May 9, 2017

NEACA Members and Exhibitors,

This is just a quick reminder of our upcoming shows and a cover letter for mailing our fliers for near future events. We have already mailed Newburgh and Saratoga to you and those shows are almost here; we do still have some space available for Saratoga on this Memorial Day weekend. There is a problem procuring motel rooms for our Ice Time Sports Complex Show in Newburgh – nearly all are full but as of this writing you can still book a room at the Ramada Inn in Newburgh for around $100.; 845-564-4500 and also at Exit 7 of I-84 about five miles away for $75 at the Super 8, call 845-457-3143.

At this point I must make a comment. We have informed all of our exhibitors about our show schedule, sent fliers out, reminded everyone in my letter and emails that if you plan on doing our shows you should book a room early. If something comes up you can always cancel a room. We get motel room blocks but those are generally for early bookings – gone when someone decides to call a week or a few days before an event. You must begin to look at this as a real business, book early and tell us you want to come by simply filling out an application and sending in a one table deposit. If things are tough in the checkbook, we can hold it till a week before a show. Greedy we are not, but with all the shows we are producing this year we just can’t remember everything or everyone who “tells us” – we need an application to put in a folder.

Again, Newburgh is falling short of dealers because they tell me now they can’t find a room under $200 or more. Guess what, Saugerties on June *9, 10 & 11 is going to be the same – the huge Country Fest on Hunter Mountain is sucking the hotel rooms up; lots of prominent singers coming. Hopefully, they will also come down the mountain into our show as has been the case before. Our flier is enclosed. We also found that I didn’t update the correct 2017 dates and we have 2016 dates still listed on my NEACA Confirmed Show Schedule for Saugerties; sorry about that.

We mentioned in our last letter that our Norwich show had to be moved and we chose to take it to the Clinton Arena in Clinton, NY, about ten miles south of Utica. We used to promote a show there about twenty or so years ago and it was always a profitable event. Again, motels/hotels near the show are a premium – we have a block of rooms at the new Hampton Inn, (315) 801-7200 and ask for the Gun Show rate but even our discounted price is high, $139 a night for 2 queens or a king room. There are plenty of less expensive rooms in Utica, however. The show remains on the same Norwich date, June *2, 3 & 4.

We take a little break from shows on Fathers’ Day weekend but see our enclosed flier for a new show a week later at the Vermont State Fairgrounds in Rutland, VT on June *23, 24 & 25. We have booked several buildings; at this point we will make our choice which to use depending on the exhibitor response, so far pretty good! We have secured one motel deal at this point; across the street, Days Inn, 802-282-4985; dbl. queen, $99.00, ask for Gun Show rate. We are working on a few more but again, book a room somewhere.

Back again in Manchester Center, VT at the Riley Rink on July *14, 15 & 16, and flier is enclosed. We always stay at the Chalet Motel and it is quite comfortable and roomy. They have a deal for about $130 a night. Our recent show two weekends ago was the largest dealer event we had so far – about 160 tables were taken and the buyers did come in. However, we are still not satisfied with the total attendance; it should and will get better when word gets out about this being the largest gun show in Vermont. Hey guys, it takes a while to build something and it takes work and commitment, we’ll do the work if you all stay committed. And yes, of course, our expenses have increased to produce our shows but we are keeping table prices low. Fill out the application, send it in, book a room and enjoy the show. Incidentally, a huge horse show is at the same time – sucking up those rooms!

Great new show, near the St. Lawrence River, City of Watertown at the Fairgrounds on July *28, 29 & 30, a weekend before we go back to Old Forge on August *4, 5 & 6. Will be great if you can spend a week between shows in the wonderful Adirondacks, we are really going to try for a bit of a working vacation too! Our Watertown and Old Forge fliers can be downloaded on line at NEACA.com/gun-shows or picked up at any of our upcoming events. We had them out in Syracuse and new exhibitors are coming. Again, book a room – summers are always busy and there are plenty of motels but no deals for them.

As far as our Watertown show, we are advertising at Fort Drum that all service men and women are invited in Free with a current military ID. It is our effort to show a little thank you to all those who protect us today. The Fairgrounds boasts 30,000 Sq. Ft. of space, we can only hope to try to fill it for this first time summer show. Again, motels are pricey and rooms limited so book early! There are camper hookups available for a fee of $31 per night. We also try to keep your costs low at $55.00 a table, member rate; JOIN!

We do Newburgh again at the Ice Time Arena on August *25, 26 & 27, the last weekend available before they put their ice down. Fliers will be available at the May show. Find a room! Check our NEACA Show Schedule for confirmed events with more coming up in the Fall.

Breaking news on Saratoga. The City Center is again trying hard to accommodate our long running Arms Fairs, over 33 years now, and we do have Labor Day weekend booked, September *1, 2 & 3 but also just agreed to January *12, 13 & 14 of 2018. We will need to reschedule our Albany Polish Community Center Arms Fair because of this double booking. We are working on that now, including other things.

Always new things happening with our NEACA Shows and you all must know by now that it pays to become a NEACA member. For $50 a year you can save hundreds over those twelve months. Check the reverse of our show schedule and send in your member application. New members need to wait 90 days before show discounts for tables but immediately get in to all of our shows Free! If already a member, suggest it to a friend. Post our fliers – send in your apps. – get rooms booked early and please – support us and our NEACA shows, we are always working for you.

Sincerely, Cathy & Dave