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I am going but only because I live about 6 miles from it and I need to drop some seat cover material off to get some seat covers made. Next year I doubt I will go.
Men, It ain't what it used to be .................... !!!!
...ain't that the truth. Years ago I looked forward to Bloomington. Went there every year from 1991 to around 2008. Did go again in '15 & '18 when it was at Indy. Sadly it was in it's decline even then. Loved it at Springfield the best though.
...your round trip ride will probably take longer than the time you spend going through the Bloomington show.
I don’t know Paul… Some really nice cars in attendance. A really low mile 1969 L-89… Several 1972 LT-1 A/C cars… A really nice LS-6 coupe among others. Plus the cars over at the Bone Student Center. More 1965 fuel injected cars than I’ve ever seen in one place… Four 1963 pilot line cars including #3, #15, #16, and #17. Several big tank and/or Z06 1963s. Plenty to keep me occupied for hours (and did just that).
Ran into my friend Mike (62corvette on this forum) and talked a bit about LS-6s. Good to see you Mike!
This was my first return to judging ANY Corvette show in six years and my first return to Bloomington judging in twenty five years. I had an absolute blast! Worked with Tim Thorpe who is a master in the Corvette restoration business and a true gentleman as well as my old friend Drew Papsun… A great way to kick off my return to Bloomington!
I went today, I was wondering how many CF members i knew on here and was just walking by and didn't know. I was with my wife a stroller and 3 little kids. I have to say it had the least amount of swap meet and cars in the 3 years I've went. still saw some cool stuff.
Stan,
I just got back from the show. It's a bummer we didn't get the chance to meet up. While the attendance was down, I enjoyed getting to see some special people in the car corvette hobby like Drew Papsun and Ron Goduti just to name a few. I usually catch up with Tim there but I guess you kept him busy judging I have seen Jim's 12k mile L89 before but I still spend a ton of time checking out that car when I can, it is an amazing car.
The show was spread out amongst a handful of large University of Illinois buildings/stadiums/venue's either next to each other or within a couple blocks. And show cars and sale cars were in different lots not even next to each other. Therefore it was difficult to judge how many people were actually in attendence. Compared to like Pheasant Run where you could see and knock elbows with people you knew, or just met, and look across and see all the car there. But it sure didn't seem like very many attendees, or even spectator cars...even at noon on Sat. And a $35 entrance fee kept casual observers away. A lot of the 'old guys' who've been the Corvette die-hard guys (from the 60's/early 70's) I suspect have passed on, or sold their cars...or just don't come anymore. But OTOH, this venu offered a more protected environment for rare/expesive cars. The air conditioning was nice.
There were some good chrome-bumper sharks, a handful of rubber bumper cars. I think I saw maybe one shovel-nose shark, lol. I saw a grand total of ONE Camaro (late model one). I was hoping I'd see more. I think that would really help save the show *if* they could attract more Camaro and Firebird cars. But ultimately they're a different kind of owner...always have been.
The number of vendors and swappers was down a lot. Just about everyone we talked to seemed concerned how long the show could go on like this. Two vendors I spoke with, guys who've been doing Bloomington for 40 yrs, said even though there were not very many people at the swap area, they still sold quite a bit of stuff. And my brother bought a couple items for his C1's he'd been looking for (lot cheaper than ebay he said). But overall, my brother and I had a great time talking to other owners and looking over their cars. You don't often see that many nice older vettes in one spot like that. I would have liked to have seen more rubber bumper cars, but we still had a good time.
Almost distressing, I was talking to a guy who worked for Mid-America Motorwork for ~15yrs. He said Corvette FunFest attendence was super low now too. Mike apparently decided to do it again this year, but they've been on the fence ...said the guy I was talking to. But nowhere near as many cars as years past. Hopefully this year will be a bigger show.
Thanks for the report. I'd love to see some pictures if anyone has any. I think it's a combination of things reducing attendance, but then I see a show like Iola (I see you're from WI too, so I need not explain) turn away cars last year because they were full, so I have to think there are ***** that could be turned to make it better. I have gone to Carlisle every year since about '09, and while I think they too are down from when I started going, it's still a pretty packed show with a lot to do. Seminars, NCRS display, 50th anniversary car display that is actually full, cars for sale, swap meet, full lot of spectator cars to look at...they've got Bloomington beat on all fronts.
I have thought for a while that the current owner of Bloomington just kind of has the attitude of, "This is the way we do our show, so if you don't like it, don't come," and people have thus responded. Their brand has always been the certification, and it seems in the last 10 years they have neglected the other areas which make a car show. I would be very curious to know if they still sell out certification slots. Moving the show multiple times didn't help them, nor did watering it down with Camaros, pricing it at $35/day/person (holy cow, Carlisle is $80/car/whole show), or charging people to go on a road tour on public roads.
