Had a invite to attend FITP the other day as no doubt did other car club or group organisers, for those that dont know its a static ford only show based in huntingdon held by the Fiesta club of GB and is usually a nice chilled show,

 

it's never been the same since they moved

 

I only mentioned it Dojj as some of the middx crew have been asking if we are doing it in 2012, Used to enjoy its chilled laid back ways but I cant see them ever getting back the past attractions or traders it used to have, we wont be attending it again and that is a definate from me, so its one for the fiesta boys only now

 

to be honest Ive always found this show to be a complete bore!

 

we had the crack there a few years back though didnt we mark, but them days are sadly gone

 

that was probably the last one that was 'ok'

I think whilst people have less money to spare the smaller shows that appeal to a minority will die off as people will save their money to attend the larger shows like rsoc combe and ford fair

 

your prob right apart from uxbridge as that seems to be getting bigger each year especially after us having 77 cars on stand this year

 

but uxbridge has a huge variety of cars Steve,
its a good show which gives you the chance to look at cars other than Ford,
even though the Fords that do attend are usualy to a very good standard.

a fiesta based show just doesnt attract the punters in the same way.

 

its a shame but now very true, FITP R.I.P

 

i had a trade stand there & had 6k worth of stock on the stand. And back-up in the van , sold next to nothing waste of time !! doubt il be there next year

 

it is a shame really, but I reckon it will only get worse in the future

 

but you could say the same for the enfield pagent, it's got masses of cars there but the year it got cancelled for being waterlogged sort of killed it off as i've heard nothing about it since

uxbridge was going the same way when they decided that folks selling books and stamps and cuddly toys and candy were allowed to participate, but it was probably a good thing as it's the variety that's saved the show because i couldn't go there year in and year out to see some old bus being driven around a field if it weren't for the fairly extensive auto jumble

 

your being a bit unfair dojj to uxbridge as they had over a 1500 cars on display, and the ford section alone was close to 400 cars, you make it sound like a country fair with one man his dog and a tractor engine saved by a flea market and a sheep shearer , the autojumble there is bigger than at top shows

 

Have any of you spoken to the organisers and suggested improvements? Or is it easier to just moan on the internet?

I've been going to this for a number of years. I think moving from Wicksteed did really hurt it, as I think Huntingdon is a bit of a crap venue. However, the bumps at Wicksteed were ridiculous, the queues to get in were even worse, and the food was also fucking expensive. But food is ALWAYS expensive at shows, which is why we always take our own.

I think the weather has been a bit of a factor. In 2004/5 when I first went, the weather was brilliant but, since then, they've been less lucky with the weather, which has probably put a few people off. If they had a good couple of years of sunny weather, I'm sure numbers would increase again.

However, given the 28 bzillion Zetec-S Fiestas that were there, and the four bzillion STs that were there, I'd hardly call it "dead"

 

2010 fitp was my first, was nice and sunny.

2011 fitp was prob my last, weather was cack, show was quiet, the stand I was on had only 3 cars show, even after paying, I was in a focus estate (delivering a frst bonnet to a mate)

 

you seem very opinionated on most forums, and yes I did speak to the hosting club and some of the traders on the day in Person did you ? and I asked the very questions mentioned in thnis thread, and they are not really that receptive of any involvement of suggestions from outside their own club

even the numbers of fiestas was down this year big time as I chatted to fiesta stand organisers on the day who themselves were dissapointed so your statement of bzillion were there was without foundation tbh, I stated dead as it was dead the show and venue had no life at all and seeing all the empty club spaces which in recent years was full may well be a sign of the times and economic climate, but my club which is one of the most high profile RSOC groups in the country will not be there again nor will many other ford clubs I know and deal with on a regular basis = Fact

 

Saying FACT on the end of a sentence doesn't make it mean any more

I didn't need to speak to the organisers to be honest. Our stand was still a fair size, and we were generally happy with the show. With economic troubles in the world, and a bad weather record for the last couple of years, numbers are bound to be impacted. I'd be interested to see show ticket sales figures from one of the organisers to see what kind of trend there has been over the last few years. FITP has never been a massive show, and it ballooned over 2/3 years when it had good weather and the Zetec-S/ST started to explode. The ZSOC and ST stands were still bloody huge, so I'd hardly say FITP is on it's arse. The trade area wasn't great, but most shows are suffering from dwindling trade interest, as people would rather buy online these days, as it's often cheaper.

So, yes it's shrunk a bit, but so have most of the other shows, it's only natural at the moment. I just thought I'd add the other side, as I just see endless doom and gloom about everything that isn't attended/organised by the Middlesex RSOC

Things will pick up again no doubt.

 

It's not a show we, as a magazine, will be attending again. We'll probably send a snapper there, but various reasons we won't have a stand.

 

If you take into account other opinions not just mine on this thread, including that of the countrys biggest Ford magazine and trader and you will see its not just a one man crusade againt this show, As I love attending all ford shows which I do every year since the 80s to my cost, as for the dig at middx I am a realist and know my own club is a small fly in the bigger scale of car club scene, people wanted to know why I have scrubbed it off our diary and this thread is the reason why, I rest my case

 

There was no dig at the Middlesex group, just a bit of jest at the constant mentioning of it Perhaps contacting your club members directly would have been more appropriate? This seems a bit ASW to me...

