In order to avoid similar difficulties with the Saturday dinner portion of the event (as suffered by some, this year and last year), I'd like to suggest that we go somewhere that's equipped to handle large numbers of people. Perhaps taking the whole server part of the equation and chucking it out the window would be best.
How about a buffet-type restaraunt like Golden Corral?
--Ed
I have heard a few people suggest that as well. I have no opposition to that. However, I will state a few facts:
- Golden Corral is on the north side of Rt. 224. There is no left turn into the parking lot. Coming from the mall, we would need to make a left turn to get there. So that means we'd have to go past the restaurant, go down the hill, turn around somewhere (provided we can find a lot big enough for 30+ cars to do that), then get back out into traffic, go up the hill and into the lot.
- When we leave, there is only a right turn out of the lot. We need to turn left to go to the hotels. Again, we'd have to turn right, turn around, head back down the hill in the direction of the hotels.
This was the logistical problem that I struggled with this year, in trying to get our group together in one establishment. Believe me, I'd thought of Golden Corral. The GC parking lot is big enough for us, no doubt. The idea of serving yourself definitely would eliminiate the problems we've had. But getting there, and out of there, could be a big mess.
First of all, that part of Rt. 224 right in front of GC is very, very dangerous as there are always accidents in that spot. That was the main reason why I dismissed GC this year. I did not feel that it was worth sacrificing all these beautiful cars just to eat dinner. I was keeping the entire group in mind.
Plus, after planning this event for a year, and with Saturday being as hectic as it is for me...dammit, I want someone to wait on my ass! LOL! Seriously, it's cool to self serve but it's not often that I eat at a restaurant out in Boardman. It's just nice to relax after a hectic day and not have to make trips up to the buffet, wait in line, etc. Maybe that's just me, I don't know.
Also, I've noticed that people, being people, don't always use the sneeze guard, finger the food and put it back, and probably touch the food without washing their hands in the restroom. Not just at GC but everywhere there is a buffet. Unless fresh food is put out right before me, I tend to shy away from buffets....it's a personal thing, and I think I'm probably not alone in feeling that way. I'm just a little leery about buffets and the general public.
However...I am a fair dude and will give more thought to Golden Corral for next year. Another business is currently being built next to it, and it's possible that there will be a better access road to get in and out of that area. So I'll have to wait and see when it's finished.
A few others suggested the food court at the mall. I love that idea. And it would be perfect...if the Chili's show wasn't from 6-9pm, and the mall didn't close at 9pm.
Also...and keep this on the back burner...with the way that the mall is manhandling the Valley Cruzers and their contract, the club may just pull up stakes and move the show to another venue. I spoke with them about this...they don't want to do that, but they may have to eventually. We won't know this until next spring, around April. So I can't plan things until we know where we're going to be. In any event, Valley Cruzers welcome us with open arms and we will always have space at their show. It's just that we don't know where that show will be. I will, of course, keep everyone updated about that situation.
It will all work out.
As for the mall.....man, what is with those security guards? :rolleyes:
LOL
Most action they've ever seen! :D
It's Showtime!!
or
Don't move...National Security
Royce almost had me on the ground laughing when he said "why, are you expecting a big turn out or something?"
i dont soppose we could just get a hall somewhere and have it catered?
eather way, it was still great, and i'll be their next year too. thanks to everyone involved. great job.
That's the thing...if we rent St. Andrews Hall out at Angels For Animals, we technically
could do that for Saturday night. We have to cater that hall anyway. That would solve the problems greatly. It's only a 25-minute drive from the mall to Angels' facility.
The down side is, if you noticed, there was a TON of activity to set up the pavilion at the park. Lots of setup, lots of tear down, most of it oblivious to you (as it should be). If we got that hall on Saturday, that would mean some people that set up wouldn't be able to attend the Chili's show at all, because they'd be going from the park to the hall to take care of things. I don't think that I, or my friends, or my family, could be able to handle two catered events in the same day. They work too hard at just the park event. I couldn't dare ask them to do that again a few hours after the park event is over! They'd have my frickin' head. ;) That's sort of why I suggested the semi-formal dinner for Friday night, so we'd at least have a night's rest between catered events.
