I went to Dawsonville Ga. today for there fall show.They had a great turn out with a lot of neat cars and trucks.One thing I noticed at the last few shows I have been to,is the number of cars and trucks out in the parking lot.It seems that many owners are tired of paying to show thier cars,or maybe like me these owners don't want to spend all day sitting around a parking lot.So next time you go to a show spend some time looking where the drivers are parked .

 

they park in the parking lot so they don't have to pay entrance fee. less money for the show promoters. maybe next year no car show. enter your car, bring chairs, go out meet other owners, come back to your car meet people that want to talk about your ride. make new friends. most show's you can leave when ever you want. have fun, relax and enjoy.

 

yep even the small local shows have an entrance fee. it costs to set these things up and to have them etc. so i got no problem with it . i think some of the larger shows are getting a lil' carried away and the vendors food and drink prices , so i just take my own . i haven't went to any this year as life has managed to get in the way every step of the way and the truck sits quitely and silently still . so yep participate and enjoy or soon the shows are gonna go the way of the local race tracks ......... extinct ! i lost one dirt track and the drag city raceway in rochester in my life and have sweated bullets over a couple of others , and the car shows used to be an every weekend thing somewhere here and they are dying out so slowly ....................

 

What I've noticed is how hard the economy has hit those people who show their cars and trucks in my neck of the woods. All of the shows I've been to have had at least half of the amount of cars that were there last year. Some of the shows have only had a third of the cars from years past. The only show that seems to be growing is a local show that happens on the first Friday evening of each month. It was started two years ago by word of mouth and has grown to be one of the biggest shows in the area. No sponsors, no vendors, just people who love old cars and trucks. The person who started the show got with a few local restaurants in a shopping complex and got them to offer deals to all participants. So when we show up, the event coordinator gives us a wrist band which allows us to eat at these restaurants for 25% to 50% off our meal and then we just hang out. I usually get there and eat before the masses show up and then I just walk around and check out all the other vehicles and talk with friends. You can show up when you want to and leave when you want to. At the shows this summer, there were 150 to 175 cars there!!! Not too bad for a word of mouth car and truck show!! The public has also heard about it and the crowds are getting pretty large too. The restaurants are making quite the profit and as for us, we have a great time. There are a few problems with the "younger" crowd showing up later in the evening and "burning out" and blaring their stereos, but nothing too bad. Overall, it's a great time.

 

I would have to agree with you Herb about the growth of local shows in the last two years. We put on a show for the local school and can't quit the growing. If things get up like they do, we will have to shut down the town on both sides of the state line. I also see more high quality vehicles that get driven there instead of being hauled. I really like that. I see the "younger" kids having many local shows and posting them over the internet and getting the girls to pose with the tuners. I remember when my voice dropped and checking out all those so-cal effies with the bikini clad girls in truckin and anything that I could get with ford trucks in it. All I know is that I wanted one of those trucks. I got one and all I could get was fat girls to ride with me. Well hell, they need loving too.

 

I too have noticed that the attendance is down at some of the larger shows that I have been able to attend. Some of our local shows seem to be growing though. The attendance at the Robber's Cave Fall Festival car show was down about 55 cars this year, only 448 showed, still a good show though.