BloomingtonGold Review
 

hey Guys and Gals,

Tell us what you think. How was the show, the GoldTour, entry into the show, and parking?
Improvements can only be made with imput from our guests. Dont worry I am thick skinned (and also very burnt). Thanks for your cooperation on the GoldField both in your respect for the fairways and the greens and in keeping your area clean.
I also would like some feed back in what can we do to help improve the attendance on Sunday? No, we cant do time trials around the cart paths.
Remember next years show will be the following week. Next year will be the 50th aniversary for the 1958 corvette so if you want to take part in the GoldYear event let me know. Also since there was no 83, the SilverSalute field will be featuring Corvete Pace Cars.
You can always contact me either through the Forum, Email or by phone

Mike
BloomingtonGold
309-838-2731

I bought a 4 day pass, and we didn't go on sunday. I was already sunburned enough from 3 days. The show seems so docile, next year I would add a burnout contest or maybe some live music to liven the place up, just cause some of the cars are old doesn't mean we all have to be!

Some ideas for next year:

Burnout contest
live music
dyno booth

I think these three things would help bring the show to life a bit, and you would see a higher turn-out, especially on Sunday.

Thanks and I still had a great time at the show,

Jack Godwin

I have never understood why the Gold Tour has such a large loop for the turnaround. Because of the length of the loop, you don't get to cross paths with at least 50 cars in front and behind you, if not more.

This year, to test my theory, I went the opposite way around the loop (did anyone notice the single Z16 heading the opposite direction around the loop?) It was outstanding. I crossed paths with at least 100 more cars than I would have seen if I had stayed in line. (I also got out from behind a Toyota Highlander that wandered into the parade).

My suggestion is to either make a much smaller turnaround (so you miss seeing a lot less cars) or send half the cars in one direction around the loop and the other half of the cars the other direction (so you get to see more of the cars directly ahead of you in line)!

Just my two cents.

Jason

The restrooms were a little bit of a walk from the forum parking area. Some of the guys who like to sit and show all day also said the garbage cans were a little spread out. Also can we set up a EZup style tent or get a tent for a fee. There may be interest in this if it can be done. Can we park a RV near the rear of the forum lot (Similar to the Corvette club sponsored by one of the dealers)? Overall the show was good. I thought the judging and awards time placement was good. I am curious as to the auction results with the time change.
TommyN

Mike -

Hats off for another great event. :thumbs:

I'm going to just comment on 2 things (and if I think of anything else, I'll chime in again):

- the entrance to parking, and what you've done to eliminate the long lines for entering was a huge improvement. Thanks for eliminating the "mulch" field for our Vettes. The parking for the Corvette Forum was outstanding! We really appreciate your support for the CF members.

- what was up with the Auction? I never remember the two busiest days where the auction didn't start until 3pm. It's one of my favorite things to see, and I'm usually pretty beat (especially with the heat) by that time and am heading home. Why did they start so late? Was it because of fewer cars being sold?

Otherwise, I'll let others chime in...but I thought is was great!

:iagree: Since I was one of the ones complaining about the mulch last year I feel I must chime in and add my appreciation. However I did enter from the other side this year so I would have paved paths all the way to the forum parking area. My group went back to our cars when we got done walking around and the fact that there are no toilets near is a problem, especially on us older farts. Other than that we had a great time and enjoyed a great parking area, thanks!

I went Friday. I really enjoyed it even in the heat. I just don't understand why if you were west bound on North Ave. the signs kept saying Corvette parking with an arrow pointing straight when you had to make a left at that light to get to the Vette entrance.

This was my 2nd time going to BG, 1st time as a Corvette owner. I had a awesome time and loved the GoldTour.

Some minor minor complaints:
1) I bought my tickes in advance through the website and was disappointed to see that drive ups on Fri/Sat could get the 4 day pass for the same price. I think if I'm giving BG my money 2-4 months in advance I should get a better price. Or at the door should be higher.
2) Love the GoldTour. In past year when I was just a passenger I remember it being closer to a 40-45 mile loop?
3) It took me 2 days to find Adam's Polishes because they were not in the vendor listing.

