The State of the Season - March 2022
As I sit here and write this, it was almost 80 degrees outside a week ago, this past weekend it snowed, there is again a ton of salt on the roads locally, gas prices are up, and we have roughly 200 events already posted to our web site to start the season. That's a lot to take in, but let's break it down.
Our hobby relies on Mother Nature to cooperate. Many times she does, I've been lucky in almost 35 years of doing this I've only had to reschedule a major show due to weather only once, and that was last year. It's when she
doesn't that things get tricky. Right now we need a good amount of rain to wash away the salt from this March storm. With the amount of shows already scheduled for this season, we need to be aware of rain dates as well. Many times as the season goes on, more shows get packed into a single day due to weather related postponement. We ask showrunners to kindly check our online calendar when planning an event to make sure not only your show day is good, but your rain date it as well. It's tricky, and sometimes it's simply out of your hands, but if we all work together we can make sure all our shows and charities are represented well.
And how about these gas prices? We've reached record highs at the pumps but will that really keep us from attending shows? This question we've asked to many people involved in our hobby, and the general consensus is NO WAY! After two years of COVID, quarantines, mandates, and cancel culture, everyone's ready to get back to some normalcy. We also need to drive our vehicles, no matter their age, to keep them in good condition. And while we won't be taking our RV out much due to the cost, you can be certain all our cars will be going to shows this year. These last few years have isolated us all, and kept many from the activities we enjoy. We're not going to let fuel prices get in the way. Do I think they will go higher? I honestly do, and I think we'll be at $5 a gallon on or before Memorial Day. But I also think that soon after the prices will slowly start coming back down. I guess we'll wait and see.
I think we're in for another record year of events! Last year with everyone fed up for COVID induced stay at home orders, car shows returned in record numbers. Once we got to September and October, there were some days with over 25 events going on. And to end the year we were in excess of 600 events for the season in our state. Based on what we see so far, we could easily surpass that number this season. I've already posted a number of new shows for 2022, along with many returning favorites. There will be no shortage of events to attend every weekend, along with cruises every week day. The future sure looks bright for our hobby!
We also ask that you consider pre-registering for Garden State Autorama, which will take place on June 25, 2022 at Lacey High School in Lanoka Harbor. This will be a unique event - car show, food trucks, swap meet, and vendor fair. Everything will be automotive related, no lawnmowers or toilets here. And all proceeds benefit Vetwork, a local non profit that helps our veterans in every way humanly possible. We'd love for you to join us in June and help make the show a success! We still have swap meet and vendor space available as well, and sponsorships and show support are welcome too!
In closing, I'd like to personally thank you for using Jersey Shore Car Shows to find events to take your ride too. Your support has helped us become the best resource in the state for everything automotive related, and allows us to continue our mission to preserve and promote the Garden State Car Culture. Please come up and say hello if you see us at a show - we'd love to meet you in person! In our hobby, strangers are only friends we haven't met yet. We'll see everyone out on the show fields soon!