MVPA 2022 in South Bend again next year?

[17thAirborne]

I just heard that the MVPA Annual will be back in South bend in Early June. Can someone confirm that.

[Warren Duchesne]

Yes that’s correct.

[parker007]

which state?

[M4K9]

Hi, does anyone know any more details? Dates etc?

Thanks

[17thAirborne]

I believe June 8-11-ish, SOuth Bend IN. Please confirm as I do not have first hand knowledge

[Miles Through Time]

I also heard June in South Bend, but no dates. Interesting to read comments about this years show and if any "changes" will be made for next year? The vendors drive this show and I heard not many of them were happy, even if they bother to show up this year. COVID? Disturbing trend?

[DWesol]

It was announced at the show. June 9th-11th, 2022, in South Bend, IN. The June dates may increase attendance. Slightly cooler weather and less rain maybe? Less people on family vacations?

It was the first national show I attended. I thought it was well done. I have nothing to compare it to.

I spent about $600 with various vendors. I thought there was a good variety. I did not get everything I was seeking, but I got most of it.

The AM General sponsorship was generous of them. It validated the MVPA and the hobby, I thought. And they are extending that sponsorship for next year, as I understand it.

I enjoyed my conversations with experienced, long time members of the MVPA.

Just my perspective.

[DDTrustee]

Good show; don’t think covid was responsible for the lackluster vendor turn out. One big vendor was sick – not covid -just sick and lack of help to load his merchandise. Major Dodge vendor was busy with containers and lack of help. Not sure about others…. Split up of vendors from upstairs-downstairs-multiple rooms and hallways was a problem for many. Accommodations were great – host hotel was nice but their restaurant leaves something to be desired (low staffing level and buffet was too expensive and worse than most Interstate motels! Lots of great restaurants in the vicinity (2 blocks or less) though and accommodating hotel transportation. Hotel parking for SUVs sux’d - 5’8” height limit in the garage and every Chevy or Ford SUV is taller than that – outside ‘oversized’ vehicle parking was at a major premium…..hard to get….though free. Vendor parking that flea market was good, close to venue and largely open. Convention staff was GREAT! KUDOS guys! Accommodating! Helpful!!! Weather was HOT and HUMID….vehicle displays were great – well done and lots of new and interesting vehicles and items. Kind of a stretch for left coast vendors -2000 miles is a long trailer drive. June weather should be nicer!!!!! For 2022.

[Jeeps4Brains]

About the hot and humid. It’s all relative. I drove up from South Carolina and it was nicer weather in SB for me.

When I hit Indiana, I have never seen as much road construction as they are doing. Plus, lanes were blocked of for miles and miles with nothing going on, on that side of the road.

The outside vending felt like what went on an most of the shows I have been to in the past.

Downstairs there were three rooms that had vendors setup in. It felt kinda cramped in those rooms and I was constantly bumping into other folks looking at the tables.

Inside, in the large room it was good. I realize some vendors could not show up. Maybe some of the vendors from downstairs could have moved upstairs to fill in the gaps?

I had a good time and would go again, once I am over that drive!

[John Neuenburg]

I didn't go although it sounded like a good package. Wife and I visited a relative in SB once and did the Studebaker Museum and Notre Dame guided tour which were very good, so those not a draw for us. AM General involvement sounded great! Very welcome. But doing a show in the same place back-to-back? This could work in an area where there are too many tourist attractions to see around one event. If the region has many more MVs and vendors who can be recruited to attend the second one, good. Does South Bend and Indiana offer either?

These shows are mostly about the MV displayers, vendors, buyers, and special displays, right? Conventions should check those boxes. But close behind those are the excursions. Interesting tourism. Then the extra activities like seminars, meetings, and a banquet are added. Laid over these things is the camaraderie among enthusiasts. Friends meeting up. Going to dinner. All those are boxes need to be looked at and checked.

I guess back-to-back conventions at the same venue could work. On the big end of the event scale, look at the many trade shows that repeat in Las Vegas. Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Any NASCAR Cup race at every venues. Burning Man near Reno. The War and Peace Revival in Kent, UK. There are a few non-MVPA events in the U.S. that repeat at the same venue and succeed in their own way. But for a national membership-based organization like the MVPA oriented to vehicles that are not driven far (unlike the American Historical Truck Society), rotating a Convention to all corners of the U.S. is ideal because it involves regional hobbyists and vendors plus new tourist attractions.

Apparently it is difficult to find a reasonably priced venue in a region where there are a significant number of MVPA members, AND a pool of potential MVPA members, PLUS a willing group of volunteers to help run a show. My educated guess is the venue cost is the challenge. Major consumer markets, meaning lots of people and lots of MV owners, means high priced convention venues. Advertising can bring attendance meaning ticket sales but that costs money. I think event sponsorship revenue is the solution. We offer a demographic that certain marketers want. We can deliver likely customers to them.

[Rustman]

I was there and vending in the lower level. To address a few comments here from a vendor perspective.

First the restaurant staffing issue is widespread to Indiana and relates to Covid relief and how that is being managed in that state. We made a side trip too Michigan one evening and found restaurants overflowing with both patrons and staff. Very different atmosphere. FYI this staffing issue was felt in the convention hall as well with the food vendor on the lower level often not being open.

