FORMAT AND FEATURES

“Market research” is an important step to determine your format. This can be really fun because you visit other cruise-ins and car shows to get ideas for yours. It’s like being a restaurant critic or movie critic for the local newspaper if you like to eat or watch movies. It’s also a good way to line up volunteers you’ll need later by getting other folks to go with you and to get them excited. Car owners and spectators alike who are experienced at going to cruise-ins and car shows will expect to see some degree of quality, organization, and turnout that they are used to at other events. Therefore, your event needs to come across as professional as possible. Begin planning at least three to six months in advance. You might also have some classic car owners in your church that attend these events who you can tap into for ideas and information. Go to a few and you’ll quickly put together the format you’ll want to utilize. Don’t forget on-line market research. Search the car show calendars link on this website to see what other events all across the country are doing. Contact some of the organizers and ask questions.

Here are the minimum features I recommend you incorporate so that as soon as you set a date, you can begin publicizing your event while planning further details:

· Determine event type (cruise-in, car show, hybrid, multi-day, or car fest)

· Determine fee for entry (if any)

· 100 dash plaques

· Food

· Music

· Games

· Door prizes

Event Types

A cruise-in usually does not award prizes and trophies whereas a car show usually does. I say “usually” because sometimes the two terms are used interchangeably. Categories for awards and trophies come in a wide variety, such as “Best Paint,” “Best 50’s Car,” “Best Unrestored Classic,” “People’s Choice,” “Pastor’s Choice,” “Best Muscle Car,” “Best Import,” etc. A cruise-in is usually a more casual affair.

Cruise-ins generally do not charge a registration fee for car owner participants whereas car shows normally do in order to subsidize the cost of the awards and other expenses. Car show registration fees are typically $5 - $10 per car. Spectators are usually not charged a fee in either event. Keep your fees as low as you can to maximize your turnout. The purpose of your event should be outreach, not fundraising.

I recommend cruise-ins (without awards), especially if this will be your first classic car event. Cruise-ins are more inclusive and simpler and cheaper to conduct without awards. A car show can keep some car owners home that have not yet (or just can’t) invest a lot of time and money into restoring their vehicle to show winning condition. I personally don’t mind admiring a rust bucket of a 1953 Buick Skylark that was just pulled out of a barn where it sat and deteriorated for 27 years and still smells like mouse urine inside. That is an extreme example but you get the idea. Cruise-ins can bring out more of the “daily driver” classics that are still intriguing despite their rust and imperfect interiors.

You can also do a hybrid event where car owners who want to compete for awards can pay a registration fee and get a numbered windshield placard for reference by the judges and park in a designated “show car” area. All others park in a different area for the cruise-in.

If you want to have a lot of family and kid oriented elements as well as the car-related elements, you may want to call your event a Classic Car Fest or something similar.

Another variation is a multi-day event. One format could be a cruise-in on a Friday night followed by a judged car show/car fest on Saturday. City downtown areas and parks often have these types of events.

Decide early what kind of event you want to have.

Other Features

1. Canopies (highly recommended): You’ll want to have your key functions such as registration, food and drink sales, doorprize table, information booths, face painting for kids, etc. under canopies for shade and a professional image. A few of these strategically placed will draw the interest of your guests better than just a table set up somewhere in the grass or parking lot. Label them with nice looking signs or banners. You might also want to consider having one or two canopies set up with chairs for those guests who just want a break from the sun. Sizes between 8’ x 8’ and 12’ x 12’ are commonly used and your church or some church members may already have some you can use. The 12’ x 12’ model shown below is from Walmart and costs about $100. If you have the budget, you can go much larger and elaborate.

