Looks like an awesome turnout today. Nice grand national and unimog.
Mike, When you state: "I am the one who approached you politely and said exactly that I am real sorry but I am going to have to ask you to move your car because we are in jeopardy of loosing this location. I further explained that this was directed by property management themselves."....... are you forgetting that I was there? Nothing could be further from the truth! What you know you did was to bark out: "You need to move this car immediately!" If you somehow think that represents politely asking me to move, you need to go back to Charm School. The only "HUGE attitude" you got from me was that I packed-up and left. You were conversing with others who apparently thought you were very obnoxious, but that was not my deal. I did not know that you had invented Cars & Coffee, or even who you were, but then I didn't know that Al Gore had invented the internet either. Jon Law has always been the person doing all the work. (Thanks Jon!) For years, Cars & Coffee was an informal gathering of auto enthusiasts, with no need for liability insurance. Now that it has suddenly been turned into an organized event, I would think that insurance is necessary for the organizers. I personally had no idea that this transition had occurred. I had been there a week before, with my Ultima GTR and everything seemed friendly and just fine. It did not seem to be "spiraling out of control" at all. I thought it was a bunch of people enjoying cars, making and meeting friends and having fun. As I looked at the great photos Steve took yesterday, I noted many cars that were not parked within designated parking spaces. You have more chances to exert your new self-appointed authority. You certainly won't have to worry about my cars again. David
Yes, great pics as always. lol, those Mustang guys sure couldn't stay between the lines. What was up with the 360 driving off without a license plate?
Dr. David, you and everyone else are always welcome at Portland Cars and Coffee. As you can see, both Steve and Allen were there this Saturday. Perhaps you have Jon and I mixed up. We have both been here since the start of the Bridgeport days, after Kevin (kaoss) started it at Jantzen Beach. After almost seven years, a couple of weeks are irrelevant. And yes, Mike ($$$=speed) has also been around since the early days. Between Jon and me, I am the more social and outgoing one. I frequently wear a bright yellow Ferrari pullover, or similar Ferrari regalia. And I have been chastised by Jon on more than one occasion for "acting like it is my event" when I have had the audacity to welcome new participants, and then thank them for attending when they depart. Yet when asked, I have always identified myself as a "caretaker" of the event along with Jon, and then adding Joel for the past couple of years. You and I have spoken several times about your cars, as well as your house plans on the racetrack. I have lots of conversations with people at this event - its just in my DNA. The event has changed, and there is no going back. Word of mouth has caused us to grow, and we have been compelled into a new working agreement with property management. It is perhaps a measure of success that we have been able to enact these changes without major disruption. Within 72 hours of our new working agreement with property management, we were able to create a group of 40 volunteers, identification lanyards, contracted police involvement, no parking signage, and 2000+ handouts for entrants. By any measure, that should be considered a success in logistics and event management. And it is still a free event, open to the public, in the same location. There are now just a few rules to make sure no one is throwing sand in the sandbox as the crowds have grown larger. Not everyone may like the changes, but like real life, change is inevitable.
I'll make one last comment as I think the problem has resolved itself. When I set up Bridgeport Plaza, it took over 3 months to get approval, required about 15 meetings and yes, we were required to provide insurance. I covered the cost of the insurance myself and told no one about it. It was a blanket liability policy which is why Bridgeport required us to park in certain areas, and the policy was specific as to the event, purpose and location. One thing that people forget while organizing this stuff is the back end of it all...it sounds simple enough, get a few people together, sit back, talk cars and go home. Many people forget that when you have the intent of using a local coffee place, in Brigeports location it was originally Jims little place, he had to not only staff for that event, but ramp up his inventory. Same applied when we moved up by Crate & Barrel. Businesses thrived on that day due to our presence, which is why management welcomes things like this, provided its controlled. I remember Jim had called me randomly one day to thank me for the business and to let me know that he had been tracking the Ferrari club and Lamborghini club discounts he had been giving. I had no idea at the time what sort of positive impact our gathering would bring to his business during a normally slow time, so when he informed me that he had given over 10k in discounts since we began, that made me proud of our clubs. WE did that for business...WE set our differences aside, had fun, and helped a small coffee shop in the process. I'm still proud to this day to have been a part of it all.
I have been to this event numerous times and love going!! Thanks to everyone that has put in any effort to make something like this possible!! You can't please all of the people. all of the time and there are always a few that ruin it for everyone.....if there is anything I can do, let me know.