The hot and humid weather was a fluke. The morning news day after we arrived was saying dew points were in the 80's and that those were the highest she (the weather lady) had seen in 20 years of doing the job. By Saturday and Sunday the weather was INCREDIBLE. Sunday morning when we left to drive 700 miles home it was 55 degrees!

The venue staff were great, the venue was not. The multiple rooms meant foot traffic was way down. Those who were at the convention might have noticed as the week went by an increase in printer paper signs telling people there were vendors downstairs, displays downstairs, vendors outside, displays outside etc. That was brought on by vendors complaining that nobody was coming through the rooms, especially on the lower level. Finding the vehicle displays wasn't much easier if you were just a patron walking through and not somebody who had specifically brought a vehicle and parked it in the upper room.

Where was everybody? Entire rows of tables were empty. Ostensibly these were all sold out. Two tables adjacent to me were booked by Vintage Wiring, who had people looking for them. But they were absent from the show. The suggestion of moving upstairs was executed by some vendors on their own volition. But nobody running the show put an invite to anybody to relocate. The next room over from me had THREE vendors in it. I think it was Thursday that at 4 PM they literally just closed the doors and left as there was hardly any traffic and I guess they wanted to get to dinner early?

The June dates for next year are going to be very bad for some people. Yes a lot less people will be on family vacations, because kids will still be in school. Also it will be right on the heels of the Mid Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, PA WW2 weekend. So of the 3 people who came with me this time and my business partner who was unable to attend... all 4 between the Reading show or being a school teacher will be unable to attend next year.

I want to return, it was good for my business and it will be good to go again. But I did not early bird book my same tables. I am going to try for better tables and also to find some help that's not attending the biggest WW2 reenacting event on the East Coast literally days before.

Matthew

[John Neuenburg]

The June dates for next year are going to be very bad for some people. Yes a lot less people will be on family vacations, because kids will still be in school. Also it will be right on the heels of the Mid Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, PA WW2 weekend. So of the 3 people who came with me this time and my business partner who was unable to attend... all 4 between the Reading show or being a school teacher will be unable to attend next year.

I want to return, it was good for my business and it will be good to go again. But I did not early bird book my same tables. I am going to try for better tables and also to find some help that's not attending the biggest WW2 reenacting event on the East Coast literally days before.

Matthew

Reminds me of when our club hosted the 2016 Convention. We went through the date-picking process like hopefully all hosting affiliates and the MVPA do. The first priority was the available weeks at the chosen venue. Then I was poring over a few years of MV magazine event calendars, ads, and websites entering on a calendar when the big annual MV events were in the lower 48 states. Many were always on the same weekend of the month, which promoters like because people start expecting it and they mark their calendars early. The ability to do that can relate to getting on the venue's schedule years ahead before other promoters take the date. Then I plugged in the NASCAR Cup and NHRA Nationals events in nearby Sonoma. The former is the largest annual sporting event in Northern CA and we share some demographics with auto racing. Then the preseason 49er and Raiders games were considered.

We went through a similar process for a smallish, regional event many years earlier when we decided to move a Fall, social meet to the Summer to see if we could get more families to come. The two big swap meets the MVPA puts on are always in the Spring and Fall, away from peak season at the large RV parks where we do these. But kids are in school. So we kept that date away from early mid-June because often families will take a vacation ASAP after school is over.

So a promoter picks the best option and goes with it. Maybe there are no other options for the MVPA than returning to South Bend. Why so early? And probably there is no competing club that wants to do it in their area.

I hope some potential sponsors were invited to check out the 2021 Convention for its potential. Sometimes regional marketing or sales offices of national companies can easily send someone to an event to look around and think about regional promotional possibilities or customer entertainment at the event. Companies usually budget for marketing expenses by the Fall of the year before spending the money. And if the event marketing concept is not on their normal radar screen, that can mean having to pitch them earlier than that. Getting sponsorship money, or finding a company that will advertise the event for the MVPA which drives paid admissions, is easier said than done! But either can justify budgeting for the best possible venue that is available on the best dates.

[Rustman]

All good points. I have heard that AM General is sponsoring again, I hope Hagerty Insurance is as well. I also heard that there were only two weekends left available at that venue. That venue hosts Proms, weddings etc in addition to larger conventions like ours so getting an open weekend must have been a challenge. An even greater challenge in 2022 when EVERYONE is hoping to hold their conventions, concerts, events etc that they haven't successfully done for two years now.