Things like this weigh very heavily on my shoulders for CJ, and usually it's not resolved until shortly before the show. But talking about it now is always a good thing. I hope that we can get a great solution well in advance so I won't have to worry about it later.
There is no chance of that happening. :giggle:
As a matter of fact...........
(http://pictures.sprintpcs.com/i/133316601605_290_1.jpg?)
"Look Ma! No Cigarette..OR Beer!"
The Dutch house in my town has a hall that can had about 100-ish people. It's not that far from boardman, maybe 20-miles. I can look if you guys want.
I have one of Nick with no Cig, or beer, or coffee, or APPLES!! And he's smiling!
With regards to the "formal" dinner, I say we should do it on Friday night. Lets save Saturday for the Chili's show, fast food, and mabye.... Go Karts!
I think some of us wouldn't mind leaving the car show early, just to go set something up. I LOVE cars, but after awhile, except for our cars, I tend to get a little bored. I wouldn't mind volunteering for something like that at all, and I know my sweetheart wouldn't mind either.
I like johnnycougars idea.
Friday night formal dinner. Meet and greet. Plus doing the cruise to there. Then hang at the hotel @ night
Saturday Picnic at park, Chili's Car Show then maybe Fast Food of your choice and/or Go karts (to achieve the need of driving wrecklessly) then more hotel action
Sunday wrap it all up
I had no problems at all with this year's events. Except for the rain, which couldn't be planned aorund. Maybe, perhaps, we make alternate plans in case of rain? Then again, I'm fine with wandering around the mall, too.
Can't forget, I was probably at the only table that managed to get my food in a reasonable time.
Hey John, how'd you manage that one?
Oh, btw, that offer you made us....I do believe we'll be taking you up on it.... I'll PM you sometime, as it's kind of hush hush for now. :D
Not to be rude or anything, but......
As for the dinners, set up, etc. I think Eric needs to still wind down from this year and get in some relaxation time before he starts to work on the CJ07.
He had a lot of 'behind the scenes' stuff going on before this past weekend, in preparation for the gathering.
Why don't we give him a while to play catch up before we worry about 07? ;)
Besides, he's still dealing with some 'after show' things concerning this year.
Thanks!
GO KARTS -- Ya know, we passed that track when we took a southern detour on 680, and I thought - BINGO!
People have always suggested the racing component of the trip to Youngstown and the answer is always the same. The slow people get kinda left out, and most of us can't afford to go out on the track and blow up our only ride home.
GO KARTS is the answer! Everyone gets thrown onto an even playing field and the carnage won't cost anyone their health (hopefully) or their transportation!
This suggestion is a WIN-WIN!
Oh dont get me wrong guys. I'm not complaining at all. Please dont think Karen that I have a problem with Eric, he's a great guy and does a spectacular job. His family is truely amazing and friendly. And somehow Eric finds time to visit WITH EVERYONE THERE. He does an awesome job and I'm not picking apart his show. No way. This thread is about this topic (suggestions for CJ07), I did not create the thread but only replied.
The steps Eric is making each year is only making this show better and better. Please don't feel that I'm a big complainer as I'm not complaining at all and am totally happy with how Cat Jam is ran. The location is wonderful (for me), the car atmosphere of youngstown is sweet, plently of space, and the cops are rather cool compared to that of my town.
I just posted my two cents as to what I feel would (could) be a good time. Then again Eric knows the possibilities of Youngstown best compared to myself and others on this board.
