On August 31, September 1 - 2, 2018 Shelby Amateur Radio Club (SARC) will host its 62nd Annual Shelby Hamfest. Shelby Amateur Radio club sponsors the annual Shelby Hamfest which is being held at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds on Labor Day weekend! Shelby Amateur Radio Club began hosting this event in 1957.
Shelby Hamfest is an event where Amateur Radio vendors & manufacturers set up to show their latest products. There is also a flea market for folks to sell their used equipment, antique radios, crafts, etc. Campers begin arriving a week ahead of time to visit and fellowship with each other. The first hamfest was held at Brackett's Cedar Park in 1957 with about 300 in attendance and over the years it outgrew the park moving to the Cleveland County Fairgrounds in 1979. In the mid 1990's the attendance had grown into the 10,000s. In 2008, the hamfest moved temporarily to Dallas Park in Dallas, NC and returned home to the Cleveland County Fairgrounds in 2013. While attendance has dropped in recent years, the attendance is still considered one of the largest hamfest on the east coast and is the largest in the ARRL Roanoke Division (North & South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia).
Part of the proceeds from the Hamfest go towards maintenance and upkeep of the club's 6 repeaters. These repeaters are available for service to the Cleveland County Emergency Management and other served agencies such as the American Red Cross should a disaster occur in the county. Some of the proceeds are donated to local and deserving charities. Last year Shelby Amateur Radio Club donated to Salvation Army, Cleveland Rutherford Kidney Association, Crossroads Rescue Mission, Life Enrichment Center and the ARRL Spectrum Defense Fund. The club has also donated a set of amateur radio books to the County Library.
If interested in attending the hamfest this year, admission is $10.00 at the gate and is good for all three days. Children 12 and under can attend free. Shelby Amateur Radio Club holds its monthly meetings at the Red Cross Building in Shelby on the Second Tuesday of each month (Except December) at 7:00 PM.
This year the Shelby Amateur Radio Club will be providing communications assistance to the Broad River Greenway during the 10 Mile Foot Race in September and the Equestrian Poker Run in October.
For more information related to the Shelby Hamfest, please email chairman@shelbyhamfest.org or call 980-295-5151. If you or someone you know is interested in becoming part of this growing service, secretary@shelbyhamfest.org or see http://www.shelbyarc.org or http://www.shelbyhamfest.org.
SARClub™ is a registered Trademark of Shelby Amateur Radio Club, Inc
Submitted by Susan M. Ledford