"Having assessed the situation after so many negative and disappointing comments regarding Camper Jam 2013, I have decided to take the tickets for this event off sale until further notice.
My team and I have worked so incredibly hard to deliver a great, friendly show which is great value for money - yet we are now being accused of ripping people off, cashing in, profiteering and greed. We did not increase the price this year to put people out of pocket, but simply as we strive to give you the best VW show in the UK which is worth every penny.
We never set out to make Camper Jam a cheap show, neither did we set out for it to be a massive show (in terms of visitors) which is the route we could have very easily taken. We want to it to be the most enjoyable show on the VW Calendar and at the same time, great value for money. We chose to keep it relatively small and manageable, which hopefully makes it more enjoyable experience for everyone that attends.
It is so crushingly disappointing that people are using such phrases as 'ripping people off', 'cashing in', 'profiteering' and 'greed' - simply because this could not be further from the truth! The financial costs of running a great show in a beautiful rural location is quite incredible; we have to ship 'everything' in, but that's the price you pay for such a beautiful setting and many would say it's what makes Camper Jam so special.
The 5 events we have done to date have not made a profit. I repeat, to date - we have not made a single penny from Camper Jam. Don't believe me? Give it a go yourself and you'll see first hand what's involved.
You cannot run a great show without turning a small profit (and this is what we aim/need to do). You need to constantly invest to improve year on year and hopefully people who have attended every year from the very 1st event will have seen that. We have invested heavily year-on-year to make the Camper Jam what it is to date. We are certainly not ripping anyone off, and it saddens me to think that some of you have this impression.
Last year's weather, as well as making for a 'trying' weekend - taught us a lot. I apologise for those that did not enjoy themselves because of the weather and mud, but this was clearly out of our control. Many of you from last year's posts on here had a great time, regardless. The saying 'you can't please all of the people all of the time' rings very true.
In the build up to the show there was no signs that we needed to cancel the event. Our team got sunburnt in setting up the week before and yes, we were in t-shirts and the pics we posted of the build up with blue skys were quite real! Weston Park's weather forecasts were looking fine, so we went ahead with their blessing. We did not know that Friday would see a months worth of rain in a single day!
We worked our socks off over the course of the weekend to keep everyone happy; my team were superstars. We could not have done more under the circumstances. Many of you were superstars too, and the VW community showed how truly wonderful it can be when things get a little sticky (or should I say muddy). Thank you for that; there were many people very appreciative of being pushed / pulled out of the mud, including me in the golf buggy!
90% of the entertainment still went ahead. It was unfortunate that The Beat could not play on Friday night. The guys turned up, but it was sods law that the only marquee that leaked was the one their stage was in - and the only area which leaked in that marquee, was above their stage! It was simply too dangerous to play. They were paid (in advance) and left as disappointed as we were. We hired in track-way, but this got buried under the mud, rendering it useless half way through Friday (and it was a nightmare to get up after the show). We hired in 4 tractors to help people and they worked tirelessly making sure everyone left safe and sound. This along with many, many other costs were covered by us - which many may not realise. As I have said earlier, all a big learning curve; all be it a steep one
Apologies for writing so much, but I am really passionate about Camper Jam. It's an amazing event and I want nothing more than to deliver to you guys an incredible weekend of family fun and enjoyment. This - I hope - will go some way to emphasising this.
I have decided to remove tickets from sale whilst we decide what to do with this event and move it forward.
Thank you, Stuart."
Toys out of pram perhaps....?
:roll:
