Parades etc

[chris vickery]

Considering the number of requests recently for parade and exhibits I thought I would start a new thread for discussion.
It seems that all too often, parade and event organizers put out requests for vehicles for their events but often complain about lack of interest or participation.
Many times the call out for vehicles comes a few days or a couple weeks prior to the event.
We as private individuals fund our restoration, maintenance and operating budgets from our own pockets. We do not represent museums nor are we government managed entities, therefore there is no onus or obligation to participate under orders.
Very rarely are there any offer of funding to offset fuel or transport costs let alone maintenance issues.
As President of the OMVA, I actively encourage all MV enthusiasts to do their part, within their own personal limitations. Be proud of your vehicle and accomplish what you can.
Parade and event co-ordinators need to have patience and understanding with our collector community.
Regards, Chris

[Robert Bergeron]

Chris,

I share your feelings. We finance our restorations.We pay for our traveling expenses. We pay for repairs , gas wear and tear on sometimes 70 year old trucks ( my case ) .

Sometimes organisers pay for transportation , gas or other expenses other times not.

In past years i have been lucky. DND has been looking for their past history as anniversaries come up. Through Non-Public funds they have paid to bring my truck collection to Québec and La Citadelle but as time passes interest will wane.

We have to do it primarily for fun , recreation and for country.

It brings the patriotic fibre in me alive when i am asked to present my vehicles. Also a bit of vanity is involved. I always end up spending more money than one could judge reasonable prepping up my trucks for such events.

Then some of my friends have Rolls Royce or Cadillac golf carts and private garages at our local Country Club. How much are they spending to feed their vanity ?

I much prefer OD and CMP !

Vive Le Canada ! Our true patriot love.

Robert

[Ed Storey]

Chris makes a good point. Without sounding mean, the vehicle and re-enactor community are basically 'window-dressing' at these events and for the most part the organizers have little knowledge of logistics so they do not know what is involved with packing up your gear or preparing a vehicle to attend an event.

What always surprises me is that these anniversaries are not a military secret, we all know the dates and what year they will happen; yet for the most part the planning and the invitations seems to take place at the last minute.

Advertising also seems to be mystery to event organizers. I find that nothing is worse then to read in the newspaper of a parade or event the day after it was held. If we look at the upcoming Tulip Festival in Ottawa, this year is the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands and VE Day - a significant milestone if there ever was one. Well, if you are not tied in some way to the collector community, ie you are Joe Q Public, you probably have no idea that there will be a parade and displays associated with this event. I don't know about you, but in my family we kind of look ahead to see what events are coming up and finding out on the day or the day before that there is something going on impacts on whether on not we can attend.

Personally I maintain that if an event is that important, and you want vehicles and re-enactors, then plan early, invite and collect names early and budget for food and fuel. If not, then do not complain if the volunteer turn out is low.

[Edwin Wand]

Recently in one of the threads about parades, there were comments about recent DND directives specifying that heritage type vehicles and perhaps newer ones could not carry people or be used outside CF Bases.

Is my understanding correct? Could someone please explain what these new DND/Government rules are?
Is there a directive about this that could be posted.

What DND has done might provide some guidance for the rest of us (or not) but at least it would give us something to think about when we assess our liability exposure.

One issue we don't understand is that there are some local owners who drive their unlicensed vehicles in parades. They claim they can do this because when a road is closed for a parade they can then drive on it without insurance or a licence. They float the vehicles to the parade.

We think that should there be an accident the drivers and not the owners would be hung out to dry.

Comments would be welcomed.

[rob love]

My understanding is that to have a parade permit, the organizers have to get parade insurance, which will cover the various floats and equipment for liability. The insurance policy would likely only cover the vehicles from start to finish of the actual parade, and not to and from.

I suppose it would be prudent to check deeper into this.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

In Holland vehicles have to be registered and insured if the parade is held on public roads and spaces, regardless of any event insurance. I'm not an expert in the field but that is how I understand it.

The recent Final Push event showed that "the public" has no idea that most of the 150+ vehicles taking part were privately owned and funded. Organisers of events who are not familiar with the HMV world, often have no clue of the money and effort required to take part in their event.

H.