Best day for one day exhibitions

[Chris Chewter]

Hi All.  I've been involved with discussions which my local model railway club concerning the best day for exhibitions and events. 

 

Our main exhibition is normally held on a Sunday, as this allows Saturday for setting up, and allows those who work on a Saturday to get out to an exhibition they might otherwise not be able to get to.  However we recently held a Saturday event which was very well attended. We haven't been able to obtain any information from other clubs regarding attendance so we have difficulty in gauging whether the issue is the day the event was held on, or other factors.  So basically, I thought I'd see what the general consensus is for a one day exhibition or event.  Is it a Saturday, or is it a Sunday? 

 

If you could cast your vote in the poll, it'll be useful information to see which day works best.

[Nick G]

All the one day exhibitions I have ever done have been on a Saturday. That way Sunday to relax before back to the working week. My layouts are reasonably small so never set up the day before. I know of a few big layouts that won't do one day exhibtions due the work involved setting up and taking down.

[D9020 Nimbus]

I generally prefer to visit exhibitions on a Sunday as it's quieter then (York on Easter Sunday as the trains are quieter then) but for a one-day show that's irrelevant. However, all the one-day shows I've ever been to have been on a Saturday. Sunday might be preferable if there's, say, a nearby Premier League match on the Saturday—except for the fact that match dates are rearranged later than model railway exhibitions are booked.

[woodenhead]

Given a choice, many people go on a Sunday because it is the quieter day of a two day exhibition.  Remove the choice and they'd go on a Saturday.  In the past I would always choose Saturday, especially if I want 'bargains', but more recently I have been a lot more flexible and don't see Sunday as an issue provided the location is car friendly to get to.

 

Depending on what your exhibition will be, how far you hope people will travel from then with Sundays there are less trains and more likely cancellations or engineering disrupted journeys leading to car use or avoidance of an exhibition altogether.

 

 

[D9020 Nimbus]

But strikes seem to be more common on Saturdays (Warley, and now possibly Ally Pally too—someone doesn't like model railway exhibitions …)

[Stubby47]

A lot depends on the location of the show.

A Saturday show in a town centre venue might pull in casual visitors, who'd not be there on a Sunday.

[SR71]

Marginal preference for a Saturday if only because it can be fitted between other Saturday morning errands from the jobs list. While not hidden it doesn't use up a precious permission slip and there more possibilities to park ones significant other elsewhere.

[TheQ]

My choice would always be a Saturday. 

Why?

Because I've sailed the majority of Sundays for the last 43 years.

 

Unfortunately my club chooses a bank holiday Sunday, ( second in May and last in August) which may sound odd, but we are in a tourist area, so lots of extra punters..

 

Both are in villages halls, one of which has a car boot in the field behind at the same time!.

The village halls are carefully chosen as well one is on an A road, walking distance from the tourist centre. The other is off the same main road, but a few signs redirects those heading for the beach..

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by TheQ

[Nearholmer]

The way these things go, there will be as many people with other firm commitments on Saturdays as on Sundays. I always find Saturdays awkward because of boys’ football, for instance.

 

if I were a betting man, I’d bet that this will come out not far off 50:50, but slightly in favour of Saturdays.

[woodenhead]

56 minutes ago, D9020 Nimbus said:

But strikes seem to be more common on Saturdays (Warley, and now possibly Ally Pally too—someone doesn't like model railway exhibitions …)

You don't strike on a non working day 🤣

[woodenhead]

How might the 15 minute city initiative affect attendance on each day, or would it make no difference?

[jonhall]

Only from experience with 2 day shows, I would think the visitor split is somewhere between 65 and 75% of the visitors will come on Saturday, and 75% of the cash the trade takes will be on the Saturday.

Jon

[Phil Parker]

I went to two one-day shows yesterday. Stratford on Avon MRC, and the Steam Toys event at Leicester pumping museum. Neither were that big, but realistically, you had to drive to each. Would I have tried to do both on a Saturday? Maybe not, but the lighter traffic on a Sunday made it a breeze.

 

My guess is that modellers are very traditional and expect a Saturday show*. However, since most drive to the event, I'd say Sunday made a lot more sense.

 

*That's why they go to a two-day show on Saturday and thgen moan it's too busy. Every. Single. Time.

[Phil Parker]

3 minutes ago, jonhall said:

Only from experience with 2 day shows, I would think the visitor split is somewhere between 65 and 75% of the visitors will come on Saturday, and 75% of the cash the trade takes will be on the Saturday.

Jon

 

Close. It's actually 60:40 Sat:Sun - pretty consistently over all the shows I've seen numbers for. Of course the hard-core enthusiast goes on Saturday (judging from the faces I remember staring at me from the barriers), hence the higher take on the first day.

[Jonboy]

Only ever a Saturday because I will almost always try and tie in with something else, often shopping (town or garden centre etc) or a National Trust property with the wife, and most places have better opening hours on a Saturday.

