Los Angeles is a special city for the Wekfest tour. It is consider to some the mecca of custom car culture, especially when it comes to the genre in which most of us are familiar with. Southern California, in my opinion, is where one should start if they want to truly understand the climate of custom car culture. It is a place filled with industry related businesses, and an abundance of enthusiasts and builders who shape the community to what it is in present day. Additionally, as many of you may already know, Los Angeles is a second home for the Wekfest tour as we originate from a little further up north in the San Francisco Bay, making an event in Southern California has always had its unique charm. For the brand, it is a project we hold close to ourselves as we get to reunite with some of our closest colleagues and supporters.
This year’s Wekfest LA was totally unique on its own, being that it was our very first event at the Los Angeles Convention Center. For the previous seven years, we have held this particular event at The Queen Mary in Long Beach. Interestingly, the Long Beach event was our only outdoor event on tour. The ever scenic backdrop of the coastal shoreline was perfect in many ways to host our gathering. The move to LA Convention Center was based on several factors. Long story short, we didn’t agree with some of the changes that venue at The Queen Mary had enforced, and these changes dramatically affect our visiting patrons. To protect the best interest of our supporters, we had a decision to make, we needed to move to a place where we can better serve our guests. After all, we do this for the community, and not ourselves.
I know a lot of people asked why we made the move. It was simply essential that we do so. For what it’s worth, the LA Convention Center does have its fair share of advantages. Not only is it a bigger venue to meet our growing demand of individuals and businesses wishing to exhibit, but it is also a centralized location within the L.A metropolitan area where many of us are familiar with. For our general admission guests, parking is abundant, and the fees are economical. To our exhibitors, an extra day to set up prior to the actual event gives everyone a little bit more time to prepare, in comparison to a same day, morning roll in. Again, by trying to consider the mindset of the end user, we felt that the above facts were enough for a new change.
The content below is just a small excerpt from the show, mostly during set up. I do apologize in advance as I am often running around with multiple tasks at hand, so I can’t get in all the shooting as I would hope to do. As always, for a more comprehensive look, please visit Joey’s work at The Chronicles.
Stay tuned from part two!
-Ken