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Some bad news: Cape Cod Model Show to cease operation


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Got this in my email from my friend Jeff Harper...I was never able to get to this show unfortunatly, but he asked me to spread the word...

It is with much regret I have to announce that the Cape Cod Scale Modelers Association has cancelled our 16th Annual Model Show, slated to be held on September 23rd, 2007.

Many factors have led to this difficult decision, from a lack of vendors and sponsors for the show, to the diminished support of individuals and the state of the hobby in general.

We will take this time off to regroup and reexamine the state of the hobby, fine-tune our organization where required and hopefully come back with an annual event that we all can enjoy again.

Thank you, Jeffrey S. Harper

Vice President, CCSMA

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Sorry to hear that, it's a drag when you look forward to something and it gets cancelled.

NCWVSM decided to cancel their show too. http://ncwvsm.freeservers.com/

Funny thing is, the last show of theirs I went to the place was packed. I had heard that some of the organizers were suffering from burn out, it is a big job.

I haven't heard anything from the guys near Wheeling, but I'm afraid they may be out of action for this year as well.

The show in Dunbar WV is still on as far as I know, the Kanawha Scale Modelers are still going strong, last I heard.

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Guest Anthony Oteri

This is very unfortunate. When things like this happen it's hard to be optimistic about the future of the hobby. I hope the boys at Classic Plastic have as good a turn out as last year. Everyone was pleased at last years show and it looked like things were looking up for the hobby.

Anthony

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It's a heartbreaker to have a show get cancelled. Believe you me, I have a growing appreciation for the work that goes into a show of any type, and the letdown of a cancellation has to be devastating. There's so much more that has to get done than many people see, especially on the part of the organizers.

Our club has been fortunate to have the support of Fantastic Plastics in Easton, PA for the past 7 years of September Showdowns. Len has been a godsend in arranging the hall and coordinating the vendor side of the show. He handles the real hard work, and does so with a smile. Our club members handle just the contest side of things, and I'm here to tell you, it can be a lot of extra hours, a little aggravation, and the pay stinks. But fortunately, we are doing it because we love it. We (as many clubs are) do it to grow the hobby. We do it because we know what gifts come with being involved in something like scale modeling and want to share it.

I can see how someone can get tired..."You guys don't have give out enough trophies" ..."You guys don't have enough classes"..."Your classes aren't divided properly"..."Why is the factory stock section do big?"..."How come you don't serve food?"..."Why do you have it on that weekend?"..."Can't it start a couple hours later?"..."Why aren't there more vendors?"..."Why are there so many vendors selling the same stuff?"..."Why do you take so long to give out the trophies?"

None of those questions are hard to answer on their own, but they come at you from all sides and usually at the same time. What I try to do is listen to all of it, and ask my clubmates to consider changing things to make the show better.

We've gone from a little over a dozen classes to almost twice that many. We've added a Make & Take, rearranged or tailored classes to match recent kit issues or the previous year's activity, provided door prizes, and tried to cater to all breed of scale auto enthusiast (can I say that here? LOL) including the frighteningly elusive junior hobbyist.

One of the things I'm trying to do for our club's big annual event is get high profile sponsorships from corporations and organizations people recognize, and I'm not just talking about the model manufacturers. (I'm also not talking about it being easy, either.) It's a matter of trying to make a small show look and feel like a major event; some polish and professionalism wrapped around a whole lot of fun for a few hours on a Sunday. For my next trick, I'll try to get some magazine coverage, whether by an on site photog from, oh, I don't know...some Model Car magazine...or submit photos good enough for publication from our end. National exposure has eluded us for the most part, and my goal is to NOT have our show be the hobby's best kept secret.

You gotta market it and make it something people run home to mark on their calendars for the next year. I for one am still in the midst of a learning curve. I haven't any idea what I'm failing to suggest to the club that we should be doing, and I can only wait to hear responses to the last show to find out what we shouldn't have done.

Ya gotta hang in there, and do your level best to keep shows alive. The hobby is undergoing changes, and how well we adapt to them will determine how long we can hedge against the impending demise of the hobby that I've been hearing about for the past 10 years.

Boy, I guess this would have been better under the Rants & Raves section, huh?

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That's sad indeed; what's happening is that the biggest, best-run shows tend to be thriving, and the smaller shows are hurting in this period of change w/in our hobby. It's hard to get vendors to a show if they don't feel confident they'll make the sales necessary. With Ebay and the internet, they don't have to travel nearly as much anymore. A show also thrives if the "show" part is well-run and especially if there's a contingent of well-known and talented builders that are likely to show up. Running a show is a lot of work, year after year, and a bit of luck as well.

Our local NNL took years to get where it is today; it's become the largest in the region and we've got a great group of club members that all pitch in and make it the best show possible. It seems to be working; we're still experiencing growth and big crowds, and our vendor tables are nearly sold out now, 2 months prior to the event, earlier than ever.

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Guest Anthony Oteri
I'm a little worried about the NNL East right now. they said date and location TBA, and I havent heard anything on whether they found anything or not. I hope there is an NNL East in 08

Terry,

The word I heard was that they were looking into finding a different facility, maybe something larger or more accesable perhaps.

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I'm a little worried about the NNL East right now. they said date and location TBA, and I havent heard anything on whether they found anything or not. I hope there is an NNL East in 08

Out of fairness to the NNL East crew, I wouldn't let that alarm me. In the case of our contest, we like to hold off on announcing the following year's show until the contract for the hall is signed, which doesn't always happen right on the heels of the prior show.

Panic not, oh gentle reader, until clearly instructed to do so. :D

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