Lessons Learned from C5Fest I (Planning for C5FII)

[hrpiii]

Originally Posted by jrhaus76

. Somoene need to notify the local restaurants. I know Outback wa CRAWLING with Camaros and no one told them we'd be there.

There was someone in the main hotel parking lot handing out flyers to one of the restaurants Friday night. But they had the wrong address, not our fault, but they owned 2 restaurants and had the wrong address to where they were 'expecting' us. They were upset no one showed up but hey, we didn't print the flyers.

I would have liked a little more organization at the gate, maybe have those drivers fill out the appropriate information in advance.

Also would have liked a little more notification of where things were at, for example, I wasn't aware there was an area to get name tags till Sat. evening.

Overall... HAD A BLAST and can't wait for the next. Great job on this event!!

[Mr Twisty]

Sounds like Spike deserves a front row seat next year as well... Did any of the mods get to run the drag strip or auto-x?

[bumblebeecamaro]

it would be a huge disappointment to a lot of people if and when they do plan on having it on the west coast. I'm sure there are lots of people from out west, but let's face it people, the majority of the masses are on the east coast.

[CamaroSpike23]

I'll chime in a little bit

Originally Posted by Rookie13

I know there is a lot to read through in the C5 Fest II Thread, but there is a lot of good information that needs highlighting so the Mods can evaluate the pros and cons of the 2010 event, and improve the 2011 Event in planning.

Please provide some good comments to any portion (positive/negative) of your experience, the planning or the execution of the 2010 CamaroFest Event in Valdosta.

I'm sure there are more comments in some othere threads, maybe consolidate yours here. Intelligent responses are welcomed. Please continue to use the C5 Fest II Thread for location preferences and opinion battles (MidWest vs. West).

Some comments from the C5FII Thread:

1. ...a real road track for the next Fest (Blade)
Tell Blade that Spike said to shut up. lol
2. We make it a two or three day event... (PQ)
we are definately looking into that.
3. The only kink I really see is having the event 30 miles from the host city can be confusing. Also if the event gets bigger, I don't think the Holiday Inn can handle all the cars. I know once the first two hotels were booked, I ended up staying 2 miles away, which kinda seperated us. (MarylandSpeed)
remember, this started out as a southeast meet and greet and with the number of people coming out, we decided to call it what it was evolving into.
4. And make it a 3 day event at least; All that build up and hype for 6 months then it seemed like a couple of blinks of an eye and it was over; just like that. (Doc)
it could be a week long and it would still be gone in the blink of an eye.
5. I know it's more for the organizers to do but it might help to break up the track days into 2 separate days with that many cars; have one day be a vendor, modders, show car day; then the last day for bbq, drinks, socializing and just hangin out with each other. (Doc)

6. Is it going to be in spring again? I know a bunch of people wanted to go
but couldn't because of school or because their kids were still in school. (FenwickHockey65)

Response to 6. (DGthe3) - Yeah, April is a bad time for college/university students. Early May would work out better, right between the end of exams and going to work.

7. One thing that was a disappointment to me was the fact that the Saturday night track party didn't happen. I'm not sure what happened there but it was one of the main events where everyone would come together in one place and socialize. Let's make sure that our main socializing activity happens next year! (Abygale)
well, the track party was supposed to happen, along with everyone staying at the track. however, after the circle track laps, most everyone decided that was all there was and left... and they missed my fireworks as well!!!!

8. [Slightly OTP] Big Picture thoughts from (speedster)

9. If the decision is made for a west coast location in 2011, then I would recommend scheduling the event in March for cooler weather. Ideally, 55 - 65 degree weather would be much more beneficial for our cars and our skin. (Mod4SS)

10. The only feedback I would have for SGMP for future events is to 'staff up' at the opening gate for the first hour...other than that...that facility had their 'stuff' together! (themossman)


11. one would be to do a two day event (Friday & Saturday) and the other would be to do away with the road course or make it smaller and expand the Vendor area and have everyone parked on the asphault. IMO there wasn't enough room for the Vendors to really show their stuff and most of the cars had to park out in the grass area. (fcu678)
the location of the vendors was not where we had originally planned, originally, the vendors were to be in the pit lanes so that EVERYONE had to walk thru one path with vendors on either side, there were a lot of people that got to the GM cars and turned around because they thought there was nothing more.

and a big part of why everything was parked where it was, was due to our "unexpected company" at the track friday morning.
12. Many people quoted having family obligations and kids in school. It is easier to bring the whole family and make a vacation out of it in the summer when kids are out of school. The turnout will be better which will effect vendor sales and local establishment profits. (edog)

Originally Posted by jrhaus76

I will give my suggestions as well. These are all really good ones and I think the weekend went GREAT for the first one...

