Man is this event a mess. Poor organization and execution. BORING.
Thanks for the hard working, highly capable people who brought their cars to the concours because that is the best thing about the event.
We spent over $4000 to be here and much of our valuable time only to be disappointed by poorly organized activities. It's all supposed to be OK because it's a "volunteers" fueled event but in fact PCA collects tons of money and delivers a 3rd rate experience.
This is our first and last parade.
I feel so sorry for our friends who traveled thousands of miles and spent thousands of dollars to be here and all the other people who spend much of their time and money as well.
The organizers of the 2016 Parade should be ashamed of their performance.
I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience. I've been to a couple of parades in the past and it is true that the local chapter's performance can make or break a parade although several years ago PCA started having a national group that traveled each year to each parade site to oversee things, I'm assuming they still do that to try and provide better continuity. The problem I had with parade was that there wasn't anything new each year except for a new location, it was the same events and same people over and over. If you are with the "in" crowd I can imagine you'd really enjoy it, if you aren't well then you might be left scratching your head as to why some things were carried out the way they were.
I was curious about how winners were chosen for some things so one year I decided I would try a test. It was the award for furthest driven car to the parade. What I did was get on some mapping software and plotted out the furthest possible point that could be driven to from the parade location as I recall this was somewhere in Alaska for a parade in Charlotte, NC. So I filled out my entry with that location being my point of origin and submitted my ticket. I didn't win. I didn't even get asked if my entry was legit or anything, someone else simply one. As I recall it was someone everyone knew from California, and while California is far away from North Carolina the point I was trying to make to the judging committee is that the award is stupid because if favors those who live on one coast or another. It is geographically IMPOSSIBLE for someone who lives in Kansas City to ever win that award, I would never be the person who drove the furthest unless half the country didn't show up.
So yeah there is a lot of "well because we've always done it that way" surrounding the PCA parade and either you really like that, or it turns out not to be your cup of tea. I think this is part of the reason that events like the Escape or other regional events have seen more interest because other than long standing parade goers the interest seems to be waning when compared on a % basis. While it might be fun for some region to really try to mix it up and come up with new events and a new way of doing parade you'd probably find that some people really loved it and many, particularly the old timers, really would hate it. Can't please everyone I'm afraid!
If this event wasn't for you, then I would encourage you to seek out events that more closely match your interest via whatever club happens to host them. I do things with a half dozen different clubs/organizations because I find no one club offers everything that I like.
I agree with what you are saying about seeking out other events that are more aligned with what you like to do as my experience with the Monterey Parade convinced me to not attend another parade. Some of the events were well organized and fun while others made you scratch your head in wonderment that they could be so disorganized. When I wasn't attending an event I took off on my own and explored some of the Monterey County backroads and my friend and I ate at some local restaurants on nights we didn't want to attend banquets.
Sad but true there are cliques that probably show up at every parade and typically they are closed groups of old cronies but you live and learn and unless you attend an event at least once you'll never know if it is to your liking.
I like PCA but have never been to Parade. I like tours in fun locations and I like AX. I am not interested in concours, awards, banquets, or generally hanging out with large crowds anywhere. I think Parade is not a good fit for me whether it is well organized or not.
Our region hosted Escape LA a few years ago which is much smaller, more tour focused, and less award/banquet focused. It was fun but the organization required to put it on was daunting. Look for me in the cold pits after a proper day at the race track...
I have never been to a Parade event but I have been to one Escape event, and my wife and I liked that so well that we are going to the first "Treffen" in Lake Tahoe area this fall.
We like the length and the format of the Escape/Treffen as it fits into a typical fall vacation for us. We value the driving/touring, assemblage of cars (not really a concourse), and meeting folks from all over the place.
It seems to me that Parade is quite the investment in time and $ for attendees as it is a week+ long event.
I know several people who simply don't miss Parades. They go to every one no matter where it is located.
I suppose most people only attend a Parade if it is relatively close-by. Not everyone has the time or disposable dollars, and like the OP many simply will not find bang-for-the-buck.
Next year's Parade will be held less than 10 miles from my house so that will be my first Parade, and I am certain we will be called on to volunteer. I firmly believe that volunteering for such events adds an element of care and ownership that helps enjoyment immensely.
I should have taken photos to illustrate some of the ridiculous things about this event.
As an example, yesterday a long queue of people waiting in line to get into the hockey rink (where a few vendors and the unmanned Porsche store was set up along with wine tasting, etc). ONE volunteer controlled all access and egress to the rink at an opening in the wall just 30 inches wide. He chatted with people as he blocked the way in/out, handed out raffle tickets to a raffle he had no knowledge of, and had no sense of urgency. This guy wasted the time of hundreds of attendees. This went on from morning to afternoon until he was relieved by someone with more sense who simply opened another door. Heaven forbid there was an emergency or fire alarm because the herd would have had trouble getting out.
