Yay!If I can get the time off work, I'll be there to join you for the Autoshow weekend
MrVermin
I'm willing to help with a Nashville proposal.I would love to see one in the Knoxville area as well. You have the mountains, the dragon's tail... but I will agree trying to do something Labor Day weekend would be either difficult, or expensive.
I'm an hour and a half from Nashville and would be willing to help someone if they want to get the ball rolling, but I don't have the time to take on the project myself.
What about St. Louis?
Count me in to help with planning. I would love to see a fest somewhere in the southwest. My town (Las Vegas) or Phoenix are often too hot in the beginning of September, but, LA, San Diego, San Francisco, Flagstaff, AZ, and probably other cities would work great. The closest to here that has ever held a TDIFest is Salt Lake City. I would love to see someone in California start a planning committee. I will help all that I can.Somewhere here in the CPR would be nice.
I will help if that is the case. I should be back home (STL) by December. St. Louis Proponents can PM me. We can see what we can do.I vote for St. Louis.
Lots of hotels, inexpensive town, pretty pro-car, historical, Gateway Raceway, big enough, and we got the oilhammer here!
Don't really need a big project in my life right now, but if it really swells up into being held here, I can see myself getting sucked in to help with....er... I don't know, stuff and whatever...I will help if that is the case. I should be back home (STL) by December. St. Louis Proponents can PM me. We can see what we can do.
I may be pathetic but at least I'm upfront and honest about it.
Ok folks, I took a little initiative on an idea about TDIFest 2013 being in St. Louis.Want a Fest in your neck of the woods?
The sooner you start planning, the better!
Here's where past and present TDIFests have been held:
(click for Google Map)
If you want a Fest in your area, start looking up hotels now. Historically, the Fest rate for a hotel has been $99/night (a room block will get you discounts off of the normal rate, so don't be afraid to look at hotels that are above that rate).
Tools that can be useful for finding hotels are the city's chamber of commerce, and the Cvent Event Venue Directory. Some city websites and Cvent will let you filter based on requirements.
Here's some hotel requirements that have been compiled (thanks VeeDubTDI and Airwolf):
Larger hotels can work, but present more logistic problems due to sharing the space with others. On the other hand, a smaller hotel may need to be dealt with earlier, or it won't have room for us.
- 90-120 guest rooms, 200 room-nights
- 200 parking spaces guaranteed available - block off our side of the lot
- Meeting space no extra charge
- suggested banquet style minimum seating - 125
- Registration suite for entire weekend
- 500 - 750 sq ft
- lockable doors
- Food
- On-site catering
- Enough space for 110-175 people to eat
- Max $5000 food minimum
- Free WiFi in guest rooms
- Car washing area (loading dock?)
- Electricity available outside
It's also not a bad idea to stay at a candidate hotel for at least a night, and try their food - that way, you have an idea of what the accommodations and food are like.
If you are willing to do a little driving, the St. Louis metro area has many family-friendly attractions and activities at low or even no cost, including our free zoo and tours of the AB brewery.Also look at local attractions - both those that will appeal to TDI drivers, and their families. Remember that this is Labor Day weekend, so you may need to jump on those attractions quickly.
I am a new guy around here and only know a few of you a little tiny bit. I'm not looking to spearhead this thing, but just be a humble part of an organizing team. I think my best role might be a sort of geographical information concierge, as I have had driving jobs in St. Louis for 19 years, and currently operate my TDI as a taxicab all over the metro area.Please note that organizing a TDIFest will involve volunteering several hundred hours of your time, and a strong team, to make this event a success. However, your contributions will be greatly appreciated, and support the club significantly.
I have family in Alton Ill and was there a couple weeks ago for a funeral would love to come out for a FEST!! DO IT!Thanks for moving forward with the St Louis location. I have only visited there once, the the last 15 years, but I think it's a great location for many of us.
This has been discussed for years and has never happened......note the number of Fests in the west......The last several years it has been a mighty struggle to get anything together......and have you noticed it is pretty much always the same 5-10 Core group members?? One of these days the Fest will cease happening and probably sooner than later for just these reasons......While I enjoyed Ypsilanti, I'm getting too old to be driving way back east again. Perhaps it could be set up to alternate between regions? East one year, MidWest the next, then West the third; also Canada should be in the rotation.
BTW, is there a geographical breakdown of TDIClub.com members?
Http://www.tinyurl.com/tdimap is a pretty representative sample of TDIClub members.While I enjoyed Ypsilanti, I'm getting too old to be driving way back east again. Perhaps it could be set up to alternate between regions? East one year, MidWest the next, then West the third; also Canada should be in the rotation.
BTW, is there a geographical breakdown of TDIClub.com members?