2. Music (highly recommended): Music is a staple at nearly all events and you have a wide range of choices of how to include music in your event. Non-church affiliated car show events often features popular secular music (either recorded or live) from the 50’s to the 70’s but you’ll want to carefully screen the lyrics first. For example, the classic 50’s song “I Found My Thrill on Blueberry Hill” can be taken in a way that is not “wholesome.” You can instead opt for contemporary praise music, Christian rock and pop, gospel, Christian country and bluegrass, or a combination of all the above. You might want to have your church praise band play a few sets or maybe your youth group has a budding band who might like the exposure. In between the live performances, you can play music CDs to fill the gaps. You could also hire a professional band but that can easily cost several hundred dollars and up. One thing you will definitely need is a good sound system that will cover the area of your event outdoors. Plan to have multiple speakers to cover as much of your outdoor area as possible. Determine your sound system needs early in case you need to rent equipment or even bring in a mobile DJ. Your MC will also be using the sound system you employ.

3. Master of Ceremonies (highly recommended): Your MC is a critical part of the event that will help make it professional. Ensure you enlist someone who sounds natural and is comfortable on the microphone. The MC should periodically welcome your attendees and thank them for coming out (you will have people coming and going). The MC can make announcements, discuss what the proceeds will be used for, thank your volunteers, etc. One feature I would recommend is to periodically bring up some of your car owners to be “interviewed” about the stories behind their car (its purchase, history, restoration, etc.). Your MC might be doubling as a DJ so if you need to, have a “rover” ask car owners in the crowd if they would like to go up and be interviewed by the MC at designated times.

4. Food (highly recommended): Picnic fare is generally the standard. A menu such as burgers, hot dogs, sausages, sodas, bottled water, chips, and cookies will please almost all comers. You can also add your own (or rented) popcorn machines, snow cone machines, or cotton candy machines. At a minimum, I recommend burgers, chips, and drinks which you can sell separately and price as a combo. Price your food as reasonably as you can – remember the goal is outreach rather than fundraising. You can still probably make a few dollars with a $2 burger/chips/drink combo and your attendees will be appreciative. Don’t forget to get name brand soda rather than generic ones. You can utilize church volunteers to operate your food booth, enlist a scout troop, or even bring in some professional state fair type food vendors. You might want to combine specialty vendors (i.e. shaved ice) with you own church operated food booth. Discuss with vendors what utilities they will need (i.e. a 100’ extension cord and access to water). Also discuss what their contribution terms to your event are. It might be a percentage of sales over and above a minimum sales figure. Whether you have church volunteers serve the food or vendors, ensure your church or vendors obtain the necessary city and/or county permits (even for a one-time event). It would be very embarrassing to have your food operation shut down by an unexpected health inspector. Depending on the size of your outdoor area, consider additional food booths or adding additional stands for drinks only. If you can afford it, give away food and drinks in the spirit of outreach.

5. Dash Plaques (highly recommended): Dash plaques act a souvenir for the car owners. Many collect these and display these in their car (often on their dashboard) to show the various events they have attended. They are not awards, all who bring a car for display or judging should get one (or at least until you run out of an advertised quantity). I recommend that you advertise your event will give away 100 (or higher) dash plaques. A decent first year turnout is 30 cars but advertising 100 dash plaques shows you mean business about making this a good event and that you want a high turnout. Give the leftovers to your congregation members and volunteers. Dash plaques come in different sizes, shapes, styles, and colors. They are typically the size of business cards or slightly larger. Expect to pay between $1 - $2 for each. Styles vary. Most are rectangular in size (e.g. 2” x 3” or 3” x 4”) and can be multi-colored with graphics of your choice (I recommend you budget for the largest dash plaque you can afford with the nicest artwork you can arrange as another measure to thank those who brought a car to your event). Put the year of your event on it to distinguish it from subsequent years’ events. Dash plaques can be metal plates or the material used to make the thin refrigerator magnets (these are becoming more and more popular). Trophy and awards shops often make these so you might be able to get them made locally. There are also several on-line companies that will make them and ship them to you. Some companies will help you design the artwork for additional cost. Try to have the same artwork on your dash plaque as you have for your flyers, trophies/award (if you have them), and t-shirts (if you have them). I’m not a graphic artist but I designed simple artwork using classic car clipart I found on the Internet (Google for “classic car clipart”). Start planning for dash plaques early because it can take a while to design your artwork and find a suitable producer at a price and delivery time you are comfortable with. If your church has somebody good at graphic arts design, enlist their help for all your artwork needs (flyers, dash plaques, t-shirts, etc.).

