Carfest , escalating costs for clubs
Discussion
Seems to have gone up even more , and the numbers are reduced to 5 cars
Really hope that this doesn't kill off the smaller clubs from attending . Granted L7 GB will not be at the CFN event this year
The display pitch is up by £150, £500 to £650 and they've reduced the number of cars to 5 so more expensive per person and camping up from £100 to £150 per pitch of 6 so again more expensive when split by 10 and not 14. -
Seems to me the cost of taking my car , manning a stand and then packing up after the show is virtually the same as buying an individual ticket and having no responsibility
Then I started thinking
The clubs pay all this money , are not allowed banners to promote themselves and even have to hire the tables etc from the organisers
But only 25% of the money goes to CIN
Would rather give £50 to a local kids charity and go for a Blat
Let's see if Carfest can get this post removed !
Really hope that this doesn't kill off the smaller clubs from attending . Granted L7 GB will not be at the CFN event this year
The display pitch is up by £150, £500 to £650 and they've reduced the number of cars to 5 so more expensive per person and camping up from £100 to £150 per pitch of 6 so again more expensive when split by 10 and not 14. -
Seems to me the cost of taking my car , manning a stand and then packing up after the show is virtually the same as buying an individual ticket and having no responsibility
Then I started thinking
The clubs pay all this money , are not allowed banners to promote themselves and even have to hire the tables etc from the organisers
But only 25% of the money goes to CIN
Would rather give £50 to a local kids charity and go for a Blat
Let's see if Carfest can get this post removed !
TooMany2cvs said:
Seems simple to me. If you don't think it's worth it, don't pay it. <shrug>
We"re not . After attending everyone so far . and if one club has reacted in such a way , how many more will and then the event will just become Bake Off meets Seasick Steve
And the comparison to FOS is good
Everybody knows FOS is a commercial event
CF is sold as a charity event and I would suggest a straw pole of those attending would show that most "punters" think far more than 25% actually goes to CIN
25% plus all further profits according to their site - so they commit 25% of ticket price regardless, if they make money past that then that's donated too.
These things cost money to run. You can't expect the company supplying (e.g.) the toilets to do so completely free of charge. And while there are some part-time volunteers staffing it, I'd expect a lot of staff (especially doing the less pleasant jobs) to be paid.
If you don't like it, I guess there's an excellent choice of fields to stand in with people who happen to own the same car as you.
These things cost money to run. You can't expect the company supplying (e.g.) the toilets to do so completely free of charge. And while there are some part-time volunteers staffing it, I'd expect a lot of staff (especially doing the less pleasant jobs) to be paid.
If you don't like it, I guess there's an excellent choice of fields to stand in with people who happen to own the same car as you.
We've decided not to go this year, after attending the last two with a Car Club. The increased fees were part of it, but we found it all a bit 'samey' so we'll be going to another event for a bit of variety. I do wonder about the reduction to 5 cars from 6 for each club though. If this is to fit in more clubs then fair enough but it will be interesting to see if the overall club space has been reduced.
A sportscar club I know of has decided it's too much to pay. It's a strange situation when the organisers require exhibits to make their show viable, then proceed to charge non-commercial entities/owners for providing them with these exhibits.
What's in it for the car clubs? Membership of the clubs doesn't suddenly increase on the back of these events, no merchandising can be sold and unless you're fickle enough to believe in something intangible as some sort of reflected prestige then all the clubs see is an expensive weekend with zero benefit. But the organisers make a profit (for the charity, of course - of course) so everything's alright.
What's in it for the car clubs? Membership of the clubs doesn't suddenly increase on the back of these events, no merchandising can be sold and unless you're fickle enough to believe in something intangible as some sort of reflected prestige then all the clubs see is an expensive weekend with zero benefit. But the organisers make a profit (for the charity, of course - of course) so everything's alright.
Delbert said:
We"re not . After attending everyone so far .
and if one club has reacted in such a way , how many more will and then the event will just become Bake Off meets Seasick Steve
And the comparison to FOS is good
Everybody knows FOS is a commercial event
CF is sold as a charity event and I would suggest a straw pole of those attending would show that most "punters" think far more than 25% actually goes to CIN
I've attended with my family for the last 2 yrs.and if one club has reacted in such a way , how many more will and then the event will just become Bake Off meets Seasick Steve
And the comparison to FOS is good
Everybody knows FOS is a commercial event
CF is sold as a charity event and I would suggest a straw pole of those attending would show that most "punters" think far more than 25% actually goes to CIN
It's a well organised, great family event, I had no idea how much went to charity but assumed it was much more than other festivals.
Impasse said:
A sportscar club I know of has decided it's too much to pay. It's a strange situation when the organisers require exhibits to make their show viable, then proceed to charge non-commercial entities/owners for providing them with these exhibits.
What's in it for the car clubs? Membership of the clubs doesn't suddenly increase on the back of these events, no merchandising can be sold and unless you're fickle enough to believe in something intangible as some sort of reflected prestige then all the clubs see is an expensive weekend with zero benefit. But the organisers make a profit (for the charity, of course - of course) so everything's alright.
