Tickets go on sale January 30, 2025 https://www.rarsfest.org/general_admission.php We are the 4th largest hamfest in the country, having the same capacity as the Huntsville Hamfest. RARSfest has grown, not shrunk or disappeared, since COVID! Please give us a look! We want dealers of new ham gear; our vendor booths are an awesome value. We get about 2000 real visitors from NC, SC, VA, GA, and WV that will see your antennas. The Jim Graham building on the NC State Fairgrounds is 95,000 square feet, making it equal to the largest known all-indoor hamfest anywhere. Our website is updated regularly to see who has confirmed. Unlike other hamfests, we only permit amateur radio gear, accessories, and ham-adjacent gear, like badges, ball caps, etc., to be sold in our Dealer and Flea Market areas. We sell out 250-275 flea market tables consistently. Dealers and flea marketers can drive right to their spot for loading and unloading. Free parking (for both shoppers and dealers) is adjacent to the building. Boondocks camping is next to the building, and full-service camping is on Fairgrounds property. There will be some great door prizes too! Sellers can drive in before (April 5, 6-7:30 am) and after the 7-hour hamfest, as well as in the afternoon (Friday, April 4, 12-7 pm) and evening before; security will be present both inside and outside the building overnight. The hamfest is entirely indoors. Attendees don't have to leave the building to move from the boneyard to exhibits. A restaurant and ATMs are on site, so attendees stay once they pass through our doors! We have two rooms used for licensing and forums. We offer pre-registration for testing but will take walk-ins as safe and time allows. We offer SKYWARN® Training and are always looking for engaging presentations. We always have Ham Radio Satellite Communications demos and exhibition vehicles; First Robotics will bring teams to play in our robot corral right next to the Maker-Road lane of vendors and exhibitors. We’re working to make our Hamfest attractive to students. We also have several maker groups from Central North Carolina. We are trying to showcase all that amateur radio can be and do. We have at least two ham dealers, Chatt and HRO, selling ICOM, Yaesu, Diamond, Comet, and other popular equipment. It is easy to imagine a person going from barely licensed to a full-function HF station in one hamfest.