Some details and information
Hello all! After posting the basic details of our show, I figured I should give a bit more information so that people know a bit more about what we are doing and why. I see lots of views to the post, and figured you may want some more information. Our website is constantly being updated, and not all of the information is there yet, so I wanted to give a quick synopsis of what our plans will be for this show.
We have attended other shows in the past, and have been highly disappointed, like many others have been. Matt and I really wanted to bring the joy back into shows, for both vendors and customers, so decided to start this show. We will compete with Hamburg for location ONLY (only about an hour south), but nothing else will compare if we can help it!
Vendors -
Unlike Hamburg, we will NOT be packing as many vendors in as we can in the smallest spaces possible, as we think that is a horrible experience for everyone involved. We will be offering our vendors full 8'x6' spaces, not the small areas you usually have at a show. Each vendor will have free wireless internet access (if you bring your own computer), and plenty of space to actually SIT in the chairs we provide! And of course you will have electricity to plug in and heat up those babies if you so choose. We will still be offering TONS of spaces for rent, so there will be plenty of opportunities to have a great variety without being too cramped.
Customers -
We have a baby in a stroller, and one of our issues with Hamburg was that we could not even use the stroller at the show, and we want to make this as family friendly as possible. Our aisles will be huge (12 feet), with plenty of space to get to tables to actually TALK to the vendors without slamming into the guy next to you trying to walk by. We will also be enforcing the rules to the vendors about conduct, and you will be able to walk by a vendor without worrying about the professionalism of the people selling with your children standing next to you (and I think we all know what that means). We also will have plenty of variety, as even though we will be offering lots of space, we will have plenty of room for tons of vendors (which will be updated as each one books on the website).
The Hotel Carlisle will be giving the show some great class - have YOU ever been to a reptile show that has chandeliers in a fully carpeted room? How about a full scale steakhouse restaurant right on the property? No, we haven't either. This is why we chose this venue - the hotel has been WONDERFUL working with us on all angles, and we feel that we will be able to have a great, fun show that can bring back some of the fun to the hobby. If you book a room with them, they are even allowing contained reptiles to stay with you! They will also be offering room discounts to both vendors and customers, you just have to mention you are with the reptile show. We need to have 10 rooms booked for that discount, so get in touch if you are planning on staying and we can help you with the discount!
If anyone has any questions, please get in touch. We are also looking for show sponsors, door prize donations and raffle donations. If anyone is interested in giving a seminar, we would love to talk to you! And any other ideas to make this the best smaller show on the east coast (maybe the country?) would be greatly appreciated. We are still in the works for booking vendors, and we would love to hear from anyone who has ideas!
Thanks!
Kelly Kordek
Kordek's Kritters
Central PA Reptile Expo
Kelly did a really nice job putting it together 
