Amateur radio enthusiasts to gather for annual festival
Hamfest will return to the Cleveland County Fairgrounds over the Labor Day weekend bringing to Shelby amateur radio enthusiasts from around the world.
Here are five things to know about the local amateur radio club and the upcoming event:
1. The 66th Shelby Hamfest will be Sept. 2 through Sept. 4, hosted by the Shelby Amateur Radio Club. Campers begin arriving a week ahead of time, and the event includes amateur radio vendors and manufacturers showing their latest products. It is also a place where amateur radio operators get to meet face to face. There is a flea market. Saturday, Sept. 3, amateur radio license testing and a scavenger hunt for children under 18.
2. The first Shelby Hamfest was held at Brackett’s Cedar Park in 1957 with about 300 attendees, and over the years it outgrew the park, moving to the Cleveland County Fairgrounds in 1979. It later moved again then returned to Shelby in 2013
In the mid 1990s, attendance had grown to more than 10,000. While attendance has dropped in recent years, the Shelby Hamfest is still considered one of the largest on the East Coast and is the largest in the ARRL Roanoke Division (North & South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia). It has drawn amateur radio operators from as far away as New Zealand, Turkey, India, Great Britain and Sweden.
3. Some of the proceeds from the Hamfest go toward maintenance and upkeep of the club’s six repeaters, which are available for service to the Cleveland County Emergency Management and other agencies such as the American Red Cross should a disaster occur in the county.
Some of the proceeds are donated to local charities. In past years, the Shelby Amateur Radio Club contributed to the Salvation Army, Cleveland Rutherford Kidney Association, Crossroads Rescue Mission, Life Enrichment Center, Council on Aging, ARRL Spectrum Defense Fund and other organizations in and around Cleveland County.
4. Hamfest will be held at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds at 1751 E. Marion St., Shelby. Admission is $10 at the gate and is good for all three days. Children 12 and under can attend free. Several door prizes will be awarded.
Due to construction across the street at Cleveland Community College, parking is located behind the fairgrounds.
5. Shelby Amateur Radio Club holds its monthly meetings at the Red Cross building in Shelby at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month (except December).
For more information related to the Shelby Hamfest, email chairman@shelbyhamfest.org or call 980-295-5151. Anyone interested in joining the club may email secretary@shelbyhamfest.org or go to shelbyarc.org or shelbyhamfest.org.
This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Amateur radio enthusiasts to gather for annual festival in Shelby
