[Bluffen]

A Little Battle brewing between Cities..

ONTARIO >> Route 66 Cruisin' Reunion, a three-day car show modeled on the Route 66 Rendezvous in San Bernardino, will be held in this city's downtown Sept. 20 to 22, organizers announced Wednesday.
The show has been scheduled for the same weekend as an alternative car show organized by car clubs and the San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce called Rendezvous Back to Route 66.
The competing events aim to fill the gap left by the defunct Rendezvous, which had been held on the same weekend for more than two decades in downtown San Bernardino.
"We do not want to lose Route 66," said Judi Penman, the president and CEO of the San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce.
According to Penman, the San Bernardino event on Sept. 20-21 already has 100 cars and is planning on food and old-time vendors, kids' games, continuous stadium entertainment, music, movies and some new vendors.
The Ontario event will be held downtown on Euclid Avenue, several miles south of the famous road. Like the original show, automotive enthusiasts can expect block upon block of cars and displays, and include off-site events such as a Poker Run and car competitions. And as an homage to the well-traveled road, the Poker Run will go along Route 66.
With the dual events, Michael Krouse knows it may cause a rift with longtime fans of the Route 66 car show.
"I look it as competition is good. We'll become better or stronger as a result. Otherwise, we will fail. There's many car shows that exist in this world. This region is ripe for these shows," said Krouse, the president and CEO of the Ontario Convention and Visitors Bureau. He is also president of the newly formed nonprofit Route 66 Cruisin' Reunion.
For more than two decades, the San Bernardino-based event paid tribute to Route 66, classic cars and hot rods. It attracted thousands of visitors, filled local hotel rooms and drew customers to local businesses.
The San Bernardino convention center announced in February that the 2013 Rendezvous would be canceled because of a lack of funding.
In early 2012, the state shut down redevelopment agencies and took redevelopment money previously used in San Bernardino to cover cleanup and security costs at the Rendezvous. Several months later, the city declared bankruptcy.
"It is my responsibility to bring and develop iconic events for our destination. My responsibility is not political; it's to drive visitors and the community to our destination, and the best way to do that is through iconic events," Krouse said.
Shelly McNaul, who previously served as the director of special events for the San Bernardino Convention and Visitors Bureau, has been brought on to serve as the director of event planning in Ontario. The new event will follow the model of the previous show and will have an operating budget of about $500,000.
The nonprofit will be self-sustaining through sponsorships and revenue from car registrations. Officials with the nonprofit say they already lined up some sponsors and registrations, but exact numbers were not available.
The goal is to get 2,000 vehicles registered for the show and attract between 100,000 and 150,000 people over the three-day show. The figures are significantly lower than the 400,000 attendees, over the course of a weekend, that have attended the San Bernardino shows in the past.
"There's some people whose loyalty will keep them away. Some people will not support the event leaving a historic 20-year location," Krouse said.
But at least 9,000 save-the-date cards were sent out to car enthusiasts weeks ago, and registration forms went out earlier this week.
"The vast majority have been those people who abandoned the show in San Bernardino. The initial people we're getting have two to seven cars," Krouse said.
Route 66 Cruisin' Reunion will stretch along Euclid Avenue between G Street and Holt Boulevard and branch out to the side streets, east and west of the main street with the goal of incorporating downtown businesses, he said.
"We plan on bringing a unique and fun classic event to Ontario and the surrounding areas. The Route 66 Cruisin' Reunion will be an event that families and gear heads will enjoy every year," McNaul said.
Launching a new Route 66-themed event wasn't in the original plans for Krouse. The longtime marketing and planning professional said he recognized the importance of the event to the region and attempted to work with officials in San Bernardino to keep the Rendezvous event going.
"We're restoring a piece of history that has been one of SoCal's most notable car shows," said Krouse, reciting the campaign slogan for the new car show.
Krouse, who started in Ontario back in September, said he began meeting with officials associated with the San Bernardino car show about six months ago.
"I think they were afraid I was going to swoop in there and hurt them. It's not even what I wanted. I wanted it something move between I.E. cities and San Bernardino," he said.
After several meetings and no progress, Krouse asked if he could buy the show or absorb it, he said.
"That's when I learned there nothing to buy. There were no assets -- they had the trademarks on the event and unless they were willing to sell or turn it over to me, there was nothing," Krouse said.
But then it was announced that the event would not be held this year.
"When they took the position of just shutting it down, it was a slap in my face. It was purely to ensure that nobody else did it," Krouse said.
Determined not to let the event go away, Krouse, who at this point had had discussions with McNaul, approached her about forming an Ontario-based event.
There were several parties interesting in starting up a Route 66 event to fill the void, including a group as far as Palm Springs. McNaul pursued multiple options before picking Ontario.
Krouse said he created the nonprofit to retain the proper focus.
"I really wanted it to be a community-driven event. I didn't want it to be some money machine and that it remained for the community and visitors. If we didn't, it would then lose the real meaning of the event," he said.
Penman said fliers are being circulated and sponsor letters for the San Bernardino event will be out in the next couple days.
"Our Rendezvous Back to Route 66 is on schedule now," Penman said. "We've finally got our volunteers together -- people who are willing to take charge of different areas