Whether your ideal meetup is a whole-day BBQ event, a car show that lasts a weekend, a massive get-together on the salt flats, or just a cup of coffee with a few other gearheads, a little planning goes a long way. I’ve hosted a few meetups in my time, and some were definitely more successful than others. Here’s what I’ve learned works from my first-hand experience in building an automotive community.
Food
Everyone likes to have something to consume when they’re socializing, so it’s a good idea to either provide food and drinks or locate the meet near a restaurant.
Entertainment
Some car people just aren’t very entertaining. Some of us try to impress others with our vast knowledge or the numerous projects we’ve worked on before. Others like to just stand by their car and admire it. Some people are naturally radiant, and no matter who they’re talking to or what they’re doing, other people like being around them. If you don’t have one or two of those people (you’ll know them when you meet them), you should bring along something to do. Entertainment can be virtually anything, from a car movie to a live band to a frisbee or a broken car that everyone can help fix.
With a little extra planning, a competition could be set up. Most car shows are centered around competitions, and some even offer cash prizes for various events. These competitions can create a lot of buzz and set your event apart from others.
Scheduling
This is where most organizers get caught up. Some people can do Saturday, other people can do Sunday, and while you’re discussing it someone else jumps in to say they can’t do weekends altogether. It’s enough to throw your hands up in the air and give up. Before you even mention the thought of a meet to anyone, find a generically ‘good time’ to host it. Accept the fact that some people won’t be able to make it (no matter how accommodating you are), and try to avoid holidays and weekdays on 9-5. Pretty much anything else is fair game, and as long as you give adequate time for people to plan it out, you can state that it’s on a particular day and that’s just the way it is.
Weather can easily make or break an event, even if there’s indoor parking available. A warm, sunny cruise to meet up with car friends carries much more appeal than a windshield wiper test to meet some people I don’t even know. A nice day can be the hook the drags many of us out of the house and the garage and into your meet.
Location
When choosing a location, make sure there is lots of parking, and make sure it’s visible from the meet area. Attendees will want to show off their cars and there is a very real possibility of theft. From a thief’s perspective, an unwatched car meet lot is like a gold mine waiting to be opened.
If you’re meeting at a diner or other food service location, give them a heads-up that you will be bringing people along and approximate the number of people you’re bringing. They’ll really appreciate it, since it allows them to staff appropriately, and your guests will appreciate it because they won’t be waiting inordinate amounts of time for their orders.
In general, try to get support from the community ahead of time. Invite non-car people who live in the area and you might be surprised by how many people come just to see the cars that show up.
Invite People
Now that you’ve nailed down the details of what, where, and when, you need to have a who. Craigslist Events, automotive forums, Facebook, meetup.com, and evite are all great places to start inviting people. Tell all your friends about it, whether they’re car people or not. They probably know a few non-car people as well.
Because people are generally visually-oriented, you should use a picture everywhere you advertise. Use an image editor like the GIMP to touch up your main image and add in some text (don’t forget the title, date+time, and location, and putting a phone number in it is a good idea as well). Your image does not need to be cars, it could be people talking and laughing or having fun.
Backup Plan
I’ve run into problems where too many people showed up, or people showed up too late, and we had to go to another location. I had set it up in advance and made sure it was available, and everyone who was coming knew to look in the primary location, then the overflow/backup location if they wanted to join us. Even if you don’t give out a phone number for the meet, this ensures that everyone can find your group.