.....so I have to think there are ***** that could be turned to make it better.
I think you stated that well, and I agree. But OTOH...they've been changing it over the yrs ..different operators, etc. Maybe it's time to get back (closer) too it's roots. Take it down a few notches from Premium. For one...Bloomington has always been kind of 'Hoyty-Toyty' IMO, since the valuable cars have become high-dollar collectors. Different than the F-body owner set has been. BUT, those F-cars have shot up and more hoyty-toyty collectors now own them. But I try to look beyond the chin-up aspect of some Corvette owners (my own personally feeling...right or wrong).
Ultimately I hope they can find another venue, more intimate, where there is enough secure space for the rare cars, and a tighter open area where people can rub elbows... and it seems more 'happening'. I'm sure sitting in the organizer's seat there are a number of factors to balance out which makes it difficult to find the 'perfect' place. Somewhere around Chicago would be great. Owner's wives could do shopping or visit the city and people would be inclined to stay longer, maybe both days. There are a number of Canadians who come down who would love that I bet. Easier to fly into.
In fact, a buddy of mine was telling me yesterday, their wives are in fact the ones who keep them going to Minnesota "Back To The 50's" MSRA street rod show (Same weeked as B/G). The wifes look forward to their 'Twin-Cities shopping trip' each year. Otherwise my buddy said he and his other buddies (that's about 6-7 cars right there!) probably would have stopped going several yrs ago (it gets to be an expensive weekend). He said BTT50's exceeded 11k (pre-'64) cars on one of the days ..even with crappy, rain-forecasted weather! That's a show where a lot of the hard-core street rod guys from the 80's early 90's have since passed, like Corvette owners, yet it's continued to thrive. So it shows there is still a thirst & draw for esoteric car shows. And they've been lucky to keep the same dynamite venue for many yrs...not move it all over the damn place. Chicago has a real nice downtown and plenty of shops/outlets etc around the area. A person can make 'a trip' out of it and get more out of it than just Bloomington Gold. And a lot of Pheasant Run attendee's wives (mine included) would ..and used to do shopping and downtown things. Bloomington doesn't offer that draw IMO. What's in it for the partners/kids/etc at Bloomington? If the wifes or partners said, "Let's go" ...that's enough of a tipping point to get people there. One guy told me he *thought* Bloomington Gold was under contract for one more yr at the same Illinois State facility. IDK if that's accurate or not. Be interesting to hear what the plans were after that.
Ultimately it comes down to owners. What do we want our hobby to be like. If people don't participate, the hobby and shows will evaporate.
Iola Old Car Show...well now that you brought that up, that show has seen some transition too. Mostly evolutionary and it hasn't affected attendance very much (thankfully). I've been going and on/off swapping there since the very early 80's. It grew a lot throughout the 80's/early 90's where it's pretty much stabilized. It's funny b/c areas that used to be the "Hot Spots" we'd do swap, those Hudson/Packard/Pontiac (older Pontiac's) guys have long since passed and those areas went Crickets. And other areas became the new "Hot" areas to swap. But yeah, overall it's still very nice and I agree with you they do a fantastic job (not as good as Krause IMO..but still very good). It hasn't shrunk. I would say there are a few more manufacturer's Rep Tents there than even at it's peak! I've started seeing a greater number of younger guys participating, which is a breath of fresh air if the show is to continue. And some guys who were real young back in the day are now a bigger part of the show. Same as Jefferson (since you know Iola, you know Jefferson).
Side Story: I have a soft spot for Pace Cars. A few months out of H/S waaay back in the early 80's, a guy let me drive his immaculate pace car for the afternoon. Well, I was getting it ready for the guy to sell, so it was more like a trustworthy Ferris Beuler's Day Off kind of thing...only I didn't beat the car (my parents taught me better than THAT!). I had to clean it up (thoroughly), buff and detail it out. After a morning's worth of hard work on a hot day, I had to gas it up and make sure it was 'mechanically good'. Spent the rest of the afternoon tooling around town, the countryside, waving at chicks, etc. Tops off, listening to 80's tunes! Beautiful warm/sunny day about this time of yr. I was in heaven. This was just when C4's were coming out ....C5/6/7's obviously didn't exist. So to most people, Sharks were common Corvettes of the day. It was the Coolest car I'd ever driven at the time and generous of him to trust me to drive it. Created a life-long memory. I was hooked! An owner should let a young guy drive a vette or classic car, a bit to pass along memories for younger guys. Sometimes the smallest thing can leave the grandest memories. This car brought back a flood of memories.
I have seen Jim's 12k mile L89 before but I still spend a ton of time checking out that car when I can, it is an amazing car.