You can probably have dash plaques made at one of your local trophy and award shops. You can get more ideas and pricing information by going on-line. Here are just a few dash plaque websites with sample pictures to get you started:

http://www.meixnersmagnetstogo.com/dash_plaques.php (will mail you free samples)

http://www.tristatetrophies.com/dashplaques.html

http://www.magicworksawards.com/DashPlaques/dash.html

http://www.awardsservice.com/dashplaques.html

6. Door Prizes (highly recommended): I recommend doorprizes be designated to the car owners who brought a car for display. In the car owner goody bags, include a ticket for a doorprize. You can make your own tickets or purchase a roll of tickets like those used in raffles and carnivals. A roll of 2,000 tickets (double) from Office Depot costs about $7. Doorprizes come in a wide variety and the number you have depends on your willingness to solicit community businesses or just purchase them. They include restaurant gift certificates, oil change gift certificates, car wash and car wax products, Christian bookstore gift certificates, car magazines, car magazine subscriptions, etc. You go to stores like Barnes and Noble and there are often those discount tables where you can sometimes find coffee table books on classic cars, muscle cars, Harley Davidson motorcycles, etc. Of course, if you are very ambitious with door prizes, you can also get enough to give out to some spectators. In that case you’ll need to put tickets in their goody bags too. Spread out the door prize giveaways throughout the day (perhaps on the hour or half hour) to keep your attendees interested and save the best for last. Have your MC periodically announce the door prizes, what they are, and when they will be drawn. You may want to ask a newcomer if their child can pull the tickets out of the hat.

7. Bouncy Castle: A bouncy castle (they come in all shapes and sizes) are great for the younger kids if you want to attract families. If your church property is on a busy road, you’ll likely divert families from where they were going when the kids notice and beg the parents to pull in. They can be rather expensive to rent and you’ll need volunteers to manage the kids jumping and waiting in line. Some military bases have an Outdoor Recreation department that rent them for much less than off base sources. If you have church members with military base access privileges, ask them to arrange a rental. Estimate $125 to $300 per day depending on what you select. Companies who rent bouncy castles normally rent out many other items that could be suitable for your event.

8. Other family-friendly ideas: Cake walks, a rock climbing wall, carnival or harvest festival type games, air hockey, ping pong, volleyball, lawn darts, corn hole, horse shoes, water balloon toss, three-legged race, etc. For younger kids, you might want to buy a supply of Hot Wheels cars to hand out to the first batch of kids under a certain age.

9. BBQ Dinner: Some churches provide some kind of dinner at the end of the event. It might be free or it might be a reasonable cost such as $5 per person. Tickets can be sold as part of the registration process and it provides an opportunity to get know your guests in a relaxed sit-down environment. Ensure the newcomers (car owners and spectators) get seated among your congregation members for integration and a welcoming atmosphere.

10. Identi-Kid Service: There may be a local county prosecutor, law enforcement activity, or child protection related service that provides free child ID cards, finger printing, and DNA registration for use in the event a child goes missing. If available, this can be a great service to parents in your congregation and community. Two examples can be found at:

http://www.co.greene.oh.us/prosecutor/pr_kids_thumb.htm

http://www.baytown.org/public/police/Programs/identi-kid.htm

11. Display “New” Muscle Cars: Carmakers today are producing “retro” versions of classic muscle cars from the 60’s and 70’s. Ford gave its Mustang a retro restyling, Chevrolet is bringing back the Camaro (they still make the ever popular Corvette), and Dodge brought back the Charger with the Challenger coming in the 2008 model year. Consider asking the sales manager at your local car dealers to bring out some of these new models for an interesting contrast to some of their classic ancestors that are surely to show up. Tell each sales manager that you’re going to the other dealers to ask them the same thing so that you get some rivalry inspired participation. Let your audience compare the 2005-2007 Mustang to its 1969 inspiration. While you are talking with the sales manager, ask him or her if their dealership wants to donate any doorprizes such as t-shirts, keychains, posters, oil changes, etc.

