I think shows are lacking in a few key areas these days. Shows have become kind of boring lately, meaning we go to a show, shell out a minimum of $25 and sit down, and that’s all we do all day. They don’t have events going on at the shows to keep both the people showing and the spectator’s interest up. Granted certain shows, Like the IA show, HIN, etc have plenty of side things going on through the day to keep interest going, but many shows do not do this. Another thing also is I think night events seem to get more people who come to show and to spectate. for a few reasons…. One is cooler of course and also its different, you get to see stuff on the cars you don’t get to see in day shows, usually more eye catching visual stuff is on display with the cars, etc.
As far as prices, I am not sure how much that affects the shows these days, I mean when SLAP was heavy in Atlanta the shows there were $25. That didn’t stop me from doing 2 shows a weekend, when it comes to shows like HIN, DUB, etc I don’t see a issue with paying $45-$55 to enter. You are not putting your car into just a “local” show, you are putting your car in with some of the most elite cars in Atlanta and across the country, you have many spectators and manufactuers there, so to me, the exposure you get in that and from the magazines there are priceless I think.
People who know me know I was a MAJOR show whore up till this year, I was at shows every weekend hitting sometimes 2 a week, I have no problem dropping the money to show, I have a blast showing my car, It is nice to watch people look at what you have invested time and money in, and talk to people about your car and what they have and what they plan to do to theirs, etc. I would be a shopw whore this year but so far there isnt many shows to hit yet, but I know its still early in the season to.
The show season this year is off to a VERY slow start. I have shown at 1 show so far, by now any other year I would have hit at least 5-6 by now, But WE MAKE THE SHOW SCENE what it is. If you people feel its dying, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!! Start coming to the local shows, large or small, it doesn’t matter. We are what keep shows coming; we are what keep shows popping up from weekend to weekend. We have allowed the show scene to slow down, last year was the worst I have seen yet, I hit MAYBE 10 shows last year, when the year before that I hit about 30+ shows.
I think if more people are aware of the events (Believe it or not, not everyone knows of IA…lol) I think we could spark more interest again. So many people 2-3 years ago who were so heavy into shows have dropped the show scene and gone more into speed, drifting, or just moved on all together. That has hurt the way shows are for sure, Granted every year new people come into it, But a lot of people do not have the dedication or passion like we saw at its peak a few years ago. The lack of clubs taking a hardcore stance on showing to has hurt, when the clubs a few years ago were huge, there was fun rivalries, etc that kept the passion in it for clubs, but alot of clubs are as passionate as they once were and some of vanished, and that also hurts turnout.
Another thing is the new trends like drifting have taken people from shows and put them into a new passion, so that hurts it as well.
Basically I think it more comes to things to do at shows, and getting the word out about the shows is more of a issue then what it costs to enter a show.
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