When you put it like that, it's almost pointless.What's in it for the car clubs? Membership of the clubs doesn't suddenly increase on the back of these events, no merchandising can be sold and unless you're fickle enough to believe in something intangible as some sort of reflected prestige then all the clubs see is an expensive weekend with zero benefit. But the organisers make a profit (for the charity, of course - of course) so everything's alright.
It reminds me of a Youtube/Facebook comparison - both sites require content from the users (and both make from advertisers) - one site pays contributors for content, the other demands payment for content if you wish to promote it. Carfest demands payment for no return when it is they benefiting from the content provided (cars for the visitors to view).
gifdy said:
I do wonder about the reduction to 5 cars from 6 for each club though. If this is to fit in more clubs then fair enough but it will be interesting to see if the overall club space has been reduced.
If this thread is indicative of the clubs' reactions, it's going to have exactly he opposite effect.The title isn't really correct, not all car clubs pay for their clubs presence. In our case it's the members who attend that pay even though we are there for the club. You still receive a list of rules as long as your arm if you attend. You are not allowed to display club banners or flags, you have to hire the tent off the organisers which is understandable I suppose to keep everything looking tidy but you pay through the nose for it and you can't opt out. Most of our members turned up on the Thursday night and you have to stay until 7pm on Sunday when the organisers allow you to leave. Those who attended CFN last year will maybe remember many of the cars, gazebos, chairs, bags, us were sat in 4" of water for hours at a time because the surface water drainage couldn't cope, well we were one of those clubs and we received no apologies from the organisers.
The event was originally Chris Evans idea and to have 7 cars in each 'class' running around a track and car clubs to provide 7 cars to display, the magnificent 7. The organisers, that I believe don't include Chris Evans, have decided to reduce numbers to 5 and increase the price of the display area by £150 and expect people to be happy, pay and attend.
I've now displayed at all 3 CFNorth events and it has become same old, same old. It needed a make over but by that I mean more cars, possibly some racing, which could have been a real possibility at Oulton Park. I don't know figures but the car club area seemed poorly attended in 2014, either that or the area was too big. Many of those I spoke with from other car clubs were doubtful they would attend another year and that was before the car reduction and price hike.
Maybe if such things as free tickets weren't lavishly issued to whole schools, children, teachers, parents including transport to and from the event they may not have had to have the price hike and reduce numbers of cars on the displays.
It really is a great shame but I do hope for the sake of Children in Need that the event still raises lots of money.
We won't be attending CFNorth and I think it's doubtfull for CFSouth.
I was the organiser for our club at CFNorth and you can guess the club from the number at the end of my user name.
Rant over :-(
The event was originally Chris Evans idea and to have 7 cars in each 'class' running around a track and car clubs to provide 7 cars to display, the magnificent 7. The organisers, that I believe don't include Chris Evans, have decided to reduce numbers to 5 and increase the price of the display area by £150 and expect people to be happy, pay and attend.
I've now displayed at all 3 CFNorth events and it has become same old, same old. It needed a make over but by that I mean more cars, possibly some racing, which could have been a real possibility at Oulton Park. I don't know figures but the car club area seemed poorly attended in 2014, either that or the area was too big. Many of those I spoke with from other car clubs were doubtful they would attend another year and that was before the car reduction and price hike.
Maybe if such things as free tickets weren't lavishly issued to whole schools, children, teachers, parents including transport to and from the event they may not have had to have the price hike and reduce numbers of cars on the displays.
It really is a great shame but I do hope for the sake of Children in Need that the event still raises lots of money.
We won't be attending CFNorth and I think it's doubtfull for CFSouth.
I was the organiser for our club at CFNorth and you can guess the club from the number at the end of my user name.
Rant over :-(
Edited by Alfie7 on Sunday 22 February 20:43
I must say as someone that went to CFS last year I'm surprised at the costs involved for car clubs that go along. There are rumblings exactly like this one on other forums as well saying its pretty much not worth them going (in a display/car club way).
When myself and the OH went last year, I really was quite disappointed. There was hardly anything there to see and once you walked round 3-4 times you got dizzy & quite bored. It now makes sense when people who have gone as part of a club explain what they are and aren't allowed to do. It makes complete sense of the lackluster "owners club" section. At FOS (which we do every year) you can get up and personal with all of the super cars. At CFS you had to have the right kind of pass?! I paid enough thank you!
I can say I would never go to CFS again but certainly do FOS
When myself and the OH went last year, I really was quite disappointed. There was hardly anything there to see and once you walked round 3-4 times you got dizzy & quite bored. It now makes sense when people who have gone as part of a club explain what they are and aren't allowed to do. It makes complete sense of the lackluster "owners club" section. At FOS (which we do every year) you can get up and personal with all of the super cars. At CFS you had to have the right kind of pass?! I paid enough thank you!
I can say I would never go to CFS again but certainly do FOS
Carfest is an event for "celebs" to show that they're doing their bit for charidee mate.
FOS is an event for rich celebs.
Both admit the plebs. to spread the costs. Neither is an event for real enthusiasts any more (and one never has been IMNSHO).
FOS is an event for rich celebs.
Both admit the plebs. to spread the costs. Neither is an event for real enthusiasts any more (and one never has been IMNSHO).
Edited by marshalla on Sunday 22 February 23:11
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