Bhigdog Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Me and the 55 Olds just got back from the "old" Meadowbrook show, now called Concours of America. Happy to report the show, in it's new venue, is better than ever. Much nicer venue and the show management and volunteers made it run like clockwork. 310 cars, a cloudless sky, and nice breezes made for a mega turn out of paying spectators. A special thanks to Hagerty Insurance for the ice cold lemonade. We needed it. I even ran into Steve M. We had a nice chat and he encouraged me to be more vocal on the forum ;-). The only down side of the trip was I hit a piece of tramp iron on Rt 80 about an hour from home. Kiss yet another $100 trailer tire good bye................Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Just wondering, how could the venue be "much nicer" than Meadow Brook Hall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Was wondering that also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhigdog Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 The field was spread out over a semi wooded golf course that offered lots of shade and is on high ground so there was a nice breeze. Meadowbrook seemed in a hole and was always hot. It's on the grounds of a beautiful historic monestary, now hotel, that offered lodging and was open for your needs during the show. Reportedly the new venue is much more willing to work with the shows needs. That resulted in many more vendor and display tents being on the field. The area is in a sea of affluence surrounded by any shopping or dining experiance you could want all laid out in a very open and beautifully landscaped pattern. All in all I found the whole experiance far superior to the Meadowbrook venue...............Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I concur. There were a few glitches, like us not being called to go across the awards stage to get our second place in the Hagerty Youth Judging, but other than that it was real nice. Unlike MB the exhibitors luncheon was held in the Grand Ballroom where it was welcomingly cold.Another huge improvement, for people from out of town, was the on-site hotel, a huge plus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TG57Roadmaster Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 (edited) Of course the visuals aren't the same as at Meadow Brook, with the Hall as the dramatic backdrop, but the friends we visited with in the Lincoln Class really enjoyed the trees and shade in the center of their circle (the Michigan Summer breeze made the hot day even nicer). Unlike MBH, all concours functions were centered in one location, rather than spread around off-site; the working needs of the auction, seminars, judges and exhibitors all under one roof proved a great benefit, according to a friend on the Operations Committee. The Inn at St. John's restaurants and indoor bathrooms made it much more workable and comfortable to escape the heat, too, for everyone. For those who didn't stay at the Inn, there are many more accommodations nearby than before; we stayed three miles away and parked in pre-arranged Car Club Parking on the Inn's Golf Club grounds, very close to the entrance. I went to see the cars, not an historic house that, while beautiful and majestic, proved of little use (outside of photo-ops) for the Concours' purposes. That said, I'll greatly miss those photo-ops, but I sure did enjoy all the amenities afforded at the new location.Larger, our '56 Lincoln Premiere in 2010.Larger, a 1912 Rolls-Royce Double Pullman Limousine by Barker in the gardens in 2009.Larger, the 1932 Bucciali TAV 8-32 Saoutchik "Fleche d'Or" at the 2010 Concours.Next year I'll make time to find new photo-ops, but making new memories comes easy.TG Edited August 4, 2011 by TG57Roadmaster (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoringicons Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 As a committee member for the "new" concours (and having been involved with the"old" show the last 10 years), thank you very much for all the nice comments. We appreciate the feedback-good and bad-so we can improve upon next years event. Internally, we were thrilled with the new location and the outcome of the overall event and look forward to building on this success for next year. Thanks again for the comments and for attending the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moskowitz Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 As a veteran Meadowbrook participant I have to say the new location was indeed an improvement. Meadowbrook was a great place for many years and I am sure many of us have very fond memories of the past. Things change. This one was a positive one.I had only one major gripe this year and that was running into Bob! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I was please to see a photographer in the art tent. When I was on the Art Selection Committee there were vehement objections to any photographic art in the tent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverplate Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 A few of my pictures-All my show pictures:CONCOURS D'ELEGANCE OF AMERICA AT ST. JOHN'S 2011 - SILVERPLATE1945's Photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now