VW. It is a lot of work now a days for lots of people. Really becoming more of a hassle dealing with men who act like little girls
........Im literally laughing out loud. At first comments were passive aggressive by some on this topic and now just boarding on ludicrous by everyone. If this wasn't a regional forum and a specific thread about an event in a city that is so small you can't drive down the street without everyone knowing i would chalk the last 2 pages to e-flexing of egos but it isn't. But this is just embarrassing, we are all adults and Id make the ASSumption that we are all educated adults, that everyone needs to drop the attitudes. If you don't like the events then don't go and if you do go try to be compassionate to those running/moderating the event because although you might be need to be told just once and politely, that won't be the case for everyone else. For those running/moderating the events, take into account not everyone knows your rules and to approach them politely and without attitude just because you dealt with a couple morons earlier. Hopefully everyone takes a step back and breaths before posting.
Mark, as I recall when I asked you why people kept asking me why you always said it was "your event" that you started and founded. At first you denied it, but then immediately changed your story to "well I know you don't like the spot light". Yes the event has change, but that's because you changed it. You have promoted this at every opportunity. A FaceBook page we suddenly needed, the promotion on your personal website, the candc | Real estate for people who love cars which oddly enough is a redirect to your personal website. You've even done a radio interview to promote C&C. Not exactly word of mouth. All of which you knew was a direct conflict with the agreement that was made with the property management. For the last four years its been an constant battle with what will Mark do next. Every two or three months Mark would do something that would have to be smoothed over with property management. Usually it was allowing someone or a club to use the venue in a way that was a direct conflict with what property management would allow. And yet time and time again Mark was never there to oversee or manage the situation he approved and everyone else was left dealing with the fallout. So stop try to sell this as you are the victim. This is exactly what you wanted, more attention.
After reading your post I couldn't agree more. Let's all move on and sorry for even participating in this thread.
It takes very little rain to drop participation greatly. Please note that I left space next to me for the other members of the rain resistant V12 Ferrari crew. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: First, thank you all. C&C has grown and become more vibrant than ever. Its a diverse group that has one thing in common: We all love cars. Ill start by asking you to read this entire thing through. Its important you read all of it. Effective immediately Portland Cars and Coffee is on a break/short hiatus. I want to be very clear, we are not cancelled. We are intentionally SUSPENDING the event effective immediately. This is a mutual decision with property management, based on the overwhelming turnout of over 350 cars two weeks ago. There will be no Portland Cars and Coffee this weekend, or the next weekend. Please do not go to Sequoia Parkway. Go take a break, drive your car, or just sleep in on Saturday morning! Why are we suspending C&C immediately? Because when we look at other events (Irvine) that have given a closure countdown, the number of problems suddenly escalates. Large numbers of people show up to attend for "one last show", while others show up to make "one last burnout". Simply put, it is not safe to have "one last gathering. And besides, its not the last gathering for us, right? Let me be clear, we are not being kicked out. We are on good terms with our current property management. They are impressed with how weve managed the gathering, with the implementation of Ground Control, hiring the sheriff, handing out the quarter sheets with the guidelines, and making our signs. They like us and we are good with them. But, we all agree that the current location is not setup to handle Portland Cars and Coffee any more. Its a business park, and were too large for the space. As such, we are relocating. Joel and I have known since February that we outgrew out current location, and as such have been talking to various places about relocating C&C. There are a couple of front runners, including one with amazing possibilities. Our goal is to find a location that will support a larger size event, yet make it easier to control with volunteers than our current location. When we have formalized the agreement with our new location, we will immediately update everyone here in this group. There will also be updates posted to the (coming soon) website at PortlandCarsAndCoffee.com. Our goal is to resume meeting in May, depending on the location and contracts. This event deserves a special location where the exotics can be featured again, and participants can feel welcomed by everybody. So we are taking the time to make it correct.
I look forward to the new location. I appreciate all the work you guys put in to make this happen. Future and past organizers. Hopefully we can find a huge lot somewhere to make it safe and fun for all. Mike
Which leaves Cascade Cars and Coffee, at least for now. Portland, OR ? Cascade Station Starbucks by Portland International Airport | CarsandCoffeeFinder.com
The Starbucks road along with the event for many years and never appeared to embrace it. I always considered the fact that there was only one food/beverage option at Sequoia Parkway the limiting factor. Clicking the link to Cascade C&C pointed out that they have several food and beverage options out there. I am happy that I posted pictures from both the first and last of the Sequoia Parkway Cars and Coffee gatherings. The regularity of the event in spite of varying weather such as snow, rain, fog, freezing rain, and sun was key to its longevity.
Are any of you going to give Cascade C&C a look-see on Saturday? Thinking of heading over there to scope it out.
I just verified the distance and it will be a more involved event as drive time is 35 minutes each way implying it is a three to four hour window to block out. I will head over there one of these days soon though. This weekend already has major chunks taken out of it for kid activities. Image Unavailable, Please Login
