Well, guys, the time has finally come. I never thought we'd see this day, but we officially lost one of my very favorite shows of all time. Yeah, Showfest is gone forever and as I sit and ponder the thought, like many of you, I wonder if there was anything we could have done to prevent it. The more I thought about it, the more I realized Showfest can't be equated to the old Pigeon Forge, and the West Coast river runs, or even to the most recently lost Freakfest, because we didn't lose the show through our own doing. But with that in mind, there have been numerous other great shows that have slipped from our grasp due to the growing nature of turning every single show into an all-out party free from rules, laws, regulations, and self-control.
I thought long and hard about this subject, especially since I am definitely one for a good time, but today I realize that it's time to take a step back. We need to collectively decide which is more important to us as a group (the whole mini-truckin' community): the show or the party. I asked myself that question and even though I struggled with it. (It was like the worst case of Me, Myself, and Irene; I was going crazy. LOL) I came to the conclusion that the trucks, the shows, and the people are way more important to me than a party. Take a hard look back at what got you into the scene to begin with. Hopefully it was some really cool truck that you admired seeing in the magazine and a great group of friends that busted balls all night on each other's rides just to make the show the next day. If you have a story that is similar to that, then I believe that you're in it for all the right reasons.
However, if you only started coming to shows to get wasted, pick fights, vandalize, and don't even work on or own a truck...then this is for you! Take a long, hard look around the next time you're at a show and notice all the awesome rides that people have put their heart and soul into, and think twice before you decide to throw beer bottles down on the ground or bust open a fire extinguisher all over a parking lot full of show rides. Common sense can go a long way. It's time we all "grow up" together and do everything in our power to make mini-truckin' worthwhile for those around us. Just think before you act, and if we all work together, we can really make a difference!
Now, I've never been one to preach, but after talking it over with a bunch of my friends, many of these same concerns are shared by a large majority of the positive supporters of our mini-truck scene. So I figured it must be said, love it or hate it. Either way, we need to do our best to ensure that we don't lose any more killer shows to the stupidity of our own doing. In looking towards the future, I want all of our kids to be able to enjoy a scene that has changed my life for the better, along with many of my closest friends. I don't want to deprive our kids of all the same opportunities we've had to meet some of the coolest people around, who support each other in tireless efforts for the pursuit of perfection. Even for the sake of sounding like a tree-hugging ad, let's not ruin what could one day be all of our kids' futures. I want to be able to walk around a show hand-in-hand with my wife and son and be genuinely proud of this scene and the life that we all live. So until next time, let's encourage each other, not discourage. Please drag thru! L888888888