#1. Have it at the same place! PERIOD. The more you move, its like starting over. You can't improve things if you are moving every year and starting over. Sorry west coasters, drive, fly... whatever but DO NOT MOVE THE VENUE every year.

#2. Have someone local in charge of relations with the local businesses. I wont point names but we had a huge caravan stopping at Summit and the person who was supposed to take care of letting them know... didnt. Luckily at the last minute someone who lives in ATL notified them and they threw soemthing together. Somoene need to notify the local restaurants. I know Outback wa CRAWLING with Camaros and no one told them we'd be there.
notifying people on the stops you make on the caravans is all on you guys.

as for the local restaurants, we had originally planned for everyone to eat at the host hotel after the cruise. but that didnt happen

#3 Release the infromation publically and open the gates for spectators. SGMP would have raked it in if the locals knew what was going on.
who says they didnt rake it in?

#4 If the SGMP is used again, relocate the "Vendor Area" to the HUGE parking lot between the strip and the Auto-X. Give people somehting to walk through on their way between the two events. Having the vendors in the south corner made them out of the way. Use the south area as parking and for the large competitors paddock area.
see above for the parking issues

#5 I think the amount of time was pretty good. Friday at the hotel was fun and one full day at the track wa enough for me and most in my group.

#6 Having the track 15 miles away was OK. I enjoyed the morning drive but I went early and beat the traffic. I was right in. SGMP needed more help at the gates come starting time!
having 500 cars pile in at the same time is not an easy task to coordinate for a large group of people, let alone a small one. You might remember, I was running car to car telling the drivers and spectators where they needed to park once they got inside the facility

#7 May/June... may be better. Any later in GA and its too humid and cars are going to run like crap.


Remember... you can NEVER... EVER please everyone. Make it annual, same place. All large shows are at the same place. Sure there are people that can't make. Oh well, it happens.

Keep the idea coming...

one problem is with having it at the same place is that it does start to dull out after a few years.

We have the F-body beach week every July here in SC, and I stopped going because its the same cars every year winning the same trophies every year. same goes for Camaros at Carlisle and the Fbody Gathering that is held in the same place year after year, things get stagnant.



all that being said, this was our first fest. we learned a lot from it. we will be changing some things and we are always open to member input. because it is you, the members that make these events what they are.

While I would enjoy a weekend with just the other mods, a whole slew of vendors and the GM team at the track, without you guys we have nothing.

[68 Z/28]

Originally Posted by Rookie13

Father Time,

NO doubt about it there were some major hurdles that were overcome to pull off a hell of a good time

However,

This is NOT a complain thread Sir. No matter how much time and energy is spent on time for an event, there is always room for critique and constructive criticism. That is how we learn. I tried not to make it to "Military" (Sorry been in the Army for 20 years now), but EVERYTHING should have an AAR. [After Action Review]

You as 'Father Time,' should know that.

This is a place to collectively provide valuable thoughts and comments for the event organizers to ponder on and discuss on their own accord to improve and continue their passion for putting on a hell-of-a-good-time.

Best.

Originally Posted by jrhaus76

I was not referring to you. You were a great help along the way. Junkie was to contact them but when i spoke with someone who spoke to the manager about a week prior, he siad they had no idea whatever, it went over GREAT and Summit was totally prepared!



Ummm... what he said. No one is "complaining". Constructive criticism... maybe. Suggestion for improvement... absolutly. How else can things get better and bugs get worked out? Did GTA do a good job... hell no he didnt... he did an OUTSTANDING JOB! I think the weekend was great with no major glitches BUT there is ALWAYS room for improvement. Now that we have one under our belts we can learn from it.

As I said before... you will NEVER please everyone. If you move it way out west, you will lose the easterners. This is where it started, in GA... this is where it should stay.

I think when it comes to C5FII, there should be a poll and ONLY VOTE IF YOU ARE AT LEAST 75% LIKELY to go. I bet you will see that SGMP will win. People like comfort. Now that they have been there, they are comfortable with the area... they know where the food is, the car washes, hell... I know where the mall and Old Navy is... Its just easier to keep it at the same spot.

This is coming from someone in Ohio so I had to travel also but that was half the fun... 80+ car caravan!