Please dont make me out to be the bad guy. I'm happy with the way things are and love seeing the evolution of CJ from year to year. Eric plays a wonderful host and I'm thankful. But as a club we all can make suggestions, it is up to Eric to make the final decisions as to what is allowed and what we have time for. :)
You said
exactly what I wanted to say, Karen. I know it's fresh on everyone's mind, but let's let Eric relax a while. (And make us up those CJ CD's.... heh.) It seems like every year the main problem we have lies with the eatery. I think we'll get it right very soon. Then again, can't always make everyone happy. A few of us discussed this very issue after most everyone had headed out on Sunday.
I do like the go-kart thing, John. That is an excellent suggestion. I'll find out if they're open later in the evening (I'm sure they are). Just want you guys to know, though, that it's a fairly new facility with the latest in go-kart technology. In other words, if the minimum-wage workers see you bump into another person, they can shut you down via remote control. Kinda takes the wind out of your sail at that point. ;)
Someone else suggested that we just order pizzas and eat them in the parking lot. I like that idea too. I'm sure Red Roof wouldn't mind that.
Steve (and everyone else), thanks for the kind words, they're really appreciated. It's extremely difficult to plan things around all these people and cars, and not forgetting to include kids too. I want to do what's right and fair for all, but also what presents the fewest technical challenges. It's not easy to do. But Boardman is a pretty big place (one of the largest townships in the state of Ohio, in fact) and fortunately we have lots of choices. We just have to agree on the right one for us.
John, yes, that is the one I'm talking about....LOL, and I doubt we would need it before CJ07 anyway. ;) BTW, your girlfriend is pretty cool! I'm glad she came with you.
Steve, I didn't think you came across as anything but appreciative, honestly. I know everyone was.
I just know how tired Eric is.;) (I don't know why! I mean.... it's not like he works on CJ plans or anything! :p) :rollin:
It's all good!
hhmmm... Go Karts.....do they have a height requirement for driving them?
We went to one place in Colorado and they have a height requirement of 5'2"....umm...I'm only 5'! They ewren't going to let me drive them! I told them," hey, I am 22 and have 2 kids, and I drive cars all the time....why can't I drive a go kart? "
I had to show them my driver's licence so they'd let me drive!
I know Crystal is a couple inches shorter than me, I just want to be sure that we , vertically challenged ones, don't have a problem. :D
Well if you guys go in on the go kart thing height restriction or not, I'm out. I went to one of these hi-tech places once and swore never to go again, but if that's a venue I'd come hang out.
As Eric stated, the remote shut off bites... I spun my cart out by accident and got screamed at by the workers. Not to mention the like $60 it cost me to go for 2 races and my "license".
Just my :2c:
i thought i heard something about the summit building being near catjam? if it is a trip to that would be cool, even if its just myself because everyone else already went lol. it would be cool to see the place all my stuff comes from.
I think some folks went there a few years back.
47.5 mi (about 1 hour 6 mins)
That's about how far it is. The store is pretty cool, but it's not like a big... get-a-cart, go-buy-your-stuff typical store. You go to one of several counters, they help you find the parts you need, you go to a separate cashier counter, then finally go pick up your parts as they pull them from the massive warehouse. All the while your 'order status' is updated on monitors throughout the store. The whole showroom is mostly just displays (the stuff is all bolted down!). There are a few kinds of items sitting out, like fluids, books, tools, etc.
It's still a neat place to go, especially if you have some bigger parts to pick up and save a ton on shipping. Otherwise it's not too useful to go there just to hang out, unless you're up for the drive. I dunno. I bought my exhaust there and I loved it. Walk in with cash, walk out with a flatbed cart full of pretty cardboard boxes.
Ah, go-karts...whatever happened to the days of the "Use at own risk" karts? We went to a go-kart place in florida once and it was awesome, you could slide around the one corner and my brother almost flipped. Good times.
I actually drove past the kart place you're talking about along 680 when I left Sat. night.
