I want to have a car show, where do I start?

[Amigo2k]

The purpose of this post is to allow the forum users to add to this information. As you post your thoughts and links I will consolidate it into the topics listed below. If you would like more sections added I will do that too.

ebook you can buy about planning car shows:

http://www.palmiericoncepts.com/Ebooks/E-book-running-car-show-guide.htm

How to guide to make your car stand out from the pack (get more points from the Judges):
http://carshowtips.com/

Book on How to Get Your Car Ready for Show
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/prepare-to-be-judged-how-to-get-your-car-ready-for-show/15157074

________________________________________________
INITIAL PLANNING
Secure your event date …

* Investigate other events
Do whatever you can to find out when other car events in your area are happening and try to set a date that has limited competition with the better known events.
* Advertise your event to prevent competition
Get your car event “accepted” by the car people in your area. Begin immediately to talk it up and get the word out what and when you are having your event. This will discourage others from planning an event on the same day.

Set the event theme…

All car events have a theme that usually is represented in two ways: 1) who is the beneficiary of proceeds, and 2) what kind of vehicles do you want to come, and 3) is the event going to be judged.

* Beneficiaries – who will get the money at the end of the event? If it is a recognized charity, make sure that you get their endorsement or acceptance in writing. Car people are very generous and will usually try and come to an event benefiting a worthy cause. The burden is on you as the event planner to make sure that the charity gets all of the money (or whatever amount you advertise for the event). You must be accurate in your description of the event. If you say “proceeds go to the American Red Cross”. Then make sure the Red Cross is on-board and that you give them “all of the proceeds”. It is also a good idea to keep them informed during the show planning. Also, give them a complete reconciliation (accounting) of the proceeds. Clearly show the costs of promoting and managing the event. The deal with all of this is “if you are not truthful about who gets what, the car folks will not come back”.
* What type of cars do you want to come
You should describe what who you want to come. For instance, if you say “Open to all pre-1948 Hot Rods, Rat Rods and classics American Cars”. That’s fine. If you say “Open to all cars and trucks”, you will get a little bit of everything. Don’t forget to indicate Tuners too! They are the next generation of the car hobby!

Where to publish Your show:
http://www.rocknrod.com/states/wisconsin.htm
http://www.wiscollectorcar.com
http://www.wisconsinhotrodradio.com/onlineFormCarShows1.html
Create your own website and post the flyer so it is easy to print off (others may help out by printing some off and handing them out at shows)
Have a blog on your website and post weekly how the planning is going (blogspot.com offers free blogs)
Post a Video of last years event, or a short video from the folks putting on the show who will talk about the show.
Hand out flyers at local car shows at the beginning of the season
Search for Local Message forums and post details about your show early in the season
Post it on Craigslist.com
Post a link in your status update on your Facebook account and Twitter (use http:\tr.im to help shorten your link). Ask your friends to post it in their status update, or ask them to tweet it.
Create a Facebook Fans page.
Hit up a couple of automotive related car forums (like tuners, mustangs, low riders ….) and let them know you are having a show).
Post a message on a website like this one to let the users know you are having a show and every couple of weeks update the message with any new details (this will help build the hype for the show).

Must have items on show flyers:

1. Map to the location or the address. An email address, website and phone number to find out more information
2. Is it a judged show? Who is judging it? Participants?
3. List of all classes. <insert link to common car classes>
4. When does registration start and end?
5. Will there be a DJ?
6. Cost to enter your car? If you can send in your money (early bird discount) what is the cut off date?
7. Will there be food on site?
8. If giving out awards indicate the time the awards will be presented
9. Is the parking on grass or asphalt? If parking on grass make sure the area was mowed 3-5 days prior to the show.
10. If you have a website think about allowing online registration and allowing folks to pay via paypal. quick easy and it will draw them to your website.
11. Don’t forget to include the hours of the show so the owners no when to roll in and when the awards will be.

