State of the Local Car Scene

It is just about halfway through April, and we can all say it really feels like it’s car season now. Both Portland and Orchards Cars and Coffee are full swing with their theme days and events, Cherry Trees are in bloom at the Capitol in Salem, Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland, and everywhere in between, and the sun has deigned to bless us with it’s presence and warmth for more than a single day at a time.

Expect to see a lot more meets popping up across various platforms, held by a variety of organizers, throughout the region. So just how does one find all this event info? In this day and age, most of it can be found on either Facebook or Instagram- and occasionally at various shops that sponsor events every now and again. On Facebook, most events can be found on the 503 Meets page, with a slew of massages in the group chat about when and where the next meet is, as well as people helping one another in regards to cars, be it selling parts, fixing what’s broken, or input on an idea someone has had.

On Instagram the experience is a bit different. While some clubs have group chats, those are usually reserved for club members, a place where they can build up their member relationships, and disseminate information for more private meets. Clubs that often host publics meets will have the info posted both in regular posts, and in their stories, sometimes a month in advance if they plan on making it big, but can be posted just mere hours prior if it’s a pop up meet. Then there’s a handful of accounts that dedicate their space to finding event info and boosting the info to help the info reach more info.

So what is the best way to get all the info? And who do we look for? Well, as mentioned earlier, on Facebook, your best bet for finding info on local area meets and events is the 503 Meets page. The Portland and Orchards Cars and Coffee pages are great place for info on their theme days and events as well. Info is posted both directly on the page, and in the group chat. On Instagram, there’s a few accounts I recommend that regularly have info on meets and events:

• @_ladyz33_
• @afterhourspnw
• @ascension.tm
• @autobahn_collective
• @automobile_passions
• @elite_auto_society
• @illusion.tm
• @immortalsmeets
• @kgo_pnw
• @muscleperformancecc
• @no_bad_ridez.cc
• @officialvstyle
• @orchardscarsandcoffee
• @power_mopar_car_y_truck_club
• @pnw.projectz.tm
• @pnwcars (covers Oregon and Washington)
• @streetstarsmeet (only one or two meets a year, but their fantastic)
• @t.eamambition
• @tuner_coalitionmw
• @unkn0wn_or
• @wastedspace.tm
  

These are just a few good accounts to follow to stay in the loop on upcoming meets in the area, and you can usually count on something being hosted by at bare minimum 2 or 3 of them every week.

I’d like to take a second to redirect your attention though- with car season fully upon us, it’s important to remember that most meets are held on private property. It’s important to follow rules that are outlined for any of the events you go to- not only are you a guest at the meet, but the entire group is usually a guest on the property, and permission to use any one location be lost in moments when people choose not follow the rules. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Keep racing, revving, burnouts, and 2step to events that are specifically tailored to those activities or take it to the track- not your weekly or pop up events.