Since the last Formfest show in 2016 Idaho has lacked a truly good, and well organized car meet for everyone to attend. Yes there are small gatherings here and there like Boise Cars and Coffee or the occasional Strongline Espresso meet but nothing that has the possibility to put our scene on the map outside of the local community. With the explosion of the population in the Treasure Valley area it brings a good influx of enthusiasts into the community and without a well established meet it can be hard for these new comers to make friends and connections in the area. This first JUMP meet proved that there is a much larger community than most people realize in the area and that a well put together event can really make it thrive and grow.
This meet could not have been possible without Trace Carson or as most people know him TrackSharkPhotography. Trace has been putting together smaller gatherings on occasion over the past year which has given him a good grip on how to handle the planning and organization that has to go into something of this scale. Not only did his following give him a good start to bring everyone together but the relationships he has made with such a welcoming community were a big help in making sure things ran as smooth as possible and gathered a wide variety of enthusiasts, cars, and friends to the meet.
Of course with all the attention to the meet it gave a great opportunity for creators to cover the event. With such a wide variety of cars there was plenty of content that would be hard to cover by just one photographer/videographer and that provided a great opportunity to see some of the lesser known content creators out whilst be able to also talk and learn from the more seasoned creators around. That being said there were a few draw backs to the mass of people who attended as well. Quite a few cars around were just people parking in designated areas with their regular cars or blatantly ignoring signs for the areas dedicated to a certain style of vehicle.
With how many people showed up to the meet you could clearly tell that Trace and his group of volunteers were slightly overwhelmed as a lot of the paths to get around the garage were turned into a big line along with the line to get in stretching back up onto the freeway for hours after the 7pm start time. Having it be the first meet however it couldn't have been handled better for the amount of people involved in running it all. Everyone was very civilized besides the occasional revving (which was clearly stated and enforced as no tolerance) and sadly at the end of the meet as people were leaving someone lifted the gate causing a rush of people getting out without paying which was part of the stipulation for the meet itself being in a public parking garage. These are all things that Trace has learned from and is working on for the next meet to better the experience for everyone and make sure it is able to be held again.
Overall the turnout was phenomenal and everyone, for the first time in quite a long time, got along and enjoyed a car meet that truly represented everyone. Trace and a few others donated different things to raffle off at the meet such as detail kits, giftcards, and photoshoots. The sections of Domestic, Euro, and JDM were well stuck to besides the odd straggler with the overflow areas blending together different gems of each. With meets like these it's always a great idea to check out the nooks and crannies of the location as you can find something that might be better than what's showcased. For example this Honda Aero scooter that showed up late and was tucked to the side.
There is no set time for the next TrackSharkPhotography JUMP meet, however I know there will be handful more throughout the year. This opener definitely gave a lot of motivation to others to finish up their winter projects and for some to get into the culture. I met quite a few people who had never been to a car meet before which for this area they are lucky as it was the best one that's been put on in 3 years. Make sure you keep an eye out on the pages below as there will be some great content from them on the meet, and definitely on Trace's page where you'll get updates on the future meets or chances to volunteer.
Josh Brown
@luckyclub.us
Check these guys out!
@tracksharkphotography
@jw.media_
@laneabshire
Extras below!
