And so it's time to talk about how everything was for us in Vladivostok.
The day before the festival, our biggest concern was the weather forecast - all predictions said there would be rain. However, the event organizers assured everyone that the weather would be good and there was nothing to worry about.
From my side, I knew that the 'Primring' territory is not far from a military airport which traditionally has minimal rainy days - I've observed many times that it rains in Artyom but not at the airfield.
Anyway, morning came and fortunately, it was almost without rain.
We arrived at the venue around 8 am, and immediately felt the pleasant excitement among participants. Everyone was enthusiastically washing the road grime off their cars (the road was still wet), music played cheerfully, everything was going well and everyone's mood was great.
This was my first time participating in such an event, so everything was new to me.
I was pleasantly surprised that the cars were placed quite generously apart from each other, with plenty of space for everyone.
From early morning onwards, even before the event started, participants began approaching me and showing interest in my car. This only pleased me further, and as it turned out later, this also predicted visitor interest throughout the day.
Finally, I got tired running around with towels wiping off the last specks of dust, sat down to rest, and took a closer look at nearby participants.
Our spot (the 'Retro' category) was fortunate - not far from the main stage.
Opposite us was also a small number of off-road vehicles led by a huge 'Tundra', though it turned out this vehicle participated as Tarantula:
Furthermore, right next to us another quite powerful level of sound demonstrated Isuzu Vehi-Cross. It later turned out that this was a serious contender for victory. I remember thinking then that if this thing would be running all day long, we would have to strain our throats talking to visitors - if it were possible at all.
Fortunately, the car owner turned out to be a considerate person, not in his first event and didn't 'make noise' without reason - only when he was battling for well-deserved first place in his category (Show Car). He won, which I congratulate him on!
Next to us were combat vehicles of the Yokohama Team:
But then the day began to light up, spectators started arriving – and my wife and I understood that simply relaxing under the sun near our car would be impossible. Although there weren't many people around, we always had a couple (or group) ready to listen to us talk about such long restoration, look at 'before-and-after' photos, or just peek inside the cabin and marvel at how everything came out of the factory almost forty years ago. The wide opening of the hardtop allowed leaning on it like a windowsill for an unhurried view.
Though we tried to anticipate possible questions and even made a folder-presentation with photos and explanations – these materials were insufficient; besides, people generally preferred listening to first-hand stories about what happened during restoration: two children being born, a house built, and all necessary trees planted ☺. We didn't tire, though, and time flew by unnoticed.
We were placed quite close to the entrance on the venue, and the incoming crowd must have noticed the strange car with white wheels and me in a silly hat dancing around it. Interestingly, I think these two circumstances – proximity to the entrance and main stage, as well as (!) bright yellow garbage can set up next to us - contributed significantly to our victory, since they attracted constant movement of people around our area.
Meanwhile, we began noticing that people kept coming back to us again and again and finally ask: 'You impressed us, we want to vote for you – how do we do it?'. We sent them to the girl with an orange box standing by the stage - but it turned out that despite periodic announcements about voting opportunities, people at the entrance weren't given corresponding cards – I personally went there and confirmed this. It turns out that a separate (!) girl who was handing out voting cards had gone missing for some reason. This situation I consider a significant oversight of organizers – as they could simply give out cards along with bracelets, solving the problem. But people had to return to the entrance area, ask for cards again and then go back to the girl collecting votes.
Of course, the most detailed presentation was conducted by me for the judge in our category. Everything seemed fine, and there were no reasons to worry. Nevertheless, his attentive look didn't miss a single detail regarding the car's condition – including spots I had overlooked due to my 'tired' vision. Judging was strict, and points were mercilessly deducted for each unrepaired (read: rusty) part of the vehicle – as well as worn driver's side door trim, an out-of-place carpet in the trunk.
However, the overall impression from judging remained good.
Unfortunately, time at the exhibition became so cramped that I had no time to walk around and see other participants' cars. I didn't even have time to eat (though it wasn't particularly appealing), resting was only necessary:
Now looking at photos of magnificent cars presented at the show, I regret seeing such little of them.
Good photo galleries can be seen here:
photo.qip.ru/users/dmint/200721120/?page=1
and here:
warlock-fe.livejournal.com/26627.html
as well as here:
geometria.ru/events/festival/2016/8/20/939330
A pleasant rain fell in the middle of the day, slightly refreshing the air on the venue and bringing texture to the gloss on cars :)
But then we started anticipating the assumed closing time of the show (6 pm), waiting for results announcement.
Perhaps this was the biggest challenge during the entire exhibition – as physical strength was already depleted, yet no call came for announcing results. Children were exhausted (even in the wonderful children's area 'Primring'), literally falling off their feet, and spectators began to leave.
The award ceremony only started at 8 pm when it became dark.
We naturally felt anxious since it was clear that there was a chance of winning prizes in two categories – fortunately, we did ☺
I am grateful to everyone who showed interest in us and voted for us.
We managed to achieve the purpose for which I worked evenings in my garage, frequently readjusted our family budget and postponed other matters aside – showing people how it was almost forty years ago when my car came off the assembly line.
And this is what I consider my main goal.
Comments
No approved comments yet.