Major Hamfests – Including Dayton – Fall Victim to COVID

 

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, hopes for returning to a "normal" schedule of in-person hamfests have been pushed further into the future. The Dayton Hamvention® Executive Committee announced in mid-January that it had reluctantly decided to cancel this year's event, blaming the slower-than-planned rate of vaccinations and the emergence of a new, more communicable, strain of the virus. (See more in post below.)

Dayton's announcement followed the previously-announced decision by Ham-Com (Dallas) to close permanently after 41 years, and decisions by the Orlando Hamcation® and SEA-PAC to move to all-virtual events this year.

In between Hamcation's and SEA-PAC's virtual hamfests will be the second running of the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo in March. This event, the brainchild of QSO Today podcast host Eric Guth, 4Z1UG, was first held last summer and was quite successful. That one was free for attendees; there will be a fee to attend the March 13-14 event. More information is available at <www.qsotodayhamexpo.com>.