12. “Tech Talk”: Find a mechanic and/or paint and body specialist who would be a good “on-air personality” to be interviewed by your MC about car repair and restoration. You could take questions and answers from attendees or from cards placed in goody bags that you could later collect and use for the interview. That way you have at least a few “planted” questions to get it started and you can take questions from the audience once it gets started. You can do it all in one segment of time or use it as something to spread out over the course of the event to break things up. Your local talk radio station may already have such a person who might donate their time or make your event a special broadcast location. A variation could be “Tech Demos” where a paint and body specialist demonstrates how to repair a rust hole on a fender or a mechanic demonstrates how to rebuild a carburetor.

13. “Tech Demos”: Similar to Tech Talk – find one or more people to demonstrate fixing a rust hole on a fender set up on saw horses under a canopy; demonstrate rebuilding a carburetor; recovering a vintage bucket seat with new vinyl, etc.

14. Basic Car Maintenance Seminar: Conduct a short seminar to cover oil change intervals, other fluid change intervals, how to check fluids, how to check tire tread, recommended owner’s manual maintenance schedules, etc.

15. Special Awards and Special Invitations: You can invite community VIPs such as the mayor, the police chief, and the fire chief, to give out awards such as “The Fire Chief’s Choice.” Tell them you’ll buy the award and all they have to do is choose their favorite. For special guests, you can also invite first responders (paramedics, police officers, firefighters, HAZMAT responders, etc.) and offer them a free lunch. Your local fire station may want to display a fire truck or the police department may have a special SWAT truck to put on display. Maybe there are race car builders or monster truck drivers in your area that would put on a special display. A monster truck demonstration could prepare your field early for your Thanksgiving “Mud Bowl” football game. A local military base or National Guard installation might be willing to bring out a Humvee or some other current military vehicle. Maybe you can find some cars that are gas-electric hybrids or some that run on alternative fuels such as 100% ethanol or biodiesel to add an environmentally friendly element to your event.

16. Invite Nursing Home or Assisted Living Facility Residents: The older generations will enjoy seeing cars from their past. Maybe you can offer them a free lunch and provide transportation if your church has a large van or bus.

17. 50/50 Raffle: Many event conduct a 50/50 raffle in which people purchase raffle tickets (often $1 each). A winner is drawn who gets half of the pot while the other half goes to the church or selected beneficiary of the event. Not many churches do this as some consider it gambling but it is a common activity at other car show events.

18. Car Corral: A car corral is a separate area where classic cars and hot rods for sale are displayed (and not judged if you have awards). There is often a fee in the range of $5-$25 to display a car for sale. Car corrals are typically found at large events. I would not recommend a separate car corral unless your event was already established after a few years. If you are conducting a simple no-fee or low-fee cruise-in without a separate car corral, advertise that cars for sale are welcome and just mix them in with all other vehicles. You can also look for car dealers in your area that have classics for sale on their lots and let them know they can bring them out.

19. Parts Vendors or Swap Meet: This is another feature of large events. There is a large industry of mobile vendors who sell a wide range of new, used, and reproduction car parts and sheet metal parts (hoods, fenders, rocker panel, etc.) to classic car owners looking to complete their restorations. There is typically a $10-$50 fee charged to vendors. I do not recommend having parts vendors for two reasons. One is that if a car owner has a bad business transaction with a vendor (e.g. a part does not fit on the purchaser’s vehicle as promised), it can taint that person’s experience with your church and event. The other is that having a swap meet adds an element of commerciality to your outreach event and can take away from the family friendly feel.