I think it will be a shame if this shrinks further. I think FCGB do a good job and the complaints about traders and food prices are not exclusive to this show by any means.

Each to their own I guess.

 

2011 had more Fiesta ST's on the owners stand, than any year previous.

Probably was my last one though. It's far too static.

 

thats the way of the world , a lot of our supporters use PF more than any other forum and not all that attend our meets are registered with our group they simply turn up like on a ace cafe night etc, so it needed to be announced

 

yeah i do agree fitp is a pretty quiet show but i imagine its the people you go with who make the show.we at mugmotorsport had a cracking laugh n prob one of the last stands to leave.agreed trader stand was next to nothing and didnt know about food prices as we took a bbq and chipped in a couple of quid to cover costs.
imagine we will still be doing it this year as its club advertisement at shows helps

 

should not be that way though should it as the show should be worth attending in the first place and going with mates should make it even better, I actually spoke to wayne your events organiser at FITP

 

the enfield pagent is still very much alive,
its has a huge turn out and has one of the biggest auto jumbles that ive seen.
the Pagent is still one of the best static shows to attend along with uxbridge.
they are both brilliant giving huge variation.

the fiesta show on the other hand is dead!

 

you sure about that?
the club looks dead to me

 

Email mailing group?

Bang on. It's the people and clubs that make the show. The club I've gone with the last few years is always one of the last to leave, we usually do food, people are around chatting. It's a social event as much as a show, and because it's a smaller one, it means more time for meeting up and chatting with people, as there is less pressure to spend all day walking around to try and see everything.

Groups abandoning ship because a show has a quiet year or two will only make it worse sadly. Based on a comment above, it sounds like the ST boys had their biggest entrance yet, which doesn't tally up with some of the comments here. I don't think the ZSOC stand really looked any smaller than normal, the FCGB stand was still pretty sizeable. It was smaller than previous years I suppose, but I really don't remember it being "dead"

I think the venue lets it down for sure, the weather is hit and miss and it will always struggle to attract those who want track action and the like, but I think, given that it's always been a small show, it does ok really.

 

we already have mass text and emails sent out monthly by the chairman and me, and we have our own website for all meet news and group bulletins, but not everyone is on the list as some months our group meets have over 100+ cars so you cant keep track on everyone, we certainly are not novices at the car club scene, been doing it for many years thank you hence our massive success with 6 full colour magazine features alone in 2011 take a look at our rolling road day in decembers fast ford and recent Rallye News & Performance Ford, it gives you some idea of where our group is, as for your comment on jumping ship its more like stepping out of a dinghy with a slow puncture , anyone would think you are on wages from fitp organisers

the word "dead" was perhaps incorrect as the more factual one should have been "dying"

 

people that were there on stand doesnt mean its the whole club,alot of people couldnt make it plus it is an open marque club not just a ford club so many others couldnt show their cars.next season its going to be all change to be honest for us.

wayne is a top top guy steve

 

I don't think anyone can fail to notice the Middlesex group with having it rammed down our throats every other post It sounds like you have the means to communicate with your club members, so doing it through this forum seemed a bit irrelevant to me, hence the ASW comment.

I'm certainly not on the payroll from the FITP organisers, just defending it, as I think some of the comments on here were slightly over the top and not particularly accurate in all cases.

It seems to me that most of the criticisms (lower entry numbers, lack of trade stands and expensive food), are not something that could be levelled solely at this event, and are issues that impact virtually every show. I think every show/event I've ever been to charges a fortune for food, so that's nothing new, ticket numbers are bound to be down in the current climate, and trade stands are dying off all over the place, as they're just not that cheap compared to online dealers.

I'm sure you'd vigorously defend your RSOC group, so I was just putting across the case for FITP. I've been going for a few years now, and it didn't look empty to me this year. Smaller yes, but not empty.

I wish them all the best with it anyway, I hope it continues to be successful, as I think they do a good job, and don't deserve some of the criticism.

 

I went a couple of years ago and was bored to tears. I dont mind static shows, but it consited of a load of boring zetec-s's which all looked the same.
I know its a fiesta show but it lacked any sort of variety. I wont go again, id rather go to the local tesco carpark to look and 30 identical fiestas.

 

wishing them well we can both agree on and I too have attended this show for the last 5 years in a row, which is why I have noticed first hand how bad its been getting and its new low with 2011s, if any product gets worse it will be open to criticism hence this topic, and you seem to ignore all those that support my view also

I will take that as a compliment to my bloody hard work

 

as far as the middx rosc stuff goes, even though steve emails everyone, i don't get any notifications because all that stuff gets diverted to my spam folder, yes, even the rsoc official emails, so if he doesn't text me the info or put it up here, it's nly when we go to the meets that i find out whats going on

and forgive me for not wanting to use up all his valuable time discussing things he's already posted up when there are a lot of other folk who want to talk to him about other stuff

i agree with the sentiments in that the show, although it may have loads of cars there, not everyone wants to go to a show to see rows and rows of the same cars parked in a field, if i wanted to do that i'd have visited the production plant

ok, carry on

 

I don't think it really helps when people are sat on here bitching that fitp wasn't great last year, I've been going for 5 or so years and I enjoy it every year. Last year was a little bit quiet but I still had a right laugh and enjoyed looking at the cars that had turned up.

