Carmel Concours on the Ave future in doubt after founder dies | FerrariChat

Carmel Concours on the Ave future in doubt after founder dies

Discussion in 'Events Discussion' started by HMB-Dino, Oct 8, 2021.

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  1. HMB-Dino

    HMB-Dino Formula 3
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    Jun 28, 2010
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    Some of you that are local may have heard, but the founder of this event passed away last weekend of a heart attack. Doug Freedman was 72 and had run what is considered by many as the best free event of Monterey Car Week since 2007.

    Everyone hopes that this great event will continue, but it's unclear who will step up to take over the reigns.
     
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  2. MHK69

    MHK69 Karting

    Mar 14, 2009
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    Matt K
    Sorry to hear this and condolences to his family.

    The Concours on the Avenue was for sure one of the highlights of car week.

    RIP Doug
     
  3. Edward 96GTS

    Edward 96GTS F1 Veteran
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    maybe a possibility a corp may pickup the event?
    heard that the jet center party/event was bought by hagerty insurance.
     
  4. HMB-Dino

    HMB-Dino Formula 3
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    There's a huge difference between the Carmel Concours event and the McCall's jet center event. The Carmel event was funded primarily by the $250 entrant fee but was free to all attendees...which is one reason that made it so well liked (and well attended). The jet center event gouged everybody present $500+. So I'm sure Hagerty viewed that event as a profit maker. Any corporate takeover of the Carmel Concours would have to seriously jack up the entrant fee since controlling spectator admission (ie, to charge attendees) is so difficult.
     
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  5. TTR

    TTR F1 Veteran
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    Besides, if I understood him correctly, Doug's original idea was to keep this from being perceived or becoming yet another "corporate" marketing event.
    The entry fees for participants were just to help offset operational costs involved of the event and if I understood correctly, first few events ended up costing far more than they brought in...
     
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  6. Marcel Massini

    Marcel Massini Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Mar 2, 2005
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    Does anybody have further information if this coming August the Concours-on-the Avenue in Carmel will still be held?
    Which day? Tuesday, 16th August 2022?
    Any further information available? Has anybody taken over the organization by now?

    Thank you.
    Marcel Massini
     
  7. trashidelek!

    trashidelek! Formula Junior

    Nov 18, 2004
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    #7 trashidelek!, Apr 11, 2022
    Last edited: Apr 11, 2022
    Should be able to call 404-237-2633 or inquire here:
    https://carmelconcours.com/home.html
     
  8. Balsamina

    Balsamina Formula Junior

    May 19, 2010
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    Its still unclear. Below is an article from the current issue of the Carmel Pine Cone, the local newspaper. In related news, I spoke with Tony Singer over the weekend, who confirmed Automobilia will take place this year.

    http://pineconearchive.fileburstcdn.com/220408PC.pdf

    Uncertain future for downtown’s Car Week events
    City to survey residents, businesses
    By MARY SCHLEY

    THE PEBBLE Beach Concours Tour d’Elegance will skip its lunchtime stop in Carmel for the second time, the fate of this year’s Concours on the Avenue remains unknown in light of founder Doug Freedman’s unexpected passing last October, and the Prancing Ponies show may return, but this time on Thursday of Car Week rather than Wednesday, community activities director Ashlee Wright told the city council April 5.

    “I’ve heard some talk about Car Week and making sure Concours on the Avenue happens,” she said, because it’s important for the town’s economy, especially with the Pebble Beach Tour — which had made its lunchtime stop downtown annually for two decades before the pandemic halted everything — not coming through again this year.

    “We are getting late into the spring, but this isn’t the first time we’ve had some uncertainty about Car Week events,” she added. Last year’s event, for instance, came together fairly late because organizers were waiting for health and safety rules from the state.

    Concours on the Avenue “could still take place,” Wright said. “I’m in regular communication with Genie Freedman, but I would like to extend her some patience as to whether or not she will host it this year.”

