Monday, April 25, 2022

The Great Hagerstown Hamfest is back on for 2022!

That's right, after two years of COVID-19 cancellations the Antietam Radio Association is holding the 2022 Great Hagerstown Hamfest! There are a few things that are different this year so I suggest that you keep reading as well as view the linked flier for more information.

When are we having this hamfest? That's actually the first change we made this year, we are holding the Hamfest on Saturday, April 30, 2022. That's this Saturday. Please note that this is the same date as the York Hamfest. The gates open at 6 AM for Vendor and Tailgaters with regular admission starting at 7 AM.

Where is this Great Hagerstown Hamfest? We are back at our normal location of the Washington County Ag-Center at 7313 Sharpsburg Pike in Boonsboro, Maryland. This is also known as state route 65. There is easy access to route 65 from Interstate 70 and we are close to the Interstate 70 and Interstate 81 Interchange.

Okay, what does it cost to get in? For general admission we charge $7 per person, outdoor tailgating is $7 per 8 foot space. Indoor tables are $10 Per Table/space if registered in advance (deadline this Wednesday) and $15.00 per table/space the day of the hamfest. You may not need an indoor space, I will discuss outdoor tailgating spaces a bit more when I get to the bad weather section.

So what is there to eat? This is a major change we made this year, while we still have the cake, we are not running our own kitchen this year and we have a food truck coming to provide both breakfast and lunch. This allows for better food service and to eliminate the need of having club members work the kitchen for the entire hamfest.

Are there any prizes this year? Yes, we have plenty of prizes ready to go. Between 8 AM and Noon we will have at least one door prize every hour. We have made another change this year, you no longer need to be present to win the smaller prizes as you have in years past. We have our grand prize drawings at 12:30 PM.

Sounds good so far, what about forums and presentations? We have three lined up this year we have an ARRL forum at 8 AM with MDC Section Manager Marty Pittenger, KB3MXM. At 9 we have Greg Getz, KC3TDC from the local community college presenting a program about solar power. At 10 we have Nelson Sollenberger, KA2C presenting Antennas for Field Day with good Isolation and Modeling using EZNEC and Auto EZ.

Excellent, what about other activities? We have plenty of those as well. We have the bargain auction at 11 which I usually buy too much stuff from. We also have a fox hunt after the Grand Prize Drawings. At 1 PM we have amateur radio license exams, please check in between 12:30 and 12:45.

What happens if the weather is poor and it rains? The hamfest is still on, our outdoor tailgating space is in pavilions, however, on nice days we do have some spaces that are out in the open if you so wish. We have four pavilions available when we have bad weather and one is used regardless of conditions anyway.

Excellent, but I want to see the official flyer with contact information, where can I get that? Sure thing, you can get it here: https://w3cwc.org/images/GreatHagHamfest2022Flyer-g.pdf

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