[Ian Simpson]

I definitely prefer Saturdays for out-of-town or rural shows as public transport is generally easier then. 

[PMP]

Saturday definitely. If I have to hire a van I can get a day rental, if it’s a Sunday it needs to be a weekend rate. Doing a one day show will cut some of  the overheads for the organisers, however it may well reduce the willingness of exhibitors to travel a distance with a layout just for a one day show, particularly with van hire.

 

As a rule I don’t do one day shows, unless they’re of particular interest to me, and practical to get there and back, and set up within the day.

[Gilbert]

Getting to a one day show on a Sunday by rail would sadly make it a non starter - services do tend to start quite late... I do drive but prefer the train

 

[john new]

Can’t vote for the reasons below - no either doesn’t matter option.

 

If exhibiting Saturday, reason load Friday, show Saturday and all day Sunday to unload/recover. True whether hired van or a smaller exhibit in my car.

 

Just as a visitor either day it doesn’t matter much unless there is a clash with something else on the same day, when it does that is usually on a Saturday.
 

On two day shows Sunday visiting is a bit easier as tends to be less crowded. Recent example = Doncaster had to go on Saturday due to other family commitments on the Sunday and it was uncomfortably rammed until well after lunch, even though not getting there until mid morning in the hope that some of the crush had subsided.

[009 micro modeller]

I think I prefer Saturday (and voted as such, although that’s not to say that I wouldn’t visit a show just because it was Sunday-only, it’s just a preference). As a visitor, as others have already mentioned public transport is generally better on Saturdays, and on Sundays I am more likely to have either other hobby commitments or a local 009 Society group meeting.

 

Previously I would have said the same as an exhibitor as it allows me to use Sunday to unpack and rearrange equipment at home, although now that I have a job where I work some weekends but very rarely on Mondays I suppose Sunday is now better (as if it’s a non-working weekend I get Saturday to prepare, do the show itself on Sunday and then unpack/rearrange/unwind on Monday). However, I was voting in the poll based more on my preferences as a visitor than an exhibitor anyway.

 

That said, I would try to get a balance of what you think likely visitors will want (potentially/ideally based on feedback) and what you are happier doing. It wasn’t model railway-related, but I used to run a volunteering project where we ran a weekly activity session for families on a weekend afternoon (I appreciate this is a slightly different consideration when compared to an annual event). When I joined as a volunteer we were doing these on Sundays, but it later became apparent that several of our regular attendees were likely to have other commitments then, so we switched to Saturdays. Then we found out (via feedback) that several people would actually have preferred to stick to Sundays (also due to clashes with other commitments). I can’t remember if we briefly switched back to test this out but at some point it became apparent that some regular attendees were voting for a particular day initially, but then not actually turning up to sessions held on that day as their plans changed...

 

Anyway, having decided that alternating between Saturday and Sunday had too much potential to confuse everyone, we finally settled on Saturday because our volunteer availability for that day was better. So I suppose the overall message could be that, even if you have a good way of contacting and collecting feedback from previous/likely attendees (which seems unlikely for most model railway exhibitions), it’s going to be difficult to please everyone, so it might be better to just go with the day that works best for the organisers and exhibitors.

[John M Upton]

Ooooh, this is an on the fence one...

 

Saturdays have better transport links and more choice of potential purchases but on the down side tend to be much busier.

 

Sunday's are quieter but the trade will have been plundered first thing Saturday morning, less transport links (engineering works on the rails and as for buses, on a Sunday? 🤣)

 

At the moment ironically Sunday's are better due to the ongoing silly strikes. Strikes never happen on a Sunday as it is overtime, they ain't daft you know!

 

One day events probably I would say stick to Saturdays though.

[Phatbob]

Saturday for two reasons;
1) Every two day show I've ever exhibited at has been far busier on the Saturday.
2) Outside "the Khanpire"* public transport is pretty well non-existent on Sunday mornings, so day trips are impossible unless you drive.

*The area under the auspices of The Mayor of London.  The portmanteau worked far better when it was "the Kenpire". ;-)

[Reorte]

I'm more likely to be lazy on a Saturday and do something on a Sunday (probably related to Friday night in the pub), so personally I'd prefer a Sunday exhibition.

[Nick C]

14 hours ago, PMP said:

Saturday definitely. If I have to hire a van I can get a day rental, if it’s a Sunday it needs to be a weekend rate.

Out of curiosity, who from? Both the van hire places near here close at lunchtime on a Saturday, so it ends up being a weekend rate regardless.

[PMP]

7 hours ago, Nick C said:

Out of curiosity, who from? Both the van hire places near here close at lunchtime on a Saturday, so it ends up being a weekend rate regardless.

From local van hire companies. The big nationals aren’t as flexible, and not always the best priced. It’s worth checking removal/haulage companies too, as some of those do weekend hires.