Dixie FiatFest - If you have it they will come--NOT

[FiatMac]

I am disappointed! What has been one of the most fun Fiat events that I have attended and looked forward to every year may be no more!

A grand total of 3 Fiat owners showed up for the event, and one of those was the event organizer! Those in attendance were Denise Burchett, Craig Nelson and his wife, and me (Friday and Sunday). We were all there for Friday night (along with a Bertone driver named Jack(?) who had to leave due to a fuel leak on his car) at THE PIT indoor kart track and had a great time. I was not able to go up to Winston Salem for the rally on Saturday. Three other cars showed up, so with Denise and Craig there were a total of only 5 cars for the rally. I drove up to run in the autocross on Sunday, but when no one else besides Craig and Denise showed up to run their cars (other than a couple of BMW guys), we canceled the event.

Needless to say, after all of her hard work in setting up the event, Denise was upset and is not likely to schedule one for next year. I can’t blame her.

I am not sure what went wrong here because everyone who has ever attended this event has always had a great time, and we have a lot of new members who are within easy driving distance. Heck, Craig drove up from Georgia! Was it too close to FLU? Did other events interfere? Is Labor Day weekend a bad time? (it is my understanding that this weekend was picked because people liked the idea of having Monday to travel). I hope it was not just apathy. We need events like this to get together with like minded folks and play with our TOYS.

[ga.spyder]

I cant blame her for being discouraged.As it stands now,the event will not take place next year.Denise puts a lot of time,effort,and her own money into the event.It is more fun than any FFO.The shame is that we have always had more guys come from up north than the south!!! Last year we had 4 cars from MD/DC drive down and 1 car from Ga.This event was began as a way for southern owners to meet and have fun. There is a general apathy from owners in NC,GA,SC,and TN.If that strikes a nerve with anyone...too damn bad!! I understand people have other events and things scheduled,but this had been on calendars for a year.A real pity!!

[pda041376]

Apathy? Maybe a case of PPP.

Labor day weekend is not the ideal time to schedule anything for people that have families. There are local events that have to be considered as well. Not that my little car is in the condition to attend a gathering, but even if it were, I would of been a no-show, not due to apathy, but due to a local fireworks show (Boomsday) that I had to attend. Maybe before putting time, effort, expense into an outing a headcount should be established to ensure there isn't disappointment or wasted money/time.

Strike a nerve you did. Just not a good one. The nerve you struck is one that more planning is required to be successful.

Edit:

If on the other hand people had responded saying they would attend and did not, that is reprehensible, and they should be admonished.

[ga.spyder]

A year apparently isnt enough time to plan? Since you have never attended you arent on the email list.There have been emails sent to all previous attendees since last year.Some of them asked if the Labor Day weekend is a bad time.The consensus is that the extra travel day made it attractive.There have been agendas sent out,listing all activities and times.This is not some spur of the moment affair.It has been planned since last years vent.It has always rivaled FFO in planning and execution.And,yes.There were respondees who didnt show and didnt bother to cancel or even send a message to Denise.Apathy is a strong word,and I hope it does strike a few nerves.But if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck.. I usually dont post negative things,but I know how much time and effort went into this.I take offence to you saying that Piss Poor Planning was the cause of this.Talk to someone that has actually attended this event.

[pda041376]

A year apparently is enough time to plan...

Putting something on a calendar is not planning. Now granted not everyone is like me, but I found out last week that I had to go to aforementioned fireworks show at the mayor's office. Again if people enlisted to come they should, if there is no pre-signup, then the chips fall where they may.

[ga.spyder]

I agree with you about the sign up.This is the 1st year that people didnt pre pay for the different events,and look at the result!I dont want to come off as an ass,but I know how much planning,time,pre running the routes,checking with hotels,finding and paying for a auto-x venue,restaraunt reservations,making maps,insurance,etc.. went into this.We wont have to worry about it next year,and that is tragic.With FFO going to NYC there will be nothing for owners in the south.

