Considering the fest 04 vs the fest 05.. The fest at Fishey's was actually tame in comparison.

I do believe the word got out early that Fest 05 may have been the last and everyone gave 120% to the dedication of the nutty meter.


By and large this is a great group and very well behaved. I believe the fireworks at Fisheys added to the furor at that venue. Perhaps some behavior guidelines will be established this year if it does happen.

I'll behave if Travis does..

 

Andrew and I are in to help in '06, Dan, the New Fest Man! Rumor is that he will be a 944 owner by then!

 

[QUOTE=Travis - sflraver]
I will be on my best behavior and will be a roll model to all fest attendees.

Do you think 'roll' was a freudian slip, Travis??? The Blazer did not roll, but it came close!

 

I for one don't know how in the hell it didn't flip??? I'm glad it didn't though!

 

Me too...

 

expert driving

 

I'll come, I'll pay.
The fest may never die

 

It didn't really get "cancelled" per se, I just gave up trying to make it better. It was too much of a project and took a ton of time and money to do. Here's some insight and maybe you can see my position.

Fest01 was just a cookout with some beer and steaks. 12 cars on a Thurs eve and a 15 mile drive with some picture stops. I gave away 1 trophy to Brad for his Grand Champion. Back then I only had one child who was less than 1 yr old. This I can manage no problem. In 02 I lived in a home in a rural area on a few acres, so I turned it up a bit. We had twenty cars, made it a weekend event, gave away some prizes and since folks came from far away, I let them arrive the day before and we had a bonfire and drank beer the night before. We roasted a pig and had no problems. 03 was similar, but the home was vacant. I steamed clams, gave away more prizes, drank beer and we enjoyed 30+ cars. It is starting to get wild then. It was still OK, I owned the land and rowdyness and drunkeness was contained, so were the costs.

In 04 I sold my Mansfield house and did not have a suitable location. The Swifts generously offered their estate near Dayton and we invaded with 50+ cars. It was on the 4th of july weekend IIRC and the fireworks got a bit out of hand. It cost me nearly 1K to host as I didn't charge admission. Many folks donated and I think everyone enjoyed it except the Swift's neighbors. That kind of expenditure I can handle.

In 05 I pulled out the stops. I rented the Snow Trails Ski Lodge for $1500, spent a bunch of $$ on an waterpumper art show (items for sale, it did pay for itself) rented a tent ($700) and a dyno (1K) catering (1K), a few hotel rooms ($750), fantastic trophies and a bunch of other small stuff. I make a comfortable living and was fine sharing my wealth, I collected a lot of strong donations. 60+ cars and we got crazy and the neighbors called the cops and complained about our late night noise. My landlord was a bit pissed, and I was dead tired after the weekend. I had a couple of helpers but the task was too huge, and I walked away going "WTF do I put myself thru this for?" In my mind it would be impossible to surpass my 05 event, I'm quitting there.

My kids are now old enough and want to go to disney. Instead of spending my spare time planning, advertising, setting up, etc..I'm going to go play with my kids. Maybe in a few years when they are tired of ole' Dad I'll throw another bachanal, but for now I'm retired.

My free beer and cookout evolved into a monster I can't control anymore. Sure, I could charge admission, get helpers, and crank down on the shenanigans.. but then it isn't my Fest anymore as it would be more like a lot of other car shows. No regrets, I've made a lot of dear friends and made a lot of memories I'll treasure for a long time.. but for now my family needs me more.

I fully support anyone who wants to host her in the Ohio area, I'll be there but I'll be parked in a chair watching ya'll have all the fun. My only concern is someone taking the name and turning it in to a business venture. I don't know that it is possible, but I won't support any effort to make it commercial.

Best of luck, Dan! Let me know what ideas you have as for location, etc.

 

What about thsi idea....get back to basics. Campfire at night, a lot of talking about the cars and just getting with other people who are as crazy about these cars as each of us is.

 

sounds good Bill. I like my booze way more than the next guy - but what ultimately brings me to these events are the people and the cars.

 

Geuss who got Longest Drive...

 

Often local campgrounds have large group campsites you can rent out if you plan far enough ahead. Around here there are even private ones that are pretty relaxed rules-wise. The campsites are great for a long afternoon/evening of cooking out, having a few bevvies, etc. The big downside is having to drive to town late if you are not inclined to camp, but you could fix that with a hired coach to take you to a hotel, where you can have arranged for a group room rate.

-Joel.

 

hu.. what.. me?

Dan, i love you like a brother- enjoy your vacation.. the fest will perpetuate itself.

like a bad traveling craps game gone awfully wrong...

Hell, even the cute 'CHICK" cops were won over. (Travis IS a stud..)

 

I wouldn't go that far... but ... lets just not get into how MUCH we got away with.

She even did a burnout on the way out!!!!

 

git away with what?? i WAS A PASSENGER AND THERFORE NOT LIABLE...