Bike Show Advice

[Georgeediii]

Our local bicycle club has decided to put on a local one-day bicycle fest of some sort. We have a few ideas on the table, one of which is a bike show. Problem is we have never put one on before. Only two of us have ever even been to a bike show and this will be the first in Montana that we know of. That said, we need help. If anybody has any helpful ideas regarding the smooth running of a bike show we would love to hear about them. We are looking for the do's and the don'ts of a good show.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[jalopyjimmy13]

join up with a car show :!:

 

[aka_locojoe]

I'm kind of rambling here just writing stuff as it comes to mind.

We've done tons of shows. Indoors, outdoors, strictly bikes shows, car shows, festivals, history events and many others. We're part of a car show this weekend.

Think of a catchy name for the event. Set up a website or blog for the event and of course a Facebook page. Don't only do Facebook. Make and print posters and distribute them.

Doing just a simple show is well... just that... simple. Set up bikes and look at them. Make sure people have a proper way to stand their bike. Something to display information of the bike is always nice. A sheet of paper or an index card in the spokes.

Will you supply food and drink?

You want to do indoor or outdoor? Getting an indoor venue can be difficult and expensive. Outdoor a lot easier. Reserve a space at a park or team up with a bike shop or other store and use their lot. Hook up with an art gallery.

Would you like to do more than just the show i.e. games or contests? Do you want voting on or judging of the bikes?

If you're wanting a show where people bring out as many of their bikes as they can I wouldn't combine it with a ride or swap.

There can be legal issues depending on where you have it and what you're doing. Having just strictly a show (display of bikes) probably the best way to avoid any legal/liability problems.

Can you think of some specific questions it might be a little easier to help?

Maybe you can get some ideas from our website.
This link will take you to multiple pages of shows we've done http://locojoe.com/coasters/plugin/tag/show

This one on our big festival http://locojoe.com/coasters/plugin/tag/bike+fest

 

[axsepul]

All are good ideas. Your local bike show might donate some trophies. The easiest category would be bike of the day and you can have 5 to 10 trophies for that from 1st place to whatever amount of trophies. You need to have 1 or 2 judges that know what they are doing. Or you can have trophies for different categories. For example, tandem, with an engine, oldest bike, bike of the day, rat rod, most original, best paint job etc you get the idea but more expensive. Are inscription free or are you going to charge an inscription fee for bike. Either way have a table set up for inscription where you can take the info from the person. Example, name, phone, name, year and model of the bike and you will hand out number tag for him to hang on the bike. This way if a judge chooses that bike for a prize he knows who to call out. Another thing you can do is print out nice participation certificates that you can give out to each bike that was inscribed so if they don't win they'll still have something to show off. The certificate should include name of the show, location and date.

 

[aka_locojoe]

At the Midwest Bicycle Fest...

It's held in a public park which has a bike path. I think important to have a safe place to ride around. First post I said don't combine show with a ride. Meaning a long ride. We do a short "parade ride" along the path at the end of the fest. Problem with this is some people don't want to leave their other bikes behind while they ride.

Like axsepul said having a registration table is a good idea. My mother has run our registration table every year we've had registration. Thanks Mom! Keep registration simple.

We have the "People's Choice" awards for classic and kustom. Show goers vote on their favorite one from each category. I like this because it gets everyone involved, even those who show up who might night have bikes at the show.

Later years we started having a few individuals make and give out specific trophies. Ratrod, Freakbike etc... Thanks Dangratsdan Udallcustombikes and Ratfink1962!

Door prizes always a big hit. Hit up local bike shops for prizes. Thanks Udallcustombikes!

We have contests like skid, limbo and others. Thanks 450redrider and 64rat!

We have a music DJ and an MC.

Grillmaster Mitch/Ratfink1962 cooks up hundreds of hotdogs. Thanks Mitch! We rely on donations and raffle bike money to cover the costs. Food is our biggest expense.

We have at least one $1 raffle bike at each fest. Last 2 years we had 3 raffle bikes. They are donated new bikes and/or kustom built.

Don't discriminate. Make all bikes welcome.

I always try to keep it simple. Less confusion, less to go wrong. Not always easy to do though.

 

[Georgeediii]

Thanks for the suggestions. Exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for.