Please, GTA and everyone else, dont take this as complaining... I bet very few people would have any "complaints" about the weekend!

Maybe complaining was the wrong word , all I'm saying is that knowing something of the major hurdles that came up , it's truly a miracle that it went off at all and we should be thankful for a wonderfully executed event . That said maybe instead of dwelling on what should have been done different , which I am sure the people responsible for planning are very well aware of , we should let them get on with the planning of the next one and look forward to another extraordinary event in the future , you know what they say about too many cooks spoil the soup . Now if someone wants to step up and volunteer to be the organizer of the next one , I'm sure Tran would give you an ear


Again Great Job Chris

[prostock69]

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

I'll chime in a little bit




one problem is with having it at the same place is that it does start to dull out after a few years.

We have the F-body beach week every July here in SC, and I stopped going because its the same cars every year winning the same trophies every year. same goes for Camaros at Carlisle and the Fbody Gathering that is held in the same place year after year, things get stagnant.

all that being said, this was our first fest. we learned a lot from it. we will be changing some things and we are always open to member input. because it is you, the members that make these events what they are.

While I would enjoy a weekend with just the other mods, a whole slew of vendors and the GM team at the track, without you guys we have nothing.

I totally agree about this event becoming stagnant if it stayed in the same place year after year plus the nice citizens of Valdosta, GA would get tired of seeing Camaros after a while. Spreading it around would give different communities a chance to see the most beautiful car GM has ever made

[2010SLVRBULIT]

--central location would be best/fair for all..
--so big that it would be a week event(flexible enough that most can make some attendance)..
--kid functions/involment w/ RC sponsors/shows @ events
--how about during a State Fair or similar invlovement?

[godfathercrc]

I think it should be in the same place always.For the first one i thought it went very will it will get better and better in time .Me and my wife had a great time cant wait for next year

[Hopeful]

Having to stay somewhere other than the host hotel, I would have liked more announcements at the track. I missed meeting the GM C5 team and would have liked to have gotten my car signed. Perhaps I was a tad late to the track (about 11:00), but I didn't want to be in all that traffic. It took me all of 5 minutes to get in.

Andy

[Camaro Freak]

I think everyone needs to take notice of the F-Body Gathering, which takes place every year in Atlanta GA. It has grown bigger and bigger every year and is now in its 14 year. Its always been in the SouthEast in Atlanta. I think Camro5 fest needs to always stay in its original location. That way it can grow and be bigger and bigger every year. I agree, it needs to be a three day event.

[Bowtie5]

Same place ,same time for me . Had a great time and it was so easy to get around the city . Could not have been better !

[BackinBlackSS/RS]

I agree with the comment about a real road racing course. That would be SWEET!!!

[DrumDawg]

1. More room for parking at the host hotel.

2. Some type of schedule that would be given out at the gate. My family needed a break during the early afternoon to go back to the hotel and rest. If we had a written schedule we could have planned a little better. As it turned out, later I needed to take the family to a nice dinner right when the competition was beginning. I also missed the run around the oval track despite having went out there and sitting for a while with about 15 other cars. (I never heard a time we were all suppose to go out there.) About an hour later, when I was back drag racing, they were all on the oval. A written schedule could have helped here again.

3. Maybe a little something for the kids. (RC club demo, hot wheel race, video game car racing, etc...)

Besides these three things, I think it was awesome! I was surprised that no decal vendor showed up or no one was selling the air freshener that looked like a bee. Best event I have ever went to and the family had a great time. I think we should have it there again!

[acatlover13]

Absolutely...no complaining folks...this event was amazing. And remember, this event started out with a couple of guys saying "let's get together and hang out" and it exploded from there.

I like the idea of a two day event...and I think that if they had known how big this thing was going to get...it would have been, but by the time it exploded, a lot of the preliminary plans had been made.

I agree that next year, the locals should be more involved....they were blown away by us, and many would have come out, had they known. Although it's too late to get the press out there for this year's event, we could still send some of these amazing pictures to a big car magazine, and I think we could still get some press coverage.

I agree with most of the comments from the first couple of posts, except for the one about being closer to the venue. These tracks are almost always located in the middle of nowhere because of the noise, and there would never be enough hotel rooms close enough to a decent track. Also, I liked the location of the vendors because if we want a bigger road course, the vendors couldn't be sitting where the larger road course would be.

I think this event was amazing and it was perfect because it left us all wanting more, and that's what the first event should always do.

GREAT JOB GUYS....it was AWESOME!!!