming from out of town so arrange a spot at a campground, no biggie. It's not about The scene but the scenery.

Seen not scene, right?

Sound advice. As you can see, I get out of control. So I need to focus. Date. It gets hot as eff up here.. Trying to decide.

I agree with Jim as well. I have a fair amount of experience helping my ex to organize events with our MINI club. Everything from single day drives to a 7 day excursion from Florida to Maine.

Food is tricky. For one annual event we did a BBQ on her parents' property. For the multi-day events we generally left everyone on their own, although usually a large majority group would go to one place.

The MINI events were generally focused around driving a fun route. I wouldn't see a gathering of wagons to oriented as such. Maybe an optional drive to some interesting area attraction. But bascially a simple car show. I'd suggest finding a hotel with a large lot and making that your venue. Preferably one with an attached restuarant and bar.

For the first year, I wouldn't go nuts with planning. That is definitely a recipe for burn-out (why the ex only did the multi-day event every two years, then eventually passed the torch to others). Delegating can definitely be a double-edged sword. She often tried, but it also often bit her when friends didn't come through on promises - or were unable to adhere to her "Do it NOW" attitude. A procrastinator she is not and if something wasn't done a month ahead of time she would freak out and do it herself (or have me do it).

As an aside, be careful about charities. Some can be easy to deal with. Others can really be annoying. If you do want to do some sort of charity thing, be sure to specifically spell it out to them.

You won't make everybody happy. Don't let it get to you.

In reply to mndsm:

I just looked at your weather from last summer and it didn't look to bad. Highs in the mid 80s. Anyway, on the date. What works for you? Since you are running the event, what time period would be best for you? I like June 4th but that is just me talking. I will make it if I can but life happens. This is the first year and if you only end up with 15 people, that's ok.

This brings me to my next point. Find a REALLY cheap or free venue. If you have a Walmart with a few fast food restaurants around and an empty field nearby that would be perfect. We don't tell anyone we are coming and just show up for the day. Another option is a park with a decent parking lot and shelter. There have been some pretty big cars shows done this way here with success. Don't put any money into this if you can avoid it. This is for fun!

any updates on this??

Nothing yet. I had a few things hit me sort of heavy lately and I've been backburnered on a lot. I should start working on it more. As far as events and places with open parking, we have a lot of that. We have a few beer halls too.....

Subscribed.

I will say that we have a National meet of the American Station Wagon Owners Association yearly in metro Detroit. It is timed for the Woodward Dream Cruise. Whoever runs it is pretty bad at online presence and I haven't made it to the meet.

If I had to guess, it's probably about 99% American B-bodies at the Detroit event.

This year it will be held Friday July 10th at the Ann Arbor Rolling Sculpture Car show. That's a pretty good show that tends to draw out the oddities, at least compared to a normal Metro Detroit car show. I will be there if I still have the Volvo, and probably even if I don't.

Date dependant I will be there, unless it falls on a swap meet weekend or a race

So..... There may be potential in gathering at the brewery. Taproom is being built, liquor license is acquired. I talked to the right people and they said it likely wouldn't be an issue.

Sweet! I would like that quite a bit.

Yep..... Its a neat little spot.

Damn. That would be cool, but I doubt I could make that.

Taproom will be open in about a month. Plumber is here tomorrow to run water for the bar. I think this is an idea.

Not thread or idea jacking, but if the brewery were not to work and we'd want a couple day event. My grandma has 5 usable acres for a bonfire/camping setup if interested, she's only about 25 minutes south of I-80 and 394 south of Chicago.

It maybe a little more centrally located.