Podcast on Show Flyers: http://wisconsinhotrodradio.com/whrr011908.wav

Examples of good car show flyers
http://www.fountainvalley.org/community/communityservices/documents/CarShowFLYER08.pdf

Idea’s to make your show different:
50/50 raffle with the proceeds going to charity
Cruise after or during the show
Door Prizes
Engine “Blow ups”
Burn-out Competition (very popular on the west coast; would recommend some 3 foot high concrete walls and access to water to keep it safe; 5 bucks a burn-out with money going to a charity)
Poker runs (everyone meets at one spot and drives to several other locations)
Live bands
Tire toss or piston toss
Name that car part make and model
Reading off trivia questions; correct answer gets a prize
Allow vendors to come to your show to sell car related items
Chinese auction. 1 dollar get you 1 ticket. Fill out oneside of the ticket and place the other part in a can next to an auction item. At the end of the show draw out the tickets next to the items to determine the winner.

Link to places to print off car show flyers:
http://www.copyworldinc.com/printing_product_catalog/flyer_printing.asp?gkw=1

Information to capture when a person registers at the show?
1. Name, address, city (this can be used for the next year if you have a budget to mail out event flyers; and you can easily set it up to print of address onto labels for your mailing).
2. Email address. Why snail mail when you can email it!

Once you have this information it is nice to enter this into an Excel spreadsheet. ;LINK : http://www.walkerdowney.com/ryanendres/carshowform.xls This sheet can also capture your judges scores and quickly and easily find your winners.

How to use the Excel Spreadsheet:
http://www.walkerdowney.com/ryanendres/CarShowFormHowTo.doc

Order Dash Plaques:
The majority of shows hand out dash plaques and typically advertise the total number they will have available. The costs for the plaques range from 75 cents on up. The average cost for 100 is 1 dollar each.

http://www.qualitylapelpins.com/dashPlaques.php

http://www.dashplaques.net/index.html

http://www.rallyeproductions.com/

Trophies
You can purchase trophies locally or online (most of the places that sell dash plaques also sell trophies. Many show planners hit up local companies to sponsor 1 or more of the shows trophies in exchange for having their name on the award or their company logo on the Car Shows T-shirt. Also the DJ may be requested to read off the sponsors names several times throughout the show.

More and more shows are bringing in a couple of custom built trophies using old car parts for cars that are best of show, or if the show is small enough, all the awards are custom built out of cars parts. Very unique and different!

To judge or not to judge

1. Some shows bring in Judges.
2. Some shows have their club members as Judges (if you are doing this please do not allow your club members cars to be judge because they may be bias)
3. Participant Judging (many times people will only vote for their friends or club member cars)
4. Show and Shine. No awards just bring your car and enjoy the show. Many times your entry fee for shows like these goes to a charity.
5. Option as you drive in, Judged or Not Judged (typically the price for admission is cheaper if you enter as Not Judged)
6. If it is a Judged show make sure cars are put in to classes when they register. As sad as it is, some folks will drive in early, wait toward the end of the registration time to move their car into a class with the fewest cars to increase their chance of taking home some plastic.
7. If you will have computers onsite to help with the judging make sure you have power for them.

Video on judging a car: http://premiumcarshows.com/wppremium/how-we-judge-your-vehicle-video/

As of July 15 we are working on classes for 3 sizes of shows.

What does a Judging sheet look like?

http://www.jordanny.com/JudgesForm.pdf

http://www.motaa.com/Judgingsheet.htm

Book on Judging:
http://www.palmiericoncepts.com/Ebooks/E-book-judging-guide.htm

Food at Shows

Typical car show food is burgers and brats which is pretty boring. Some different ideas is to contact local restaurants that offer to cater food. Or help out an organization like the boy scouts or 4H group and ask them to sell the food with food profits going to them.

Unique food items I’ve seen at shows include: corn on the cob, ice cream, pie, roasted chicken, cookies, bars, donuts and coffee for the early arrivees.

Goodie bag ideas:
Contact automotive magazines to see if they have any old issues you can use for goodie bags and to promote their magazine. Pens, pencils, stickers from local companies that donated money for the show.

Door Prizes:
1. Anything related to automotive stuff (cleaners, rags …)
2. Gift cards for gas
3. Dicast cars
4. Separate drawing for the folks that pre-register
5. T-shirts or Hats that are automotive related
6. Steer clear of Dollar store items and items that have been collecting dust in your basement.

