Kaapse Kombi Kult annual kamp-out: where to now?
Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2013 2:52 pm
We’re starting the planning for next year’s Kaapse Kombi Kult kamp-out, which will be the eighth one, and I’d like to hear people’s ideas about how we take this event forward and feedback about what you’ve liked and disliked about the previous seven kamp-outs we’ve held.
The past two events have been hit or miss whether we held them or called it a day. I started this event because I love VW buses and interacting and especially road tripping and camping with other bus enthusiasts. I funded the first event from my own pocket and there was no gate charge. We asked for a token R20 fee for the second event, which apparently caused a lot of unhappiness, although unfortunately none of the complainers had the courage to communicate their issues to me. Most of the unhappiness was apparently concentrated in one particular club, many of whose members have never returned (this club, under new management, is still a strong supporter of our event). The following year we upped the entrance fee to R50 as R20 didn’t cover costs. For the past two years entry fee has been R70, or R120 for people who arrived on the Friday. We don’t host this event to make money; we do it for the love of it. From the third event onwards we recovered our upfront cash costs, but we don’t pay ourselves anything for our time or the venue. I’m usually about R10,000 down by the time the gates open.
Over the years we have made minor changes/improvements to the event based on feedback, mostly to address the needs of day trippers. However, these have just increased the cost and work involved in hosting the event, but never led to more people attending.
The original idea behind this event was that it was not intended as a car show as such, but rather a weekend gathering of bus enthusiasts who enjoy the opportunity to convoy and camp with like-minded enthusiasts. It was always intended to be a particpants’ event; not for spectators like a traditional car show.
After our experience last year, if we are to continue to host this event we want to take it back to its roots. We went to a lot of additional expense and work to satisfy the demands of spectators and day trippers, and all we got was more complaints and unhappiness. This is an obvious drain on our energy and enthusiasm and we don't want to continue if it's not enjoyable for us.
So the 8th Annual Kaapse Kombi Kult Kamp-out, to be held from 14-16 February 2014, will be geared for participants who intend to come for the weekend. Non-bus drivers and spectators will be welcomed, but we’re not prepared to make any special considerations for them.
We are planning to move the official start forward to Friday afternoon, to make it a full camping weekend. We also plan to raise the entrance fee to R150 for the whole weekend (children under 12 free), and we will not reduce the price for people who don’t come for the whole weekend. We will still invite commercial and private vendors to bring parts, etc, for sale.
How do volks feel about this? Would people still attend a more intimate participants event? Is the proposed gate fee realistic? The format would remain much as it has been, unless we get any great ideas for improvements.
So fire away volks. We’d like to hear all ideas and feedback about how best to sustain the biggest VW bus gathering in South Africa.
The past two events have been hit or miss whether we held them or called it a day. I started this event because I love VW buses and interacting and especially road tripping and camping with other bus enthusiasts. I funded the first event from my own pocket and there was no gate charge. We asked for a token R20 fee for the second event, which apparently caused a lot of unhappiness, although unfortunately none of the complainers had the courage to communicate their issues to me. Most of the unhappiness was apparently concentrated in one particular club, many of whose members have never returned (this club, under new management, is still a strong supporter of our event). The following year we upped the entrance fee to R50 as R20 didn’t cover costs. For the past two years entry fee has been R70, or R120 for people who arrived on the Friday. We don’t host this event to make money; we do it for the love of it. From the third event onwards we recovered our upfront cash costs, but we don’t pay ourselves anything for our time or the venue. I’m usually about R10,000 down by the time the gates open.
Over the years we have made minor changes/improvements to the event based on feedback, mostly to address the needs of day trippers. However, these have just increased the cost and work involved in hosting the event, but never led to more people attending.
The original idea behind this event was that it was not intended as a car show as such, but rather a weekend gathering of bus enthusiasts who enjoy the opportunity to convoy and camp with like-minded enthusiasts. It was always intended to be a particpants’ event; not for spectators like a traditional car show.
After our experience last year, if we are to continue to host this event we want to take it back to its roots. We went to a lot of additional expense and work to satisfy the demands of spectators and day trippers, and all we got was more complaints and unhappiness. This is an obvious drain on our energy and enthusiasm and we don't want to continue if it's not enjoyable for us.
So the 8th Annual Kaapse Kombi Kult Kamp-out, to be held from 14-16 February 2014, will be geared for participants who intend to come for the weekend. Non-bus drivers and spectators will be welcomed, but we’re not prepared to make any special considerations for them.
We are planning to move the official start forward to Friday afternoon, to make it a full camping weekend. We also plan to raise the entrance fee to R150 for the whole weekend (children under 12 free), and we will not reduce the price for people who don’t come for the whole weekend. We will still invite commercial and private vendors to bring parts, etc, for sale.
How do volks feel about this? Would people still attend a more intimate participants event? Is the proposed gate fee realistic? The format would remain much as it has been, unless we get any great ideas for improvements.
So fire away volks. We’d like to hear all ideas and feedback about how best to sustain the biggest VW bus gathering in South Africa.
