The First Official StingerFest is in Chicago, Illinois

Since we still don't even have a date, we don't even know what we are negotiating for.
And now it is on a Sunday? When was that decided?
 
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Since we still don't even have a date, we don't even know what we are negotiating for.
And now it is on a Sunday? When was that decided?
Sunday is the day pretty much everyone is off. Look, my friend, if you want to take over, I'm cool with that. I'm not retired. Far from it.

This is a very short notice event because we're having it in Chicago and there's very little time to plan. Apparently it's too cold after October. This would be easy if it were in Miami or anywhere down south. But most people responded for a Chicago event. In the future, we'll have 2 or 3 day events. For this first event, we're going to need to make sacrifices.
 
Finding a place for a car related event is difficult because people act like a**holes. I've been talking to so many different places and most say they'll never host another car event again. Too many people doing burnouts and 360's in parking lots - which disturb customers and leave parking lots looking bad. I don't have full days to dedicate to looking for venues and as time allows, I'm doing what I can to find a place we can hang out and have a good experience. Trust me, I'm really hurt inside that I don't appear to be doing a good enough job for you.
 
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
I don't think ours is a muscle car crowd, even if there may be some muscle car owners amongst us. No worry about the a**hole aspect. If this is just a one day meet & greet event, pick a park, time & date and ask to be there.
No rent, no dues, no commitment. Forget KIA sponsorship, dealer involvement, just see how it goes. If KIA wants to throw in Stinger hats, that's fine. And nobody would need any more than that.
We would need to have some ideas what restaurant(s) to go to, where to sit down afterward and have a rest before the trip home. Make it Chicago or as @Rango suggested, Knoxville, TN. Or any other place in between.
Whatever fits the bill. In the end, it should be considered a road trip and not a sightseeing exercise. The owners just want to show off their cars, be proud of them and enjoy them together.

If you were to change the location, you may lose some, and you may gain others in the process. For us, it would be 8+ hours to Chicago, 3 hours more to TN would not make that of a difference.
If I knew a place in the US suitable for our purpose, I would say so. But no, I don't know such places. Someone else might?!
 
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I am 100% with @moinmoin. While a full blown event would be nice, I think we just need to meet, celebrate togetherness and appreciate each other's cars while making new friends in the process. Now that, can be done ANYWHERE. Whomever does not show, did not need to be there...as simple as that.
 
Drop the racetrack. That is simply not a requirement. Enough room to park (public park, for instance), decent enough food nearby. It'd be much better if it were a two-day event though. Tough to driver hours and hours for just one day, but I probably would. LOL
 
I don't think ours is a muscle car crowd, even if there may be some muscle car owners amongst us. No worry about the a**hole aspect. If this is just a one day meet & greet event, pick a park, time & date and ask to be there.
No rent, no dues, no commitment. Forget KIA sponsorship, dealer involvement, just see how it goes. If KIA wants to throw in Stinger hats, that's fine. And nobody would need any more than that.

We would need to have some ideas what restaurant(s) to go to, where to sit down afterward and have a rest before the trip home. Make it Chicago or as @Rango suggested, Knoxville, TN. Or any other place in between.
Whatever fits the bill. In the end, it should be considered a road trip and not a sightseeing exercise. The owners just want to show off their cars, be proud of them and enjoy them together.

If you were to change the location, you may lose some, and you may gain others in the process. For us, it would be 8+ hours to Chicago, 3 hours more to TN would not make that of a difference.
If I knew a place in the US suitable for our purpose, I would say so. But no, I don't know such places. Someone else might?!

It doesn't matter whether the Stinger crowd is a muscle car crowd or not - people with power will abuse it and people with powerful cars will show off. A one day meet and greet event is what this is going to be on short notice. But I'm going to give it a shot at making it something a little more special than just a few people in a parking lot. If I fail, then we can just have exactly that - a little get together.

The park I'm talking with tomorrow has a resort, concession stands, camping and a beach for anyone interested in taking a cold stroll by the water. Chicago's "Magnificent Mile" is an hour away for anyone who wants to do something fun (nightlife) afterwards.

As these meets - or StingerFests - move forward, it'll be easier to attract larger audiences and make them bigger events. For now, it's going to be smaller than "CamaroFest" or "SubieFest" because the Stinger hasn't even been available in America for a year. It's going to start off slowly...

I am 100% with @moinmoin. While a full blown event would be nice, I think we just need to meet, celebrate togetherness and appreciate each other's cars while making new friends in the process. Now that, can be done ANYWHERE. Whomever does not show, did not need to be there...as simple as that.

That's fine. I agree.

Drop the racetrack. That is simply not a requirement. Enough room to park (public park, for instance), decent enough food nearby. It'd be much better if it were a two-day event though. Tough to driver hours and hours for just one day, but I probably would. LOL

I also agree. I looked into a racetrack because people expressed a desire for it. When all is said and done, like I said above, we're not going to have a CamaroFest type of showing when the Stinger hasn't even been on sale for a year in America. So we'll start slow...
 
Any car shows? When i had my subie we meet at a car show!
 
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From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Hey gents go to google a type in car shows in CHICAGO. Lot of stuff to chill at......
 
What's count for people who say they are going? Just curious.
 
That's it! Damn we could go to a Walmart parking lot!
Anyways thanks for all the work your doing.
 
That's it! Damn we could go to a Walmart parking lot!
Anyways thanks for all the work your doing.
Yeah. :p I asked people to share the post on social media and I'm not sure anyone has. I'd like to make this something more interesting than a Walmart parking lot - but you may be right... When all is said and done, all of the BIG events are for cars that have been around a long time. The Stinger is bearly here a year. I still think we can make it a big event - but I can't do it alone...
 
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
I had it up on the main stinger group on Facebook also on the Illinois group
 
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Without a date I can't commit..once we have that, then I can determine if I can make it or not.
 
Without a date I can't commit..once we have that, then I can determine if I can make it or not.
Not really looking so much for committments right now - but an idea of who can/could be available - and then we can go from there. I'm trying to get an estimate of how many cars we may have so I can be clear to whoever owns the land we're having the event on - that we won't be making it difficult for their normal patrons to have trouble finding a spot...
 
I spoke with the event guy at the park and learned we'll need an activity permit, a sales permit if anything is going to be sold there (vendors, food, etcetera), and insurance so that the state itself isn't responsible if anyone gets hurt. I'm looking into these things now. However, if anyone has any other ideas, I'm happy to hear them.

I really wish Dave and Busters would have worked out. I think that would have been really easy. Any similar options?
 
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
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