There are several considerations to make when hosting a car show:
JUDGING
Most folks who participate in a car show do so for the chance at an award. When structuring your show you need to consider whether to do a participant judged show or a standard judged show. Participant judging is easy. Just create a form that has several blank lines and have participants rank their top 5 favorite cars. You’ll need to make sure you set a deadline for forms to be turned in so tabulation can be completed before you present awards.
If you want to have a judged show, you should create a judging sheet on a 100 point scale with possible bonus points. With a judged show, you’ll need to secure enough volunteers to judge. These should be people who are not participating in the show so as not to stir controversy. Setting deadlines for registration and judging is also key. For example, registration opens at 9am and closes at 11am with judging between 11:15am-1:45pm. You’ll then need ample time to tabulate the results before you present awards.
When ordering awards, it’s best to leave plaques off until you tabulate or see your attending cars. You might have an award for “Best Bike” or “Best Cadillac” but no bikes or Caddies show up. Now you have a blank trophy to award to someone else for a gimmick award like “Youngest Driver Registered” or a second trophy for a tie score.
REGISTRATION
There are two documents you could use to get people registered and help streamline your data collection for judging and awards. These include a dash card and registration form. Here is a sample dash card. You will also need a registration form for pre-registration and/or onsite, day-of-show registration. The entrant should complete the following field blanks: Name, address, phone number, email address, car make and model, color, trim, mileage, model year, major options (optional) and car club affiliations. Show officials will need to have blanks to complete the registration number for each entrant and the class under it is entered.
PLAYLIST- Optional
Car shows have a cliche playlist that is rooted in the same tired old songs from the ’50s and ’60s. But let’s face it, the participants and spectators of car shows have evolved. The average age of a classic car owner is 54. That person grew up with hits of the 80s and 90s as the soundtrack of their lives. And the cars they drove were built in the 70s, 80s & 90s. So to help move car show culture forward, Car Show Life has compiled a playlist of songs about cars and driving that were released between 1980 and 2018. It runs about 2 hours and 44 minutes and can be shuffled among songs by the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, Commander Cody, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry and others for a more satisfying listening experience at your next car show.
This blog is presented compliments of Car Show Life, providing show boards and signs for car enthusiasts. For more information view Our Page or to order your customized show board, visit CarShowLife.com or call 724-448-0994