Hey Mr. DJ!?!
Should you have a DJ or not? If funds are tight and you cannot risk having a DJ as it will cut to deeply into your budget, think about heading to a place like AtoZ Rental and rent an Amp and some speakers and plug in your ipod.
If your area for parking cars is large ask DJs if they have a 2nd or even third set of speakers (wireless). This will allow everyone at the show to enjoy the tunes.
If you hire a DJ set the ground rules with them. Let them know if want them to introduce cars as they roll in. Or ask them to read off door prize numbers. Or ask them to keep the talking to a minimum. Don’t be afraid to give them a list of tunes you wish to hear or they may play “She’s so fine my 409” 6 times during the show. And they don’t need to play songs only from the 50’s and 60’s! Link to a list of other songs from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 00’s http://www.wiscollectorcar.com/forum.html?func=view&catid=6&id=31602&limit=10&start=10#32248

Must haves at the show
1. 3 portajohns for every 100 cars. The larger the location the more spread out they need to be.
2. Post signs on the road the day of the show so folks know where to turn at (CAR SHOW THIS WAY
3. Staff available to help park cars.
4. If parking on grass make sure it is mowed at least 3 days before to give some time for the grass clipping to blow around
5. Make sure you have barrels for trash. Otherwise you may spend a lot of time after the show picking this up.

DAY OF THE SHOW

Set it up

1. Get your “Car Show this way” signs out on the roads.
2. Set up your Registration area
3. Set up a spot to take money from the participants as the drive in; hand them a card that they need to give to the registration desk to sign in; this STOPS people from driving in and then parking and then “forgetting” to pay.
4. Mark off your areas with signs if you are going to park cars by classes
5. Set up you awards and try to keep them out of the sun (the heat may warp the plastic)
6. Have your goodie bags ready
7. Have staff ready to park cars

Event Registration Entry Processing

When car folks come to the event, you need to get them in and parked quickly and with little hassle. This begins when they arrive on the show day. Have your registration verification team well organized so that you can get them in quickly. Also if you are allowing day-of-show registration, have all of your entry forms and other information organized and ready for use. Make sure you have one registration area (tent, building…) so owners know where to go if they have any questions throughout the day.

Parking Management

You must plan ahead for parking of the cars. Make sure that there are enough workers at the show to clearly manage the parking of cars. Consider these things also when planning the parking effort.

* Will there be classes?
If so, you should park the cars by class, or at lease close to the other cars of their type. This makes judging much easier and more fair.
* Will you allow car clubs to park together?
If so, try and have the club members arrive together. If that does not happen, then try and leave enough space for others in the club to come later. (Most car show managers insist that they should arrive together. It is just too complicated to save spaces when you have a busy show.)
* Will you allow shade awnings and chairs near the cars?
This is a common situation among outdoor car shows. If this is done, you must allow enough room for them near their cars. There are several ways to park the cars and allow for awnings and chairs. You can leave space behind the cars, or you can leave every third space open.

Bikes and Dogs

It is your show, and it is a car show, not a bicycle and dog show. You need to be up front with folks that show up with dogs that they need to be on a short leash at their car and spectators should park their bikes or walk them. If you want to piss off car owners do it by riding your bike in-between their cars.

How to keep people at the show?
When you have the crowd at the show, keep them engaged by having regular drawings (say every half hour). Also if you have any large high-profile prizes (like a crate engine) do that drawing last and near the end of the show. Once the good prizes are gone – so are many of the people.

You may find it helpful to have a DJ or someone making regular announcements on a public address system. This keeps things moving during the day. Also plan to have some period music playing. Sometimes a live band is appropriate.

Giving the awards
When announcing the awards make sure to say the persons name, where they are from the make, model and year of their car.
Stick to the time you indicated on your flyer! It is better to start early then late. After a long day of sitting in the sun car owners can get grumpy about this!

AFTER EVENT ACTIVITIES

As the car event ends, make sure that you have people who agreed to stay afterwards and help clean up the facility. Sometimes the owner of the parking lot (or where ever the event was held) charges a fee to clean up after the event. Make sure you know what you need to do so that you can have the event there again, if you want to. Thank your car event attendees. Send them something thanking them for coming and inviting them to the next show. Tell them of the event success by telling them how much was donated to the charity or other information that gives them satisfaction from attending. If awards were given out, tell them who won what award. All of this increases the satisfaction from the experience of your show with car folks. The most important measure of your event’s success – is the interest car folks have toward your next event.

