Like Matt said, we are meeting this weekend to figure out how to move forward. We knew early in the week when the event reach hit 18,000 that changes would need to be made. Matt and I were on the phone constantly trying to figure out what to do. We never in our wildest dreams could have predicted the turnout or events that happened. Someone mentioned maybe 300 cars, and our estimate with the number of spots and the number of cars coming and going (cars were still coming in after 11) there were probably closer to 800 cars.
I only found out about some of the issues once we debriefed after the event. I honestly was shocked and disappointed. There was no reason for the incidents that happened. It isn’t up to an organizer to have to babysit a group of adults just to prevent the type of things that went on. At no point should there be theft, vandalism, and my god telling the organizer to f*off when asked to simply move to avoid having the event shut down. No one in attendence can say they didn’t know something was up with the police.
The event rules have been prominently posted on the C&C Buffalo website and FB page. Everyone who is on the mailing list also received them directly, however beyond that, rules shouldn’t be needed on how to act as an adult in public. I’m glad the folks here have shown they know right from wrong, thank you.
Matt has been inundated with emails and a lot of opinions on where to go in more ways than one. Fortunately 99.9% of the Buffalo automotive community has been stellar in supporting him. He does this for the community and for no other reason than to be a promoter of good will. Thank you to all those who have stepped up and helped him out and continue to offer support. Between the legal costs and fines this is going to be a massively expensive deal. Let’s show him we all stand behind him. I do.
Honestly and in confidence when we first spoke on Sunday he told me he just wanted to let it die. I don’t blame him. For 3 years he’s been pouring his heart and soul into this, and this was a real gut check. After many phone calls and emails with those on here and others central to the function of the group he was convinced to stay with it. It would be a shame to pull the plug on such a great event that started with about 20 cars in a cold damp parking lot in 2014. But if it’s going to continue and move forward then as Matt said we have to figure out a lot of things.
Please continue to post pictures on the site, continue to offer ideas and suggestions, and stay positive. We’ll keep everyone updated on what we’re doing and the status of the legal issues.
A lot of the car shows in Texas would just have a couple guys at the entrance to allow cars in. Drive a 97 rusted out Camry? Not coming in, park someplace else. Jeep? Sorry home slice. Muddy subie? Go Vape elsewhere.
My views on this are all over the place. I def. got pretty frustrated when the police showed up, but for a few different reasons…
For starters, the way the first cop just pulled in and blocked the entire way of getting out (talk about a real “safety” issue…), and his pompous attitude about the way he handled everything…it just screamed, “I have power and I am going to use/abuse it…”
Secondly, the crowd seemed well managed, and dare I say well-behaved for the turnout. However, I was NOT aware of people stealing from Rite Aid (has that been verified?), or people on a roof, etc. That is COMPLETELY unacceptable, and I can say, whomever was doing it, it probably wasn’t the crowd that this event was intended for…and I say that in the least elitist way possible…
Thirdly, this was a great event for the last couple years. My free time these days is very limited, but knowing I could look forward to this once a month, it has kept my inner car guy stimulated. The crowd that turned out was also really nice. So, to see it get all retarded with nocturnal jeeps, thrashed imports, and rice bombs, it was pretty sad…especially since it led to the demise of this nice event at Orchard Fresh…
First off, thanks for your hard work. Auto event organizing is a lot harder than most people realize. I know, I’ve been there. I’m glad that you are working to find another venue instead of just dropping it. This is a matter of something being taken down by it’s own massive success.
There’s been a lot of good, constructive suggestions here and I imagine that many of us posting here weren’t the cause of many of the problems. A venue where parking can be controlled and/or a donation being taken would probably cure many of the issues instantly. I saw you mentioned the Larkin Group and I think that venue is perfect. There’s a Tim Hortons in the building (although you would probably have to ask the owner of it to have it open for a Sun. morning) and adequate bathrooms. Lots are sectioned so show and spectator parking could easily be segregated. But that is just on the surface. I don’t know what kind of costs/insurance/working relationships would be like behind the scenes.