I have one little question. I don't want to sound like a party pooper or anything, but...why is everything scheduled so long during CJ? I mean, we ate lunch at 11-12 ish which was normal...but then it seemed like we were hanging around the pavilion forever (granted the rain didn't help things), then we went to do our car show thing and got chased off, and then dinner wasn't until 8:30 PM and I was honestly ravenous by that time (and it didn't help that ordering and getting food at BW3 took forever either). I dunno, just seemed kinda weird to me, like there was way too much time allotted for certain activities? But again, it was my first year, and it rained a lot, so maybe it's different when the weather is nice and you aren't dodging rain all day.
Red LX, you've got it figured out, I think. The rain really threw the schedule off. Usually, that lot we parked at by Chili's is FULL, actually overfilled with cars every Saturday during the summer. There's plenty of stuff to do during that time, check out the other cars, get good photo ops, and if you get hungry, you can usually head into the mall to grab a snack. The four hours we usually spend at Chili's is the bulk of the Saturday activities. And, as far as the time spent at the pavillion in the Park, Eric had some catering difficulties, that, I think, pushed everything behind schedule there.
Like I said in the Chili's parking lot to a few people, I hope the rain didn't sour the first-timers on CatJam. The Chili's show is usually pretty ed awesome. It's actually probably one of the best things of the whole weekend. Seeing 25-40 T-birds and Cougars lined up in the middle of a big car show is pretty astonishing. We usually get a special mention by the DJ, then the people come flooding over to all our cars. It's a pretty incredible thing.
Basically, don't let the unfortunate weather events this year shy you away from coming back. As far as the food thing goes, we've had problems pretty much every year in that department, but I know we'll get it right very, very soon.
Brian's got it. Essentially we plan the whole Saturday around the Chili's show. We pretty much have to...on a non-rainy Saturday night, that parking lot is unbelievably packed with show cars and people. If we don't get there in plenty of time beforehand, getting 40 cars parked--saved spots or not--is a nightmare. Obviously since it rained this year we had to come up with an alternate solution on the fly. Mall security didn't help by trying to push us out. I think under the pressure we did very well. Everyone was happy enough, the kids got to run around and play games, some people ate and imbibed...and we were indoors and dry.
My only wish is that we'd have stayed at Jillian's to eat because, honestly, most of the people that complained about last year's service there, weren't here this year. It was totally empty in the restaurant part when we were leaving. There were waiters and waitresses just hanging out. Was that fate rearing its ugly head? Hmmm...I believe so...
On the other hand, my friend had to pull a few strings to get us that room at BW's on short notice, and free of charge. It would have been pretty rude to not take advantage of that. I won't scorn a friend over convenience.
If we'd have known before everyone left the park that the Chili's show was cancelled, we could have hung out at the pavilion longer and fired the grill back up. There was plenty of extra food and drink. There was shelter. We have the pavilion until 9PM.
There are so many "what if's" and "why's" about this show that I've just stopped thinking about them for now. The stress of nearly a years' worth of planning is now over, I can relax a little bit, I can concentrate on getting things wrapped up at a more normal pace. But I do value opinions and suggestions because it helps with planning next year's show.
We provided a meal at the pavilion for you, for a mere $7/person. For all the food that we got, and the quality of the food, that's a steal. You can't eat in a restaurant for that cheap and get what we got--even around here. The schedule is pre-arranged and pre-printed for everyone. Only you know your optimal eating schedule...I have to just put the food out and hope that everyone gets their fill. That's the best I can do. So if you're hungry later...I can't point the finger at anyone else...you see what I'm saying? I think after your first CJ you'll know what to do much better, as far as eating goes. Also don't forget that this year, with our guest speaker, we had to revise the time in which we ate. Plus, as Brian mentioned, we did have a delay with getting some of the food. If someone was offended or upset, I sincerely apologize. However, unless one has tried very hard to prepare and organize food for 75 people, it's difficult to imagine the cirspoogestances. Again, the best I can do is put all the food out and hope everyone is full.