Create an online survey that you email out to the participants.
http://freeonlinesurveys.com/#
http://www.surveymonkey.com/
http://www.RateTheCarShow.com

I’ve got a car and I’m going!

Items for you the car owner:
Canopy Chair

Canopy:
Walmart has pop up 10X10 canopies for under 70 bucks.

Detailing tips and products:
http://www.autogeek.net/detailingtips.html

Car poster about your car:
http://www.superstylings.com/gallerypicts/PortraitDesign/portraitdesign-1.html
http://www.palmiericoncepts.com/showpackage.html

Guide on detailing your car:
http://www.spectamax.com/Spectamax_Guide.pdf

Car show poster display stand:
http://www.afterthoughtsauto.com/car-show-display.html
http://produxcompany.com/display_stands.php
http://www.rochesterautodesign.us/
http://www.carshowdisplay.com/
http://www.carshowsigns.net/gallery.php
http://www.showcarboardz.com/Home_Page.php
http://www.metalimagecreations.com/show%20car%20signs.htm

I don’t own a car but would like to find one, where do I start?
Auction houses:
http://mecum.com/
http://www.barrett-jackson.com/
http://www.russoandsteele.com/

http://www.automedia.com/Top-10-Collector-Car-Buying-Tips/res20001101ct/1
http://www.carsonline-ads.com/colsite/col?use=UC2_SearchSite&cmd=updateMakeModel&sortByDesc=year%2Cmake_id%2Cmodel_id%2Cdate_online&type_id=1&make_id=5&model_id=0&section_id=0&year_min=1900&year_max=2010&state_id=-1&member_id=-1
http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/
http://www.fastlanecars.com/Public/FastLaneHome.aspx
http://www.thielmotors.com/inventory.asp
http://www.autotraderclassics.com/index.xhtml
http://www.admcars.com
http://volocars.com/
http://americandreamcars.com/oldpick.htm
http://www.autabuy.com
http://www.motoexotica.com/inventory.htm
http://classiccars.com/home.html
http://www.hemmings.com
http://www.classiccarguy.com/search.asp
http://www.oldride.com/browse.html
http://www.brandonclassics.com/
http://www.rayskillmanclassiccars.com/
http://www.fossilcars.com
http://www.f40.com/inventorymanager.php
http://www.harwellmotors.com
http://motors.listings.ebay.com/_Passenger-Vehicles_W0QQa10239ZQ2d24QQa38v1yZQQa38v2yZ1986QQa39ZQ2d24QQa41ZQ2d24QQalistZa39Q2ca41Q2ca38v1yQ2ca38v2yQ2ca10239Q2ca3801Q2ca85Q2ca10246Q2ca33512Q2ca10241QQcurcatZtrueQQfclZ3QQfrppZ50QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQgcsZ13QQpfidZ2473QQsacatZ6001QQsatitleZQQsocmdZListingItemListQQsofindtypeZ22QQsofocusZpf
http://www.streetrodding.com/index.cfm/f/streetRods.main
http://www.vanguardmotorsales.com/Inventory.aspx

Get your car inspected before you buy
http://www.lemonsquad.com/

Collector car insurance

http://www.hagerty.com/

http://www.grundy.com/

How to have a car show, How to set up a car show, Car show help

Topic

[Anonymous]

This was very well written. Thanks for the info! I think anyone should be able to have their own car show after reading this!

I noticed the article included links to insurance companies that specialize in covering classic cars. If only I had seen this a year ago. I won’t go into it here, but I made the mistake of trying to insure my ’64 Olds Super 88 Flattop with more of a mainstream company. Whoops. Then I found this article:

http://cheapquotescarinsurance.com/content/auto-insurance-rates-classic-cars

Anyway, I hope no one else makes the same mistake!

BTW, awesome site. And Go Pack!

[Amigo2k]

Added a couple of new things:

Bikes and Dogs

It is your show, and it is a car show, not a bicycle and dog show. You need to be up front with folks that show up with dogs that they need to be on a short leash at their car and spectators should park their bikes or walk them. If you want to piss off car owners do it by riding your bike in-between their cars.

Must haves on car show fliers

11. Don’t forget to include the hours of the show so the owners no when to roll in and when the awards will be.

Event registration
Make sure you have one registration area (tent, building…) so owners know where to go if they have any questions throughout the day.

[Author]

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