[supplyguy]

Craig - I'm sure right now it's a huge disappointment, but please don't decide now on whether to have the event next year or not. I understand from DCFIAT colleagues it's a great gathering. There may be many individual reasons why folks didn't come (I would have liked to but never intended to - for me too close to FLU, and I went to my home town this weekend for the Baltimore Grand Prix) and you'll hear those soon. On the other hand, if there's a common denominator perhaps adjustments can be made and attendance will swell. I do think prepayment discourages last minute "do I really want to drive that far" no shows. Sorry it didn't turn out, and hope this was a one time lull. Take care - Chuck.

[ventura ace]

I really regret that I didn't make it to the Dixie Fiatfest this year. I was very fortunate to have enjoyed the 2 previous years, and know I that this year's events were delightful for those that could make it. Special thanks to Denise for the fantastic host and planner that she is!

And special thanks to Denise & Amber & Randi, Craig, Todd, John, Richard, and many others that made special trips to spend time with me when I was 'in the vicinity' this summer, and earlier this year. The Fiat community has its high tides and low tides. It's a group of friends that support each other from every angle, that's one thing that you can bank on.

Alvon

[ga.spyder]

First off,Chuck I am sorry I didnt get to hang out and check your car out closer at FFO.Once I finished parking cars for the show,I found your car but never saw you around.The car is really coming along.Congrats on your hard work and undertaking the adventure of getting it home!The DC Fiat guys are the best.Todd,Walter,Bernie and John have always driven the long drive to attend Fiatfest.They all had previous events going on this year and took the time to let Denise know they couldnt attend.The sad thing for me is that the DC,Michigan,Chicago and even California owners support the event better than the guys who live here in the South!Other than a once a year car show,the Atl and Carolina chapters never gets together.Now that the Italian Car Day is in danger of being cancelled and Fiatfest wont take place next year,we are resigned to putting up pictures and stories on facebook and forums.
Alvon,you are right about it being a''low tide'' for us.I dont want to speak for Denise,but I know how disappointed she was.You know how much work it is to put on a event like this.Throw in her family and racing interest and I dont know how she does it.She is tireless.But,we will always have our core group that will support each other.Bottom line ..we will get to attend FUN next year and show some love to the groups that have always shown up for Fiatfest.

[mdrburchette]

Thanks for the concern, guys. Although we had a mighty small turn out this year, I still enjoyed hanging out with you and the others. I appreciate your commitment to keeping Dixie Fiatfest going. I'll give a little background on why I started this event 4 years ago for those here that want to know and maybe we can determine if it's worth trying to continue and what needs to change.

5 years ago, there was concern that FFO was becoming too expensive and it seemed to be happening more in the Northeastern part of the US so I thought I'd try my hand in organizing a less expensive event that was geared more toward driving vs showing our cars. I decided on a 3 day weekend event that consisted of a gokart racing challenge, a time/distance rally and an autocross with cookouts, tailgate pizza and local dining thrown into the mix. I scouted around for the best venues, drove hundreds of miles to perfect the rally and found a decent parking lot that was inexpensive to use for the autocross. I then posted the event on all the forums with my contact information and emailed everyone with updates that was asked to be on the emailing list. I also sent registration forms to anyone interested in attending the event. My first few years, most people came from different states like Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina. It was held the last weekend of June and it was blistering hot, so I moved it to September. Everyone on the emailing list at the time was sent a note asking if Labor Day weekend would work for them. I chose that weekend due to the extra travel/recoup day and it was before many schools started. Also, my husband, who travels for a living, is always home on that weekend and it didn't conflict with my daughter's racing. Nobody I contacted deemed it to be a problem.
Until this year I did registration by email and some events were prepaid via paypal. This year, however, there just wasn't much interest. I tried setting up a website for the event, but I am computer illiterate and it proved too difficult. I'm on the Board of Directors for the national FLU club and I even tried to addressing the problem of local chapter support, or the lack of support to the BOD, but trying to get anything changed through the club is like working with the government. It ain't happening any time soon.
Maybe it's been poor planning on my part. I don't know. I have always done this event on my own, with a little help from the BMW 2002 club on the Autocross setup, a bunch of support from my family and a lot of rallying from my Fiat buddies. I was hoping to bring the Southeastern Fiat owners together for a little fun time, but if there's no interest, there's nothing more to do.