I'd love to say, "Sure, we'll have another meal at 4pm for everyone". That would be spiffy. That would also be a logistical nightmare. Maybe next year, though, if everyone likes the idea, we can make up some small lunch bags with maybe an apple and chips or something, that everyone can grab on their way out of the park. That can tide your hunger over until the dinner after the Chili's show. It is a long wait, that I will not argue...and I can control my hunger easily. Still, we should probably do something for those that need to eat (for medication or health reasons, for example) or want to have something to eat between the picnic and the dinner after Chili's. Do you think that would help? Is that a solution you'd like to see?
I think what you're doing is plenty. At worst, you could offer zip-lock bags for people to take lunch food with them. If people are hungry beyond that, they can walk to the mall or Chili's from the car show and get something more to eat.
That's exactly what I have done in years past...
I know I posted somewhere that people should bring chairs, drinks and snacks with them to the Chili's show, since it is quite long before we go to the restaurant.
I will tell you something though...the couple that I knew from this area, that showed up unexpectedly, said they'd definately be back next year.... they only stayed for the picnic, and left after they found out the Chili's show wasn't happening.
Unfortunately, the rain did happen. There wasn't a whole lot that could have been done about it. I think Eric handled things pretty well, considering.
Usually, when it's nice and the car show actually takes place, the time seems to just fly by. The time at the pavillion also goes fast, as we all prepare to go to the show.
Even with thte rain, show cancellation, and food wait...I believe most had a great time.
What can we do? Stuff happens.... we just have to go with the flow of it all. ;)
Eric, I didn't mean to make it sound like I was expecting you to provide me with any food or anything between lunch and the dinner thing. It was just that being my first year I was afraid to wander off, since I didn't know where anything was, what anyone was doing, and I didn't have a watch.
I was pretty tempted to eat something at Jillians, since they were carrying some of that food past me and it sure did smell good. But I thought well, we're going to BW3's, I'll just wait.
Ah well, stuff happens, it's not a big deal. I figured everything was screwed up due to the constant rain and that's something you just can't control.
It is kind of tough when you don't know where things are..... we were like that the first year we were there. I can't blame you.
Hopefully next year we'll have the sunshine again......just remember sunscreen! ;) :D
No no, hey, no offense taken at all. You simply cannot offend me anyway. But you did bring up a point that I think can be resolved. If you're done eating at the picnic at 1pm, and we're not going to eat dinner until 9pm at the earliest, that's 8 hours without food. Yes, you're technically on your own in that time period...but yes, I can do a little something to help you out inbetween, for relatively little effort and cost. It was a legitimate point. Don't apologize for that. Next year we'll have snacks ready for everyone when you're about to leave the park. I'm betting that goes over quite well too.
You could get a couple boxes of those orange cheese and cracker things.
Set them off to the side and if anyone wants them they can take them. Minimal effort involved and they're cheap.
Another idea. Write to Herr's potato chips. They usually give away snack bags and I'm sure they'd be willing to donate some or sell them cheap. Plus they are only a few miles up the road from me so I could pick them up and bring them out.
Oooooooh....I loves me some Herr's chips. ;)
Yeah, I was thinking something like that would be good. Cool, we'll work on it.
lol, I take the factory tour at least once a year just for the free chips. During the tour, the guide catches some on a tray before they get bagged and hands them out. :banana:
Yeah, just let me know and I'll see if I can work something out with them. :)
Ohhh who's the Herr's W??
LMAO!
I'm good friends with a Snyder of Berlin delivery guy. Perhaps I could score us a few cases of mini-bags of chips, eh? Or will you Herr's people turn your nose up at 'em?
Just get me some salt & vinegar chips, I don't care what brand they are :)
I could make some arbys roast beef sandwiches and curly fries. I cant garentee how good they will taste come saturday though. ;)
I can probaly get some too, my girlfreind works there and I get her discount. Or pizza because I work at a pizza shop right now?