Re: [Harp-L] SPAH 2010 2 Questions

Joe and Cass Leone <leone@xxxxxxxx> · Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:18:49 -0400

On Sep 26, 2009, at 10:41 AM, Mick Zaklan wrote:
   Regarding the date for next year's convention; it's usually the  
third

week of the month of August and starts on that Tuesday.

It used to be the last week in the month (right up against labor day)  
but that was changed because so many members are teachers OR have a  
career that coincides with schools opening. Then, when the schools  
backed down their openings into Aug, it was changed another week.
  The only time I can
remember that not happening was the fest many years ago in Memphis.

Right.
  I think
that one happened earlier, possibly even in July.

I think it overlapped into the first day of Aug?
I think the thought was
to coincide it with a Southern heritage and cultural festival that was
running a few blocks away.

Right, that's what Pete Pedersen planned.
That, combined with the lure of Beale Street,
emptied the host hotel of harmonica players much of the time.

What my wife (who rarely goes to spah) felt was that SINCE it WAS in  
town, she would go. So right there is an extra full ticket for  
someone who won't be at any of the functions except the dinner/show.  
In fact, she disappeared for 4 days.
Point 2. The hotel was the 'downtown Brown'. I didn't mind it but  
most thought it was seedy and small. The chambermaids kept stealing  
small items. There really were'nt too many places to gather and play.  
A tiny room in the basement, A tiny bar in the basement. A tiny lobby  
(where Danny Welton kept cornering Jerry and Pete). lolol
Point 3. Hotel was in the heart of the 'bail bonds' and 'pawn shop'  
district. A small amount of overflow from the assisted housing a  
block away made for some interesting evenings.
  That's the

problem with making the surroundings more interesting than the  
hotel and the

convention.  It's a tricky balancing act.  You don't want to feel  
trapped or

barricaded in the hotel because there is absolutely nowhere else to  
go.

Yeah, we loved Memphis.
Romulus, Michigan was a bit like that.  On the other hand, you  
don't want to

pay good money to attend a fest where the host hotel looks like a  
ghost town

most of the day.

That's true too. Every time I asked Gordon and Norm why we never had  
a convention IN town, they said the same thing. Other activities draw  
away from the convention. Well, if that be the case, then Romulus,  
the Denver that was in the industrial office complex, the St. Louis  
that was out on the beltway, and the Dallas, should have all been  
money makers.
Frankly, I liked Chicago (mall nearby), the last St. Louis (LOTS of  
stuff nearby), Milwaukee (stuff nearby), Memphis, and 'some' of the  
Columbus'.

Mick Zaklan
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