8 of our friends paid for the dinner cruise. All confirmed. All had funds deducted from their accounts. Upon arrival 4 of them were told they were not on the cruise (even though they had paid and "it was full." So much for a birthday dinner with friends.
The same was true for concours volunteers. You volunteered a while back, clicking boxes on-line. When you reported for duty guess what, your name was not on the list. Go away...
I could go on with examples...but why? Lesson learned.
Sorry to hear your troubles...the good news is you are in a phenomenal part of the country for touring and sport driving. You could easily recover by going off program and "rolling your own" trip out there. Love those roads and scenery!
Well at least Vermont roads are pretty good and a small group of us have had some pretty stimulating drives through the mountains.
On a refund I doubt my letter would even be acknowledged. American Express will be the judge many of the refunds.
There are many reasons why this event failed for so many people. In the end it comes down to a mix of incompetence, stupidity, laziness, lack of experience, and poor organizational skills.
Today with our tourists hats on we shopped in Vermont hill towns and discussed the benefits to the local economy that the Porsche visitors are. We bought their maple syrup and rum, ice cream cones, gasoline, t-shirts, etc...so that is a good thing. The fact that 1000+ people put money in the PCA's pockets for such a stinker of an event is irritating and can't go without some sort of response.
I have a letter started to the PCA head for this event. It's so harsh I may not be able to send it—even though it's all factual and true.
One of the moderators on the PCA BR website asked me to rate the Monterey Parade and I broke it down to the events I participated in as well as the sign up procedure on a scale of 1-10 ten being best. My average for the entire event, that I participated in, was a 5. He had not attended the event and was surprised the rating was so low. I asked if I should send it to PCA National and he told me that they don't accept critiques of the parade. Not trying to stop you from doing what you feel is best but don't expect a response.
When it was all done and I had time to think more about it I decided I'd take the best away with me, forget the rest and be one and done.
Re: Jay Peak 2016 - PCA Porsche Parade a Great Success!
Archer911 - Sorry to hear you have a few issues with your Parade Experience. I agree that long lines and schedule SNAFUs can be frustrating, yet you have to make the best of any situation, and adjust when required.
We just returned home from Parade 2016-Jay Peak and our experience was Fantastic! This was our 2nd Parade and we did things a little different based on our experiences from the 2015 Parade in French Lick.
I agree that the Concour was great. I always enjoy see all the different models and years of Porsches. It was my first event that I entered, and I brought home a trophy!!
We found the Banquets fun and the food very good. We saw friends that we met last year in French Lick, and made many new acquaintances this year.
We drove into Canada on Self-Guided Tours twice, stopping at several great restaurants, wineries and sights. We also did the guided tour of Lake Champlain. The scenery around the lake was nice and the roads exciting to drive.
Each day was filled with too much to do, and we came home tired every night, yet the cool evenings made great sleeping weather.
All-in-All we had a wonderful time, and are looking forward to Parade in Spokane next year. I guess with over 2000 attendees, there will be experiences across the entire range.
Take care and I hope you have a better experience next time.
Re: Jay Peak 2016 - PCA Porsche Parade a Great Success!
I guess it also has a lot to do with what you may expect from one of these events...
I have been to 2 parades; 2007 and 2014 also Escape in LA 2013 and South Dakota in 2015, each and every one of them have been great and very different. Each person is looking for a different experience, and indeed a different level of participation, as we know some people mix well with strangers and in crowds and other do not. Parades have a strong focus on banquets and gatherings where as Escape and soon Treffen the driving, I would have to say that I like both but for the reasons just mentioned, I expect to gather and visit at Parade and drive a lot at Escape. Additionally now that I have been to a few I know what events to hit and those to steer away from... so are they perfect, of course not, can they be better, of course but I would say they have endured because they are popular and will continue as such as long as they continue to strike the right cord with those that attend.
So will we go again, of course, and we are already booked for the first Treffen in Squaw Valley and are looking forward to it, and we will be going to Spokane as well. For us the decision on which event to attend has a lot to do with location, this years Parade was simply too far away, as was Escape 2015 in Florida, we drive to each event and make it a vacation adventure.
To those that have posted about less then stellar experiences, I would suggest a 're-try' of sorts, but go with the right expectation and plan to do what you want at them with the knowledge that it will be what "you" make of it... :cheers:
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