Matthew

[ddoyle9570]

Greetings all,
Since I was one of the organizers of this event, I can speak to some of these questions with considerable authority (much of this is a repeat of the information that I provided at the general membership meeting at this year's convention).
First, yes, the convention will be in South Bend again in 2022, June 9-11 (set up June 7-8).
Why? Earlier this year it looked as if we may not be able to have an August 2021 convention, and as I looked into potential "postpone to" dates the only 2021 date available was the weekend before Christmas - which I thought was not a good idea. The other options were two possible dates in June 2022 - and the venue was reluctant to book us a 2022 date as a "maybe" (kinda like someone telling me "put this under your vendor table, and if I don't find another one I like better, I'll come back and buy it").
A quick conversation with the CEO of AM General resulted in that company committing to the same sponsorship for 2022 that they had committed to for 2021 - and a willingness to do so for both years, as did Hagerty.
Considering that Aberdeen, Findlay, Tower Park, etc., etc. are at the same place year after year - and typically do well, it stands to reason that we will as well.
So to cover our bases, we contracted for 2022 - and HOPED that we could have a 2021 convention as well, and we did.
Indeed, ALL the indoor vendor spaces were sold out in advance. A handful of people let us know the week before the convention that they could not attend (one group from outside USA, and two inside USA vendors who were sick). However, the others did NOT let us know in advance.
Thus, the idea of one relocating to a table that someone else had bought and paid for was problematic. Using Vintage Wiring as an example - lets say we let someone else occupy their table - then they show up Friday to move in, and Ol'Joe has his stuff spread out on Vintage's tables, and has left for the Studebaker tour. Then what?
Yes, I too heard complaints about "hidden" vendors downstairs. While we could have (and will) do a better job with signage next year, it would also be very handy if folks READ the magazines, and the multiple emails and signs that were sent in advance as well as the signs that WERE up in the building directing folks to the additional vendor rooms downstairs. I also heard some complaints from some concerning the model vendors in the Great Hall. In fact, the MVPA contract with model folks (AMPS) provided that they would be in the White Water Room (and we were putting vehicles in the Great Hall), however, we learned only two months ago that the White Water Room had been converted (despite our contract with the Century Center) to an electronic gaming suite and could no longer be used as AMPS vendor space as we had contracted. As a result, we displaced vehicles upstairs to honor the MVPA's contract with AMPS. We at no time displaced any MVPA attendee for another group. However, we do intend to use the Great Hall space in 2022 for MVPA vendors.
Because as recently as 6-weeks ago were required to get a permit for use of the building with variable Covid-related occupancy restrictions, including limiting the number of people in the building, we chose not to do the usual amount of advance local advertising. Simply put, we did not want to run the risk of having to ask members to wait outside until the number of people, including the general public, dropped.
This contributed to our traffic count not being what we expected (along with overall Covid concerns). HOWEVER, by showtime we had the fully green light, so with the help of the CVB we arranged to have local TV stations come out and provide coverage - which they did. This included mentioning that the show was open to the public Saturday 8 to 4. I continue to be surprised by the number of people who say, "we need to get new people into the hobby!" - yet come to me and say "Can I move out at noon on Saturday?" One must wonder, how is seeing an empty convention hall going to promote the hobby to folks in the area who are interested enough to pay their money to come on Saturday?
Yes, the hotel, especially hotel dining room, staffing was bad - but as others have pointed out, there were plenty of great places to eat within a couple block walk (several literally across the street) - and the community as a whole was very welcoming and glad to see us.

Respectfully,
David Doyle

[Rustman]

David,

Thanks for chiming in! I would like too contribute more to this conversation. First I had no idea the limitations placed re Covid occupancy or the loss of one of the rooms! So considering you were working with what you had it was great. I personally have ZERO issues with the AMPS convention there. Though I suppose that is in part due to myself being a scale modeler as well. One of my team dropped more money with a couple of their vendors then he did on any MVPA vendor in fact...

I'm totally tracking with what you said about moving vendors around. It's why I didn't even ask after we setup. Life happens and if a vendor is coming in late, versus not at all it's going to be nothing but stress all around if I moved into his/her spot.

As for reading the magazine... well my issue arrived in my mail box the Saturday of the convention. I had to pick up an issue when I arrived so I knew where to set up. My business partner had his arrive the Thursday before we departed for the show over a week prior. Hard to combat these irregularities in the postal system.

To your point about vendors packing up at noon on Saturday. This has been a pox on the hobby in the 20 years or so I've been involved. Aberdeen would be a ghost town by 2pm on Saturday, with many vendors pulling out Friday evening or Saturday morning. The vendor across from us in our room on the lower level and ourselves were of similar mindset. We paid for this space until show close. The show is advertised to be open until show close. What else am I going to do? go sit in my hotel or stand in line at Golden Coral? I'm here to sell stuff, I'm staying until they kick me out. And we did. Each day we didn't leave until the "we are going to lock the doors" announcements started. On Saturday we began packing up about 3 and at 4 were ready to go for load out. During that time we sold a few things. Our neighbor did a COUPLE HUNDRED in sales in that last two hours of the show. We then went to the beach Saturday afternoon and on Sunday had a pancake breafast before heading too the Duesenberg Museum. From the beginning we had planned on being there through the bitter end of the convention and driving back the next day well rested.

"Aberdeen" this year is in Hagerstown and in the registration information it's clearly stated that the event is Friday, Saturday, Sunday with the auction Saturday evening and setup not before 11am on Thursday. I'll be curious how that plays out with the the crowd that likes to start their East Coast Rally on Monday or Tuesday and have it wrapped by Friday night.

Matthew