It’s a Tough Weather Call…
…for today, but we’ve decided to call it rained out for Saturday, September 6, from 9–11 AM. It’s one of those Saturdays that, no matter what, it’s a tough call. If we said we were on, the turnout would be low anyway. We also highlight the time of our show in the opening sentence because those from Fresno get so confused. They wonder if it means we’re on before 9 or after 11.
We had a tiny bit of debate on Facebook about the quality of our show versus others, as if to some people we’re somehow not doing enough when compared against annual, monthly, or some other metric in a car show that doesn’t translate.
We’ve beat this topic to death over the years, but I’ll explain it again since we have a whole new peanut gallery chiming in. We’re a weekly car show with the strong intention of remaining a social gathering point with a theme. Many in car circles who are now friends originally met at E@RTC and that was what we envisioned from the day we started. A few of you got married. Maybe punched each other by now. Who knows. Some even became business partners. Maybe you punched each other by now too!
When Vic and I first started E@RTC in February 2009, there were no car shows of any relevance in the Pacific Northwest. None. There were brand clubs who made fun of each other and had drives, but that was about it. It’s why I kept my car in Orange County. I could fly down and visit a half a dozen car shows on weekends, and there were restaurant meetups everywhere. All the brand loyalists got along, and it was super fun. Then I’d fly back to Seattle, where there was a lot of wamp-wamp.
The entire goal of E@RTC was to build a cohesive car community. It wasn’t to attract personal attention. Relatively few of you have any idea who I am, and that’s intentional. It was always about the participants and spectators, with us Thugs acting as facilitators to help you all have a good time. We always believed we could all fit in the elevator.
As a weekly event with only a limited number of active volunteers, we can only do so much. We have lots of people criticizing us because they don’t think we do enough or are not “on par” with some annual show, and it’s a bit dispiriting at times. Those locations they think are so ideal don’t hold up to 20–24 shows a season, nor do they as a show. It’s a very unique thing to do what we do and it needs support from everyone because it’s a core driver of the car community, excuse the dreadful pun.
We pay for this show mostly out of our own pockets and built this one place that has zero profit motive and remains out of some of the big ego stuff. We do it all for fun. That’s it. All the other shows usually have another objective, and that’s fine. I only bring it up to highlight that our agenda is to bring cars we love and people who love them together in a parking lot and have a good time on a Saturday morning. It’s two hours of fun then we go have lunch or go mow the yard. It’s really that simple. All the other stuff is just there to make it all run smoothly.
We can’t spend a lot of money and time on promoting our event to be on par with an annual or even monthly event. Everything you get is free, yet some still bitch because apparently we’re not somehow providing enough value, or they’re in a fight with the swamp donkey they married. We don’t really know what drives them. (Damn it, another pun. It’s driving me nuts. Doh!)
We do want your help telling us how we can make a better show, but before you suggest something, also share with us who should do that work so we can talk them into it.
We’ll otherwise see you soon! Hopefully next Saturday.