Planned verses Un-Planned Events

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Both words, Planned and Un-Planned, are pretty well understood as to their meanings. What needs to be understood here is that with planned events the whole issue with liability has been addressed and covered to protect the event hosts, property owners and event participants. This protection is called Event Insurance.

With planned events, the organizer has received approval for hosting the event at that location which may be in written form such as an agreement or lease, or some traceable evidence of the agreement.
 

With Un-Planned events, just as the word implies, liability has not been addressed so if something happens at the event liability falls not only on the property owner, but with anyone who had part in getting the event started and may include those participating in the event.  In a lot of cases especially with shopping plazas, the store where you are locating does not actually own that property.  Even if you have permission to be there you cannot assume that the liability falls with the property owner if something happens.

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Cruise

This usually indicates some sort of a touring event where you travel as a group with starting and ending points normally with stops along the way with some kind of activity during the cruise, or planned stops for food. This is pretty typical within auto clubs and motorcycle groups.

These are typically planned events organized by one or more organizers, this event may have an entry fee, or participation fee, restricted to specific vehicle types, or free for anyone to participate. Typically, when there is an entry fee that money will go to a charity organization or a fundraiser for a specific cause.  

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Cars & Coffee, Cars & Ice Cream
 

Both of these events are self-descriptive. Usually hosted by a business to bring in large groups of people so to advertise their business and offerings, providing a venue to allow people to show off their rides and hang out. These are normally planned events with some kind of frequency defined, and the business accepts liability for hosting these events. Usually, these events last only a couple of hours and typically are held during business hours of that business.
 

These events are not an awards type event.

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Cruise-In (Show & Shine)

This is a planned event organized by one or more organizers to allow for a gathering of auto enthusiasts with their vehicles to display, enjoy, collaborate with other like-minded people who all share and enjoy a passion for this automotive hobby. Typically these events have no set frequency, no entry or participation fee, but may ask for donations or canned goods for a specific organization. Usually open to all vehicle manufacturers, but may restrict to specific years or vehicle manufacturers, usually no food provisions arranged, and the event venue may or may not have restroom facilates. 

Typically, these events last 3 to 4 hours and people come and go with no expectation of staying the entire time of the event. Show and go as they want to arrive and leave. Not all, but some cruise-ins will offer door prizes or something for the people bringing their vehicles.

Cruise-Ins may or may not have a set of written rules, or an event waiver, but most participants understand that these are family friendly events and attendees need to take extra care when entering and exiting the event.

This event is not an awards type event.

 

Meet (Car Meet)

This is an un-planned event, a car gathering with or without a defined frequency, typically a last-minute pop-up event just to get together, usually meeting in a parking lot where the venue owner may or may not have given their consent to use as a meeting location. Liability needs to be well understood by everyone participating in such event as partial liability may fall on those attending if something happens.

Many times, with this type of event you will see revving of engines, burn-outs, and potentially racing where the event gets out of control since there isn't someone acting as the host or organizer.

This event is not an awards type event.

 

Cruise Night
 

This is a planned event organized by one or more organizers to allow for a gathering of auto enthusiasts with their vehicles to display, enjoy, collaborate with other like-minded people who all share and enjoy a passion for this automotive hobby. These events have some frequency associated with them, they could be weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or every other month for example. Usually open to all vehicle manufacturers, but may feature specific years or vehicle manufacturers at one or more of these events , usually food provisions and restrooms have been arranged or they are located within easy walking distance of the event.

These events are usually held at the same venue during day-light hours, even though they are called a cruise night, and typically last 3 to 5 hours in duration. As with cruise-ins, participants are not expected to stay for the entire duration and may come and go as they wish, a show and go type event.

With cruise nights you are more likely to see written or verbally communicated event rules, you may be asked to sign an event waiver for that event night, or a waiver that covers the entire cruise night season for that specific cruise night. Cruise nights are family friendly events where you will typically see a lot of spectators, including children who are all interested in automotive history. Since these are family friendly events participants need to take extra care during the event, and when entering and exiting the event.

Cruise nights typically offer door prizes, something for those bringing their vehicles, 50/50 drawings, music or other give-a-way type items. Usually, the cruise night hosts offer windshield placards for participants to fill out with their name and vehicle information to be displayed on the participants windshield.

This event is not an awards type event.

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Car Show (Judged and Non-Judged)

This is a planned event organized by one or more organizers to provide auto enthusiasts the opportunity to show (showcase) their vehicles in a show like setting. Car shows usually require a registration process and most have some kind of entry fee to participate. With this type of event participates usually expect to stay for the duration of the event usually lasting 4 to 6 hours hoping to win some kind of an award for their vehicle, or prizes awarded in the event drawings.

It is important to understand the car show entry fees, where your hard earned money goes from the event. Usually a free event will ask for donations or canned goods. Pay to show events, your entry fee may go to good causes like charity organizations, fundraisers for a good cause like fire departments, etc, or may be for the hosts personal profit. It's important to understand this so you end up supporting events where you know your entry fee is doing the most good.
 

Car shows usually have 50/50 drawings where half of these proceeds are donated to a good cause, raffle baskets are popular as well as having flea market or swap meet vendors setting up to add more things to do while attending the car show. Car shows usually offer door prizes that are drawn and awarded base on the vehicle entry number received during event registration.

Car shows are usually either a judged event or non-judged event. Judged events has many layers, everything from peer-to-peer voting, spectator voting or actual show judges that determine what vehicles will win awards based on their popularity and condition, or vehicle classes created by the event host. Awards for judged events are typically trophies, plaques or certificates.

Non-judged events there is no voting process, awards are typically drawn based on the vehicle entry number received during show registration. Awards for non-judged events are typically things like gift certificates, door prize type items or other items the event hosts have been able to get for their event.
 

A car show takes a lot of planning and are usually either a one time event, or an annual  event, and may be several times over the course of the event season.

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In Conclusion

As responsible car enthusiasts, it is important to prioritize safety, respect local laws, and contribute positively to the automotive community. Participating in legal and sanctioned events such as the events described above allows us to celebrate our shared passion for cars while promoting responsible and enjoyable experiences for all.
 

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