As far as suggestions to better the event and Sunday turnout. I cruised through on Sunday and about noonish and I'd say that 1/3 of the vendors were gone. If you want people to pony up the cash to get in Sunday there has to be a reason. At 10 bucks for Sunday it's kind of a rip when the auction closes early and many vendors are gone. Maybe even expand the food area to include more local restaurants. I know my group brought picnic lunches after the first day because of the limited selection of food and the high prices.

Finally I agree with the above post. Get some live music in there. Mid-America's Funfest this year is going to have 3 Dog Night performing. BG could do the same. Get 4 mid level acts and 4 locals bands to open for them. Doing one Thur, Fri, Sat nights and then maybe again at 2:00 on Sunday to keep people around.

Overall great event. Can't wait until next year!!

I had a great time on Friday and Saturday and will agree with two of the suggestions already made:

1) Restrooms closer to the parking areas
2) Live band(s)

I would definitely welcome back Candice and Angelina, the two hot strippers that were walking around on Friday handing out free passes to Blackjack's Gentleman's Club. In fact, I would give them a booth complete with a brass pole. :D

This was my first year going without my Corvette (sold it during Cruise In). I drove my rental car to one of the corners of the Gold Tour and got to see all 600+ drive by. It was great to see all of that fiberglas go by! One observation was the lack of agressive driving and the quietness of the exhaust systems on most of the Vettes.:crazy:
There was a LEO standing at the corner and he too was disappointed. We expected to see some sliding and "gettin rubber" shifts around that corner but most every one drove like their granny!
If you gave away a Corvette on Sunday like they do at Carlisle then you might have folks stay longer.
I had a great time and will be back again and again.

First, Id like to say thank you again for the superb forum parking area, and for the much-improved east entrance. :thumbs:

My only minor quibble was mentioned above, the bathrooms, or lack thereof.
In years past, there was a line of porta-johns setup just east of the swap meet vendors in the gravel lot area...those were noticeably absent this year. Hiking all the way to the vendor building for that one purpose is too much like work. :lol:


As for Sunday...well, I think you'll find that will always be the low-attendance day. With so many people coming from far away, after spending one or two full days at the event, most people have gotten their fill of it, have seen all there is to see, and well, just want to check out of their hotels and head home. I know that's the way I usually feel.

I know the attendance trends at Funfest are exactly the same, and I would suspect Carlisle also has the same pattern of attendance. Friday will have a decent crowd, Saturday will be overcrowded, and Sunday is dead. It's just the nature of people and their personal schedules.
As mentioned above too, if the vendors aren't sticking around, no one wants to come...but at the same time, if no one comes, the vendors don't want to stick around either...so which came first, the chicken or the egg?

The only real way I could see Sunday working, is to offer a much-reduced admission price for Sunday, and/or offering something special/different/enticing that's Sunday-only, that people would want to come back for.

The other thing I wonder about, is even though there may not physically be many people in attendance that day...how many of those not present on Sunday were people that purchased the weekend passes? I'd suspect quite a few.
That aspect may be great for ticket sales and BG revenue, but I agree it's not so good for the vendors on site that depend on the people traffic.

I wish I had some better specific suggestions for Sunday, but I couldn't even tell you what it would take for me to return on Sunday.


Mike, thanks again for putting on a great event and your desire to continue improving it. I'm already looking forward to next year...this is definitely one of my favorite Corvette events of the year.

:cheers:

Great job. I really appreciated not having to drive my car through a bunch of muck.

Besides the other excellent suggestions, I would try and get GM back directly involved. I was disappointed to not see the 2008 models on display.

My guess on at least part of the drop off in attendance would be the Father's Day factor. As much as I love my Corvette, my Dad is more important. :)

Last year I went on Saturday and Sunday...got in Sunday around 1 PM and a large number of vendors were either already gone or packing up.
So then no way am I going on Sunday. So then, this year I went Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, I got there later in the afternoon (around 3 PM) and by 5, guess what?...a number of the vendors are packing up and leaving! If the vendors are going to continue to pack up early and leave, then eventually so will the attendees.
So for starters, a discounted admission if it's later in the day.

