In an expected announcement, Ham-com is closing it's doors FOR GOOD! This comes on the heals of COVID-19 causing the Hamfest to be cancelled for 2020 and potentially for 2021. The announcement was made today, and I have some things to say about it, but also I have reached out to the Ham-com leaders for more information. Ham-com is an AWESOME Hamfest. I will miss it, but I am going to gather more info about this recent announcement too! Hamcom Website: http://hamcom.org
Even if they want to hold them the venues are scared and won't allow it. Seems like they could rent a livestock auction barn out in the countryside where they don't care. It might smell bad but it's better than nothing at all, which is what they've got now.
Exactly - 2021 is going to be about the rules of the venue, not the desires of the group(s) wanting to rent the venue. It will be interesting to see how it evolves in the coming 6 months Dave W7UUU
HamCom, particularly the Arlington years, was spectacular, rivaled only by Dayton ! Lots of great memories and new friends made there!
Hamfests might be a thing of the past...especially if the groups sponsoring an event are liable for Covid spread etc.
HamCom is a big undertaking, much bigger than your average Hamfest. The venue needs to be rented, tables/chairs/draping needs to be rented, insurance needs to be secured, etc - each item likely costs thousands, not hundreds of dollars. I imagine insurance was likely either wildly expensive or simply unavailable - and you can't put an event like HamCom without insurance. Even if organizers could navigate every risk previously mentioned, there's no guarantee anyone would show up, vendor or visitor. By cancelling 2021 HamCom, after cancelling HamCom 2020, I imagine the venue wasn't able to guarantee the same weekend to organizers in 2022. The loss of the venue previously resulted in the event moving to the Irving Convention Center, a most ham-unfriendly venue (paid, covered parking, no tailgating, etc.). I run a tiny Hamfest near HamCom, I believe I understand the pressures that forced this decision.
