Would you attend a yearly herp show in Minneapolis?

The Thunderbird is the one that had extremely high electric bill added to the bill for use of the room. That show was held the third week of October and I think alot of the smaller attendance was because of the threat of snow, and it was held on the day the Packers vs. the Vikings in Minneapolis. Although, it was a beautiful day out. (even though the Packers lost to the Vikings that day)
I think the largest challenge to us is finding a venue that won't charge too much. Well, that and they want the money up-front.
Has anyone here ever promoted a show? Are there more points that need to be addressed?

Kare,

Although I have been in charge of organizing and promoting other events (agricultural), some of them with attendance of up to 1,000 people per day, I never organized a reptile show. These events have even included catering for lunch plus additional rooms for seminars, etc., which is not the case with a reptile show. It takes time and work but certainly is not rocket science.

Yes, one needs money upfront and you run into a risk when you sign the contract. One point that's usually included in the contract to sign is the possible cancellation due to "acts of God", e.g. a heavy snow storm. You made good points about the location though. Close to the Mall of America was not a bad choice. Easy access plus there were other things that could be done besides attending the show. The idea of having it on a weekend of an event such as that game was not a bad one either, although it would probably bebetter not do it on that same day. Some people might want to use the opportunity to also attend the event. There are a lot of things that can be done in the Twin Cities besides attending a reptile show. Having been there last year I don't think that driving four hours just for the show is enough justification. It's certainly not a problem for the local people but it is for those that drive. The same goes for the vendors though. The first thing to think about is how to assure them that there will be enough traffic through their tables. We can't guarantee sales, but at least we have to be able to draw people. Garrick DeMeyer was there last year, and he drove from WI. Maybe we should check with him to see what his experience was. It's hard to believe that with the population of the Twin Cities and surrounding areas one could not draw enough people for a show. Good promotion is the key. I just learned there was one a few weeks ago, regrettably never heard of it.

Regards.

Well said Dan,

There definitely wasn't enough promotion in the Minnesota shows. Just from talking to non-herp people at work, I find alot of interest in going to a show "in town". Several co-workers came to the Symposium last year with my prompting and bought some geckos and dragons. They said they would have never known about the show had I not told them.
Mankato was brand new, and only had a few weeks to set up. Not nearly enough time for real promotions.
I'm willing to help out as much as possible. So, whoever wants to spear-head this venture, you have a willing assistant, right here.

Kare,

Great! I'm not sure if it will happen or not, it's probably up to those with enough interest...in short us! Maybe it would be interesting to start exploring possibilities. Let's start with location. You live there, do you agree Minneapolis is a good location? Then dates; I would like to see this happen in the not so distant future. Yes, we always have the risk of the weather but...Maybe we should start by contacting as many vendors as we possibly could to see if there was interest in starting such a show on a yearly basis. What do you think? What do you think Cathy? Does anyone have a program of the last show in DesMoines. IA with the list of vendors who attended? The other one to contact would be the NE Herpetological Society or Mickey.

Regards

I would have really like to have seen the show this year, but maybe we could start to focus on a great show next year. I live close to Cathy and would be willing to help as much as possible also. I would even be willing to run advertisements in the local papers etc. I just don't know how good of a show can be put together in a short period of time.

Dan, are you saying that you just heard about one they had in Mankato afew weeks ago, or was there one in Minneapolis recently???

I really think if a good site can be found, Minneapolis or St Paul is a good choice. Maybe Kare knows of some alternate locations to check out, such as the St Paul Civic center, or...? But as Bill said, I'd hate to go through all of the work to put one together, only to have it not turn out as well as it COULD have for rushing things along. The show in Mankato was nice, but I really believe that there was not enough advertising, or perhaps it wasn't advertised soon enough. Ah, so many things to think about....

Dan, a show in November of this year is getting a bit late and too close to the holidays. Plus, I don't think you can get everything in order and properly promote it in the limited time frame left. Here's a good date to shoot for...October 21st next year. It's the Sunday a week after the NARBC in Chicago. By that time, all of the midwest shows are done. As far as venues go, a good hotel is the way to go! You set aside a block of rooms for any out of town people who want them and can also have a hosting room for the vendors. Anywhere in the twin cities with EASY access and parking will do (ie...the suburbs, I'm not a fan of trying to navigate and park in downtown Minneapolis).

If you want to know who to contact for info on putting together shows, try Ed Tweedt in Des Moines, Glenn Eisel in Omaha, Mike Humpfreys in Kansas City, Jodi Aherns here in Minneapolis, or Brian Potter in Chicago. THOSE are the people who have put on shows in the past and know all the tricks about doing it right. If you need their contact info, e-mail me.

Yes, good promotion is key to a big turnout. With that in mind, wouldn't it be better to have a whole year to set it up right and promote the heck out of it? Kind of build up the anticipation? Just my opinion...

Scott Nellis

How far is St. Paul from Minneapolis? I would love to attend(as a vendor, if I have good luck hatching next year) but I think St. Paul would be "less scary" for me!!

St Paul and Minneapolis are darn near one and the same....LOL. That's why they call them the "Twin Cities". Almost conjoined twins.

Personally, I find Minneapolis easier to navigate than St Paul is, but that may just be me. I don't do very well in ANY larger city.

You may be right Bill. Maybe it's too short notice to have one this year. One way or the other it doesn't hurt to find out where, how much, conditions, etc. Plus start asking potential vendors for their input.

Regards.