If you have decided not to go then that's fine but coming on here and trying to persuade others not to make the effort is just stupid.
I'm making the effort because its a good day out, if you'd rather be down Toby carvery stuffing your face with meat and veg for less than a tenner then do that.... I'm sure I will enjoy my day more than you enjoy yours

 

hello mate you dont know me personnally but i am the fiesta club of gb club chairman, i wanted to put you right on a few things about the show.
the reason that there were no kids entertainment at the 2011 show was this, we got a phone call from the owner of the kids rides very late on the saturday evening before the show saying that he couldnt make it as his machines had not been tested and the guy that was meant to be testing them had let him down and has he needed his safetys certs he could not attend the show because of this, as you can read it was far too late for us as a club to arrange any other entertainment at such short notice.
i have since found another company and will hopefully have a lot more at this years show such as rock climbing wall,bungy trampolines,inflatable zorb balls both land and water based,inflatable slides and castles and hopefully lots of other rides aswell.
i have already booked kids go-karts to come to the event.
the cost of food at any show is expensive but at the 2011 show the caterers did actually cut some prices on some of their food stands this again will be brought up at the meeting with huntingdon themselves to see if they can make further price drops for us but on another note their is nothing to stop you from having a bbq on your clubstand as long as it is put out correctly.
the show was down on numbers at the 2011 show but i think you will find that most of the shows were down on numbers.
i have already had interest from lots of car clubs that attended the 2011 show saying that they will be back for the 2012 event so we must be doing something right.
the traders at the 2011 event was the highest amount that we have had at any fitp but as they were put out in the picnic area of the showground maybe thats why you thought there numbers were down but down worry as they will be back into the main showground for the 2012 event,we put them out in the picnic area as a experiment but it failed so we will not be repeating the same thing again.
im also looking into a special guest aswell for this years show.
we have folks attend the show from all over the uk even as far away as holland.
on a closing note i read on passionford that you spoke to one of the shows organisers on the day of the 2011 show but as far as im aware i never spoke to anyone from the middx rs group and when i checked our paid up club list,the middx rsoc wasnt even listed so were you on another club stand.

and before i forget your comments about uxbridge are also no better as i have been attending the show for quite some years now and it has been getting no better itself because of the poor quality of organising, and the numbers at this years show were down in numbers along with a lot of other shows aswell.

plus isnt it your local show so you have no worry about travelling costs getting there, i for one do over 3,000 miles a year driving to shows in the uk at my own expense plus ive also done the european ford event for five years running aswell.

one of the many reasons that "fiesta in the park" moved from wicksteed park was due to the fact that a lot of peoples cars were getting damaged through speedbumps and holes in the field itself plus the other fact that it was a nightmare to get into some people waiting over two hours trying to get in to the showground.
i remember at the last show that was held at wicksteed park seeing a stunning cossy saff having its front bumper ripped clean off after going down one of those holes.

many thanks for your time in reading this and hope to see you at this years event

george "the git" FCGB Club Chairman

 

^^ ^^

 

steve or 1-pd as your known on most of the websites, your more than welcome to speak to me personnally at any passionford n/london meets as im always there as im also best friends with their chairman.
so please dont be shy at the next meet come and make yourself known so we can discuss things further person to person.

cheers

 

My club (Projectpuma.com) will be there for our 5th consecutive year as it's a great club get together at the first main show of the year.

A show is what you make of it and we always have a good time.

 

I'll be going this year as I always have a great laugh there and see something I like.

If you dont go then dont go, I and many others wont lose any sleep I can assure you.
But starting a tread to basically slag the show off is very low which is a shame as you come across as a decent bloke on the RSOC site but on here you seem moan for the majority of threads that youve started, very odd.

Yes the show could be better in certain ways but when your there its more down to how you spend your time there and who youre with more than anything, well for me it is anyway
Also try and remeber the hard work the people behind the scene at Fiesta club gb to try and make your day enjoyable.

I hope to see you at the upcoming shows with a happy grin on your face

 

Look I take on board you are a fiesta fan so your going to fight their corner and I respect that, I have been attending the show for many years too and 2011s was not quiet at all it was near dead, how many public cars were there ? and how filled was the show club plots ? and how many traders were there ? , if your answer the above 3 questions with honesty it will bring you to the same conclusion as everyone in the 30 car group I went with as none of us will be back for 2012 which is our choice I know. it may not be helpfull to post the truth but I dont wear rose coloured specs when reviewing any show be it fiesta based or not as I give stick to RS ones as well as any RSOC member will tell you