Volume 2 won’t be the end of my Deerfoot City meet photos this year, but this year’s will likely be the end of my Deerfoot City meet photos for the forseeable future. That sentence may be a bit confusing but if you know, you know.

August 24th – not quite a month ago – I put up the #SAVETHECARMEETS post and my exact closing statement was as follows:

“Actions have consequences, and in our world all it takes is one loose cannon to make all of us look bad. The way things are going right now, it’ll be a miracle if we make it to the end of the season without losing at least one more of our meets.“

Sure enough, last week we saw the plug get pulled on not the first, but the SECOND series of meets this year. Enough people kept lowering the bar so far down that not only has Redline Sorority had to officially cease their organizing of the Babes and Cars Friday meets, but Not Available had already canceled their Tuesday gatherings as well.

Some would complain that we didn’t fight enough to keep things under control, but you can only do so much. Reminders to behave were posted with every single meet announcement. It was told time and time again by more and more people. It was even to the point of coordinating with the Calgary Police and having officers present to supervise (I mean, baby-sit) yet at times there were still individuals trying to stunt in plain view of CPS. I’m impressed. It takes actual effort to be this unbelievably stupid.

To summarize the last couple of weeks’ discussions amongst our group, there’s going to be changes from now on. Or more accurately, we’ve already changed things. A number of us have ceased our association from any future public “tuner” meets of these kinds and switched over fully to the more classic vehicle-oriented gatherings which have had a long established schedule around the city. If you know where to look you can find them and take part, but the exact places and times aren’t being posted on the same channels as the other meets. So far, it has been phenomenal.

Additionally, a bunch of us have started working on plans for – and even already hosted – secretive, invite-only meets intended to bring out more of the OGs and fellow enthusiasts we can trust. The first of these was on Sunday (I’m writing this post that evening, so by the time this goes live Jason may already have his photo set up because he’s an editing machine. Mine are coming) and it was AMAZING. A relaxing catch-up session for a bunch of us with the true spirit and atmosphere of the original Beyond gatherings. Not a single excessive rev or inch of rubber left on the ground.

It’s beyond sad that the meets went the way they did this season because as you can see from the photos below, the turnouts (not just to these but the others as well) were really quite impressive. Ending off the workweek with a night out talking cars and sharing laughs was a welcome weekly occurrence but be it here or elsewhere, enough people couldn’t be trusted to behave correctly. The groups involved with coordinating these meets and keeping them running put in a lot of effort and many owners brought out some amazing builds, but it’s always the weakest (or dumbest) link in the chain that matters.

2020 has been a weird year for everyone and many have encountered some real problems during it, but the one thing we were supposed to be able to enjoy and have as a place away from any stress and drama couldn’t even be that.

The third (and likely final) Deerfoot City meets post will be going up later on, alongside the various other meet photos still sitting on my computer from this season, to share the cars and atmosphere that we want to see. In between the stupidity there were still many great moments at this year’s meets and I do wish to share what I captured.

-Bill