April 23, 2011

Dear Members and Exhibitors,

Thank you God, the long hard winter is over, spring has sprung; again we can all look forward to sunny days and fun times. However, sometime during the winter, on one of my multitude of projects, it appears that I tore several muscles in my right arm; wondered why I was slowing down.But even so, we have expanded our list of this year’s Arms Fairs. Those of you with emails have already received a beginning list, one which we also distributed at the recent Syracuse show. So this letter will tell you about new things that we are working on and old favorites that we have revived and contracted for.

But first let me brag about how fine our Saratoga Shows in January and March were.We didn’t fill our January show with dealers because some folks thought they would see more activity in other places, however after reports from the exhibitors who were there, I think that may change next year. January will rival or perhaps even surpass our extremely well attended March show. Our economy is still great here in Saratoga County and with new industries moving in it will be even better. Our upcoming Saratoga Arms Fair dates for this year comprise our great summer show on August 27 & 28 and a contract for our fall date on October 22 & 23. Our website lists all the shows that we have future plans for.The August flier is enclosed and as you know this is racing season and big spenders come to town so motels are at a premium and pricey; seek out yours ASAP.Again, hotel information is also on our website at NEACA.com .

We do have some events coming up right away, namely Sunday, May 15th. The Holiday Inn Resort in Lake George has been completely renovated, including our carpeted exhibit room, now being all the same level therefore accommodating a few more tables, about 50, which is a nice size show for a one day event. Three to four hundred people generally came through for our normal time period in February so I would anticipate as good a crowd or perhaps better in May. Application is enclosed please return yours today. There were some erroneous ads in some Gun Show journals and the NRA magazine that claimed we were having a show in Clifton Park that weekend; that is not true and we are not. Where that information came from I know not; it didn’t come from us.

The following weekend, May 21 & 22 we will be at the Elks Lodge on Route 40, just south of the quaint village of Greenwich, NY. This is a great spot and very nice facility, again carpeted floor, good lighting, easy access and room for 140 tables. Years ago we did some shows and auctions there and again this has been expanded and remodeled and should prove to be a fine little show. Flier is enclosed, please respond, we’ve tried to keep table prices very reasonable and in process of getting a motel list together. This is farm country, great hunting area, the Battenkill runs close by and lots of gun and outdoor interest; the Vermont border is 15 miles east.

Cathy is working on local advertising for both those shows now and we will be doing a post card mailing of several thousand pieces for those two events including a sale we will be having here at our Hudson River Trading Company shop here in Mechanicville on June 9, 10 & 11.I think our summer will be fairly quiet because I have to recoup this arm damage for one and I still have a lot of work to do finishing an expansion project at home; I have an adjoining house to rebuild and I would like to renovate our store this year. So lots of work available but so little time.

August is another story though, a busy month. We’ve scheduled Old Forge, NY at the Hiltebrant Recreation Center for the first weekend in August, the 6th and 7th, which is a real busy tourist time in the Adirondacks. There are many camping facilities and motels and hotels but prices are up and reservations should probably be made soon. I’ve had a lot of calls from new dealers about Old Forge, our flier is enclosed so act accordingly. It should be a great show and so as not to disappoint you leaf peepers, we have also scheduled our same first weekend in October for our fall Old Forge Foliage Show on October 1 & 2. At the end of August we have Saratoga and in between we’ll be doing the Clayton show, so as I said, a busy time for us. Again, we will be doing a special post card mailing for our two summer events.

Last December we had a one day show at the Ilion – Frankfort VFW Post on Old Route 5S and it was a nice little show. The people who run the place were great and they put on a fine Friday evening feed, which a lot of us dealers took advantage of. Our next mailing will include a flier for Saturday, September 3; again that Friday we’ll be able to set up in the evening with the same fine food available and a great snack bar during the show.   We only have room for about 40 tables and they are $30 for members, $35 for non-members, 6 foot size. If you want to preorder your tables, send me a deposit. This is Labor Day weekend and Friday, Saturday and Sunday they will be having a Trappers Convention at the Herkimer County Fairgrounds in Frankfort, about 2 miles up the hill from the show. I looked at the facility for a gun show but decided a separate event at the VFW would be a better and more comfortable choice and the public will find both.

Speaking about reviving shows, years ago I used to drive my truck with 100 tables up into Saranac for a show, then come down another route and end up in Ticonderoga and we would do a show there the following weekend. They have built a very fine new motel called the Ticonderoga Best Western Inn and Suites, which will accommodate about 100, 8 foot tables and we have decided to host a show there on September 10 & 11 weekend. We always did well up at these northern Adirondack events, usually securing some great new acquisitions.  I think this will develop into a very fine show; details and flier to follow.

And would you believe we’re still working on more? About 15 years ago our NEACA Company was producing over 20 shows a year. If I can get a little help with a partner or two, perhaps we’ll be back into that extensive schedule. We have had help in securing the events we just listed and I thank you all for that. Wishing all of you a safe spring and summer season, maybe we can all finally keep our powder dry.

Cathy & Dave