Denise

[RRoller123]

You should be commended for all your hard work.

[leftfield6]

Sad news indeed. Sad that lots of work went into this by Denise and others, and it just didn't work out. I would have loved to attended, but alas, the Bertone that I was hoping to have at least running is still up on jack-stands in the garage. I had jokingly thought about driving my VW Vanagon Westfalia to the event, but even that didn't work out, as it has developed a wonky starter issue.

I hope something like this happens next year, whether it is still called the Dixie Fiatfest or not. Maybe this year was not a good combination of being so close, both physically and chronologically, to FFO. Next year with FFO in the northeast, seems like it might be a better year for a mid-atlantic event.

At the same time, there is no reason for Denise to have to shoulder all the work to make this happen. I'll throw my support in there at helping out with logistics and planning as best I can.

[baltobernie]

I was hoping to bring the Southeastern Fiat owners together for a little fun time, but if there's no interest, there's nothing more to do.

In the words of the late, great George Harrison, "You can lead a horse to water ..." As I've said publicly and privately, Dixie is the best Fiat gathering I've attended, and you and your family are some of the most delightful people we know.

However, I've sworn off long-distance events in my Spider that take place when the air temperature is forecast in the 90's, either enroute or at the destination. One of the reasons I chose the Fiat Spider as my vintage car project is its almost-unique ability to be driven at contemporary speeds on modern roads. I'm not car crazy enough to have a tow vehicle and trailer just for this purpose. We enjoy being out on the road, even if it means sporadic Interstate driving attending events. But it is simply not any fun to do this soaked in sweat. Labor Day Weekend on I-95? Not in the back of a limo, let alone the front of a Spider. Debbie & I have had to cancel events we eagerly anticipated (and paid for) at various FFOs because of heat. I'm absolutely not going to roll the dice on the Staten Island Expressway, Belt Parkway, etc. next August.

OK, since you're not drawing a lot of Spider owners locally, what about moving Dixie to April, or even March? Us Yankees are itching to get on the road after every winter. You might even get some Canucks. The Spider's heater is far more effective than its air conditioning. Yes, those with school-age kids won't attend, but notice the two prevailing hair styles at Fiat events: short gray hair and long gray hair.

[RRoller123]

Good point about the heat. We have had an awful Summer up here (with the heat and humidity) and my wife and I have taken some short (30 mile) drives that turned into nightmares, like a sauna on steroids, arriving smelling like a pig and soaked in sweat. No thanks. We only go out at night or late afternoon now for our drives, and stay off the road when it is really hot. Just not fun.

[maytag]

Events like these are always tough for this reason. But in tough economic times, they are even more difficult to plan for, without a pre-register requirement.
I'm waaaay out on the other side of the country, so I absolve myself from guilt for not showing-up myself. But some of you may recall that a year ago, I suggested planning something similar out here on this side. The response was such that I aborted the notion immediately. Ya see; I;ve done this sort of thing before. And not only is it a thankless task to put it all together; it's a gut-wrencher when you do a great job, and plan for (__) people, and what you get is (__)*.10

So what can I offer that's helpful, instead of just commiseration? I dunno. Nuthin', I guess.

Having a "sponsor" that can help get attendees can be useful. Scheduling the event as a sub-event or at least at the same time as something else with a larger draw can also be helpful. (ie: a state-fair, or a local college-rivalry ball game) This was particularly effective for me, because many people jump at the opportunity to share their cars with the uninitiated. The people who are there for the ball-game, but will browse the cars lined-up in the lot, (which just arrived from a 100-mile run through a canyon) can be an exciting way to end (or begin) a get-together. And allow an ancillary event that the families can join-in on and feel catered to as well.

I've been invited to attend an event out here in October that is a 3-day fun-run through some of the best parts of Utah. Looks like a hoot. But doesn't offer anything for my family to enjoy, so it's more difficult for me to feel like I can get away and do this. If they were to end the run at a Family-oriented event, it would be more attractive to me.

I don't know if that helps or not. just food for thought.