    Deep dive

    Coronavirus shutdowns gave Wright and other city officials time to review and analyze "how we've conducted Car Week in the past, what works and what doesn’t, and opportunities for changing things in the future,” she said. To that end, she plans to survey residents, visitors and business owners to get their feedback on the August events and how they might be improved.

    “I’m hoping we can get some data from the community so we're sure to balance economic benefits, safety and adhering to the uniqueness and Carmel charm,” she said. City administrator Chip Rerig said surveys are a good idea, even if they might not be scientific.

    “These surveys have been very, very successful,” he said, referring to past questionnaires about the Scout House, farmers market and outdoor dining. “We get a good cross-section of our community.”

    Councilman Jeff Baron said he’s not a big fan of surveys, though, and that other methods of getting feedback are important.

    “I would hate for our only method of communicating with our community about how they feel about Car Week was a simple survey,” he said. “As much as it’s tedious for us all to sit here and listen to the public, that’s what we do — that is a really important part of how the process works, and I’m much more interested in making our way through meetings and maybe more informal settings than putting all our eggs into the survey basket.”

    The show must go on?

    Resident and Dolores Street gallery owner Richard Kreitman said Concours on the Avenue is critical for the downtown businesses, workers and hotel operators who rely on the visitors it draws.

    “Mrs. Freedman is still grieving, but I believe the welfare of our community must be given consideration,” he said. “There’s a group of us who would do what we could to get an event on Tuesday. There are many possibilities.”

    He also worried that the city’s limit to two Car Week events per year and the need to process applications for those spots in the order they’re received means Prancing Ponies could push out the Tour d’Elegance in the future.

    “If the tour asked to come back next year, we would say no to them because Prancing Ponies got their application in first?" he asked. "You're the council - you get to decide.”

    Rerig noted that the Freedmans had been “incredibly well organized,” as was the P.B. Tour, and that any newcomers who want to hold events in town would be held to the same high standards.

    “Because there’s real potential for bedlam when you bring in cars and people,” he said. “We have to be sure we vet people correctly and listen to the public about what their expectations are for the future.”

    Councilwoman Carrie Theis said she is concerned about los-ing the Concours d’Elegance tour stop. “I’m hoping staff can work on getting that event back,” she said, since it gives people who can’t go to Pebble Beach on Sunday a chance to see some of the world’s rarer vintage cars.

    “We need to be very considerate of Genie Freedman — she’s a recent widow, and her husband planned for a whole year to do that event,” she added. “Having at least one Thursday event would be good this year if we can pull that off, and we can give Ms. Freedman a year to regroup and decide what she wants to do.”

    Councilman Bobby Richards said he believes the bridge the Freedmans built in terms of bringing Car Week visitors to town earlier in the week won’t “fall down now,” even if there’s no Concours on the Avenue this year.

    “It’s hard for me not to get emotional,” he said. “Doug and Genie are friends of mine. I really miss Doug a lot and I think he was a class act, and I don’t know if anyone would be able to match the bar that he set.”

    Baron and councilwoman Karen Ferlito also said it’s imperative to notify residents about Car Week events out- side the city. “So if they know Quail is getting out at 4 p.m., don’t go to Safeway,” Ferlito said. “If our community is informed, that helps them plan in spite of the fact we may only have one or two events.”



    April 8, 2022 The Carmel Pine Cone

    The Concours on the Avenue has always drawn crowds to see its special cars, including the 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spyder that won an award for owner Jeff Abramson at the 2008 show.
     
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  9. Marcel Massini

    Marcel Massini Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Thank you very much, Sir.

    Marcel Massini
     
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  10. Edward 96GTS

    Edward 96GTS F1 Veteran
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    there is some discussion here of people just showing up w their cars impromptu on tues. very bad idea!
     
  11. HMB-Dino

    HMB-Dino Formula 3
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    Locals such as myself will provide updates as they make the local press since some of us often exhibit at that great event.
     
