Tom; Sorry not to publish anything about the swap, but I'm basically just lurking these days. I'm going through old parts, sorting out etc to see what is going and what to keep. You did miss a good swap, with a small group of folks selling vintage stuff.
I arrived about 8:30 in the A.M. to set up a table, bringing mostly vintage items, nothing fantastic, just quite a few odds and ends that I've had in my bins for years. When I arrived we were told to go to the rear of the building to bring stuff in, but having never been to the Alliance Center, I along with a few other were not exactly sure where the actual rear entry was. We walked to the front and by 8:45 the line waiting to get in was atleast a few hundred folks. We got direction and brought stuff in. The auditorium is huge, probably afew football field worth, although that might be a bit of an exageration. I was set up quickly and started making the rounds by 9:15, but most folks wouldn't start selling until the crowd was let in at 9:30.
Once the doors were open there was an immediate hoard of folks into the auditorium. Having run Larz Anderson swap with up to 80-90 vendors, with close to 1700 folks attending, I'm useto seeing large swaps, but in size this swamps anything I've been to. Easily the largest swap I've ever attended. Not sure how many vendors or visitors, but I'd guess 4-5000 attended. Most of the goods being sold were newer, but vintage folks definitely had a presence. Buyers for Vintage goodies were a plenty. I sold about 80% of what I brought with me.
Wish I could remember all the CR folks who attended, but I did see Keith Helon and Ed Brooks, and John Baron was busy at his booth, as well as Greg Parker. Mark Koepke attended, but we never did hook up. I did meet a few others from the CR who I've only known through email, or just from lurking.
Most of the heaving trading, as in any swap, was done in the first few hours, and by noon to 1:00PM it was becoming time to stretch back on the lounge. Not sure what time the swap broke, but I packed up and left around 2:00PM. Since I'm in a purging mode, my trip back was pretty light as I bought only a few small vintage items items.
I would encourage the CR folks from the midwest to attend Cronometro, as the more of us attend, the better it will get. For those who want to sell, there certainly are enough buyers, and if your looking to come to get componants, although the contingent of Vintage folks wasn't huge, this swap is well worth attending. It definitely deserves our support.
I have been in touch with Colin, the owner of Cronometro who sponsors this swap, and will be talking to David, who actually organizes the event. Colin told me that although they do not get a huge amount of Vintage buyers and sellers, they would certainly love to see us attend their swap. I'm going to be talking with Colin and David in the future, and hopefully try to help out with the event in some capacity to bring in the Vintage crowd, and hopefully help set up a Concourse of show bikes. If this does come about, I'll get full information to the CR.
Best regards,
Peter Naiman
Shorewood, WI
> Having planned to attend the Madison Swap but missed
> it, I was looking forward with some deep-rooted envy
> to reports about the swap. Either I have missed
> them on the list, or there were no reports. Or
> perhaps most felt it was not worth reporting
> (perhaps my subconscious need to have that
> articulated).
>
> Thanks.
>
> Cheers.
>
> Tom Hayes
> Chagrin Falls, Ohio
>
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===== Peter Naiman Alias Hetchinspete4420 North Ardmore AvenueShorewood, WI 53211-1418
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