Here it is, the middle of January with three inches of snow on its way tonight. You wouldn’t think right now is the time to talk about Hamvention. But it is. Such a popular event requires advanced planning and most of the area hotels are already booked. Solid. Emails announcing how to reserve a spot at all the big events that take place around Dayton that weekend, like the DX Dinner, Contest University have been flying around all month.

I don’t plan to attend this year. When I missed last year it broke a forty year string of Hamvention attendance. My Dad had just passed away and that was reason to skip it. Hopefully, I’ll have no such excuse this time around, but having attended the biggest ham radio show on earth nearly every year of my adult life, I’ve lost a little interest and have made no plans to attend this time around.

Living in East Central Indiana, travel to Dayton takes me just two hours by automobile. Proximity was a contributing factor to my perpetual attendance. In the 70’s and 80’s I would drive over and back in a single day. In the 90’s we had moved far enough away that I began spending entire weekends and discovered there was so much more to Hamvention than a giant hamfest. Spending a long weekend in Dayton every year became habit once the Four Days in May QRP event took off and from that point my son (N9AVG) always joined me. Great memories, but my interest began to wane with the move to the fairgrounds in Xenia. It just wasn’t the same.

It’s at this point in the story that others chime in with a sharp rebuke for me not accepting that things change, or for not acknowledging that Hara Arena had become a toxic dumping ground. I never disagree. The new facility is so much better in many ways and the move was inevitable. Still, my very best memories of Hamvention are from a bygone era, sue me.

I had about decided to stop going altogether after the move, but was curious to check out the new facility. Besides, most of my favorite things about Hamvention take place off site. In fact, after visiting the new digs the first year, I attended all the usual off-site activities the following year and didn’t even drive out to the hamfest, though that was a little weird. Then came Covid and the two-year shutdown after which a revisit seemed mandatory. But at the conclusion of each Dayton weekend since the move to Xenia my son and I look at each other on the way to the parking lot and say, “that was probably our last visit…”

I count myself incredibly fortunate to have attended for so many years and for the opportunity to have seen and done everything one can possibly do during Dayton Hamvention. Along the way, I lost many ham radio friends who I used to meet with every year at Dayton, to the point that attending became a stark reminder of my own mortality. I’m grateful that my health and mobility remains good and is not an issue as some friends have told me they no longer go because it’s become “too hard to get around”. Very sad.

I like to think I will attend again a time or two before this race is over for me and hopefully, there will be no regrets from my decision not to attend this year while my health is good. But having seen it all and done it all in this regard, I would prefer not to grow bored from over doing it, though it might be too late for that…

But listen, I always encourage everyone to go to Hamvention, especially if you’ve never been, you’ve got to go. Make your plans (hurry!) and begin putting some money aside so you can enjoy all there is to enjoy at least once in your life. You won’t regret it.