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  12. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    The older I get, the more I learn not to take things for granted. You go somewhere and are short on time so you pass on seeing something you're interested in, but when you go back it is gone.
     
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  13. simchanova

    simchanova Formula Junior
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    …very sad…Doug and Genie are first class people…I volunteered with staging the last 4 years…I hope it can continue to honor Doug and all that he did for people…
     
  14. dinoart

    dinoart Formula Junior
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    I went to their website. Looks like 2022 Concours on the Avenue is on. Question, the pdf application says it must be in by April 1 of the Concours year. Is it too late to enter a car? I sent an email but not hear back from admin yet.
    David
     
  15. HMB-Dino

    HMB-Dino Formula 3
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    Don't go by the website...it hasn't been updated since before the founder's passing.
     
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  16. HMB-Dino

    HMB-Dino Formula 3
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    Cancelled...from tomorrow's Carmel Pine Cone newspaper...

    WITH THE passing of Concours on the Avenue co-founder and moving force Doug Freedman last October, his widow, Genie Freedman, has decided not to have the event in downtown Carmel this year.

    “Concours on the Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea will not move forward for Car Week 2022,” community activities director Ashlee Wright announced Wednesday. “This week, Genie Freedman confirmed with city staff that Concours on the Avenue will not occur this August.”

    The fate of the event had been in question since Doug Freedman’s death last fall, and Wright said Genie Freedman “is encouraging those who would have attended or participated in the event to donate to The Carmel Foundation.”

    Freedman’s decision means downtown Carmel will only host one car event this year. Prancing Ponies, a show limited to female car owners, will be held on Thurs- day, August 18.
     
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  17. Marcel Massini

    Marcel Massini Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Thank you very much for this information.

    Marcel Massini
     
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  18. SFdriven1

    SFdriven1 Rookie

    Jul 26, 2009
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    It looks like the Concours on the Avenue, as well as the Carmel Mission Classic which is also canceled for 2022, will both be back next year. Hopefully the Concours on the Avenue will retain its great atmosphere and eclectic gathering of cars, last year's was really fun and I was able to talk to owners of cars ranging from a blue "vetroresina" 308 to a 1930s Delahaye (which was driven up to Carmel from LA) to a really well done Jamaican kit car (Donald Osborne of Jay Leno's Garage fame also picked up on the latter on his Instagram; I spoke with him at the Tour d' Elegance once, very nice guy). The "What's Up Monterey" guide has very little information but does say they are only cancelled this year, and another page from What's Up Monterey says the C.O.T.A. is '"rescheduled" for 2023. The guide is a nice overview of what's going on during Car Week generally. For me the beginning of the Tour d'Elegance and the Little Car Show and the Monterey Historics are highlights, and pretty easy on the budget if you have a place to stay (free, free, and sub-$100, respectively). The Pebble Beach Concours is very crowded, and its high price ($425 this year) doesn't seem to deter too many people. The Concorso Italiano is a relative bargain at $215. Plus of course, it has the most Ferraris.

    https://whatsupmonterey.com/article/activities/monterey-car-week-overview

    https://whatsupmonterey.com/events/monterey-car-week/concours-on-the-avenue/441#:~:text=The%20Carmel%20Concours%20on%20the,Hot%20Rods%20and%20Sporting%20Cars.
     
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  19. TTR

    TTR F1 Veteran
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    Have the Concours on the Avenue or Mission Classic organizers actually confirmed 2023 ?
    Just curious.
     
  20. HMB-Dino

    HMB-Dino Formula 3
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    No confirmation for Carmel Concours for 2023. As much as the WhatsUpMonterey website is good for providing activity overviews, their information isn't always correct. I have sent in several corrections to them recently. Regarding the Carmel Concours status, the only reliable source is the local Carmel Pine Cone weekly newspaper.
     
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  21. TTR

    TTR F1 Veteran
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    Thanks.
    I’ve already noticed in the past that you always seem to provide most accurate and updated information here regarding Monterey events.
     

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