I like the idea of live music and add some local resturants.....cool thought (think rib fest!) If there's a reason for folks to stick around then maybe so will the vendors.

I also like the idea of having a dyno(s) for hire.

More vette part vendors (new parts not used, but that's just me), and less jewlery, records, etc. That's the Jukebox show.

Having said that. I was around for the auction both days, bought a few things, loved looking at all the cars, and the weather was outstanding. Overall a good time.

:cheers:

-Chris

I think Sunday was down on attendance maybe because of fathers day . you would think the opposite would be true . as far as the show it is a good time the forum parking was great . maybe some live music would be nice . if there is a way to rent a runway out at the airport and we could do some power runs that would be fun ........... keep up the good work

Mike.
First off, I thought the show was very nice. I agree with most of the above posts. My comments are as follows:

1) We need garabage cans closer to our location.

2) We need the Bud vendor closer to our location. Somewhat goes with the first comment.

3) Along with the above, we need the Bud Chicks with the Bud vendor!!!!!!!

4) We need a set up for the Chicago Crews motor home. This is not for what you might think. We have a few older members that very possibly need a first aid station with the heat you know!!!!!!!!!!!!! This has nothing to do with the Bud chicks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also, we could promote the BG with a nice banner as the spectators enter @ the east entrance. Allways thinking Mike!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5) Have Pheasant Run plant some trees in the center of the fairway so we can have some shade in the am for those of us who park on the west side of the fairway. Screw the golfers, really they are looking for more of a challange anyway aren't they?
6) Forget what Y2Kvert4rme has to say, first off, he does not even have a vert. plus he is a one day show up kinda guy. BFD. Sorry Tom!!!!!!!!!!! All kidding aside, Tom, we appreciate your time & effort getting us where we are with this event.

Thanks again for you listening to us and am sure we all appriciate your efforts.

I'm a first timer and thought it was great! Why not hold it at Arlington park race track? Load the infield with Vettes!!! Kidding, I liked it the way it was. :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs:

Mike, I really appreciate the fact that YOU helped pave the way for the Bloomington Gold event to become more community friendly towards St. Charles. Your help in distributing the flyers for the Friday night downtown party was very much appreciated. Thanks to you and your staff's help, the event attendance was better then ever, and I know the local merchants all benefitted.

Those of you that missed the Friday party missed a pretty good time! Even though the band's lead singer looked like Keith Richards after about 6 blood transfusions, they did sound pretty good and most people stayed until the end. The band played Rolling Stones music.

Now if there could be a "Miss Bloomington Gold" swimsuit competition on Sunday you might have a reason for both the vendors and public to stick around.

Have to agree with the others, Father's Day is not a great choice, but I believe next year's event will miss that. Most who have attended in the past know the vendors are packing up early so they probably plan to attend on other days. Perhaps if they could count on the vendors sticking it out until a certain time the attendance would gradually increase but it would probably take several years to re-program most people's mindset. Thanks for putting on a great show!

:skep:

That reminds me of another good idea....

Mike, please make it rain next year. :D
Not an all day thing...make it clear and sunny in the morning, with a rapidly developing thunderstorm hitting around noon, something that pops up instantly with no warning.


Now let's all watch Randy cringe and panic at the mere thought of that possibility :willy:

:cheers:

:lol: :lol: But it was good to see Randy make it to the BBQ, even though he didn't drive his vette. Randy, your lucky the Clutch missed you, but he got Brad. :cheers:

I agree with most of the other comments about the Live Band, Restrooms,trash cans and maybe more drink venders through out the whole area. Long walks just to get a drink of water. Miss Blooington Gold Contest would be cool also. I talked to several venders that had been there in the past but not able to get in now because you did not have venders on the gravel area, What is up with that? The more venders you rent spaces to the more $$ Bling Bling you make also. I do think that $200.00 per car for the For Sale area is a bit to much. It kept me from bringing up my car to sell.