Once again, thanks for your work and I hope to continue attending these events with my son.
I mean you’re going to hurt some feelings, but a couple car guys at the gate goes a long way. If a clean RB2.5 240sx shows up, sure let him park, but some hobbled together deathtrap drift l33k bro can park on the street or in the next lot down the road. Keep it car lot open for exotics and clean cars that should be shown off.
Donate some money as an entrance fee ($10/car) to keep an undesirable element and give the proceeds (net of your costs) to a charity. That seems to be the optimal solution. Sorry you are having such major issues given what happened over the weekend. My son and I really enjoyed the event aside from what you mentioned as being problematic.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but have you been able to use the Orchard Fresh lot for free thus far? If so thats a huge convenience and it sucks that it has been forfeited because of idiots.
I have been looking at a lot of different venues for events like this with DITB the past few years. It seems that if you plan on hosting anywhere in the City of Buffalo, regardless if its on private property or not you will need an event permit. Easy to get, but takes a while and sometimes it can be a huge pain getting to the right person. Also along those same lines, most venues will require additional insurance of ~1,000,000 that they are covered under for the event. For our events our sponsors (Blackforest) has taken care of this. This probably won’t be an issue because I’m sure you could find someone to do this for you. Just like everything else, creates more work/hoops to jump through.
Having people directing traffic at the entrance, and having a dedicated entrance and exit will work wonders for controlling the crowds and organizing the event. I would probably suggest not to limit the type of cars invited, but plan on having two areas. The plebeian area for the jeep/subaru bros as well as the people who are there just to spectate, and another section (clearly separate) for the cars worth looking at. An entry fee for both would still apply.
In order to have the ability to control the lot like that, and blocking off entrances makes your choice of venue more restricted. Obviously you could not do this at a place like Orchard Fresh, or any place who has regular business hours during the event. Furthermore this makes it even more difficult to find a place where coffee/food/bathrooms are availible, which is a big draw to the event I would guess.
Finally… the places I have found easiest to work with are parks. Beaver Island, Fort Niagara, Olcott Beach among others were all easy to talk to and cheap to rent out. Renting out a parking lot in the city was a little more work and expensive. Overall this is a higher caliber event than the DITB stuff, therefore you might have more luck getting a private store/business interest. There is a huge crowd draw, so thats a big incentive for them. Plus the demographic of the event is much more high class, aka they have more than $10 in their pockets. Just have to find a spot big enough where the crowd can be controlled, but still have other amentities nearby.
It is really awesome how many cars came to the event, really speaks volumes of how eager people are in this area to get more car stuff going.
When I saw this on FB and being sent to various groups I knew it was going to get out of hand.
I have only been to one C+C out of town, but what are other cities doing for locations?
all the various C+C events ive attended while ive been out west have never had an issue.
I regularly go to the Pelican Parts C+C which is held at a mall parking structure with an insane amount of awesome german stuff
the Irvine C+C I used to go to all the time was held at a big name manufacturers parking lot but has sense been shut down by noise complaints
ive actually been to the Scottsdale AZ C+C and it was just in a grocery store parking lot like the one in WNY
a few other smaller C+C ive been to around SoCal (san diego/donut dericts/costa mesa) have been in similar strip mall parking lots with lots of space.
I cant believe they had such a big issue with the C+C especially since it looked like a lot of people were supporting the business.
perhaps its not an issue out here because car culture is everywhere here? (meaning every weekend there are like 12807541280345801746 cars and coffee meets in the area)
Also is there any chance you could reuse the lot if you met with the owner and told them all the new stipulations you’d like to put in place?? Maybe I’m just biased because my breakfast sandwich, gelato and coffee were fucking delicious.
That chef’s special!
Ham, sausage, bacon and egg…fuck.
I had an excellent time.
A shame that turds are ruining this, because I really doubt that the adults that are showing up are not stealing and getting onto the roof…
Post up a gofundme for your costs, hopefully those that attended will be willing to help with the costs.