Chicago March Meet

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Per the The Model Railroad Resource:

"The Chicago O scale show has been canceled for this year. A shame but looking forward to next year."

[up148]

Yeah, I'd heard that a few weeks ago. I was actually thinking of attending for the 1st time in 20+ years. See what next year brings.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Hmmm.....it was just announced about an hour ago.

[PRR Man]

doesn't mean there isn't another source...

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Well......let's try this again.

"The Chicago O scale show has NOT BEEN CANCELLED
Apparently the Chicago show has not been cancelled. We were given information from a committee member early Wednesday however Brad Kowal came back last night and said "the hotel is offering a possible solution but it might take a couple days to work things out"
We'll wait for Brad to make a formal announcement."

[up148]

Hmmm.....it was just announced about an hour ago.

Well a train buddy who goes every year emailed me to let me know. Not sure who he heard it from.

[up148]

Sorry, should have read all the thread before responding about where I heard about the cancellation. It appears it might be immaterial at this point.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Sorry, should have read all the thread before responding about where I heard about the cancellation. It appears it might be immaterial at this point.

Get out your date board - it's a moving target!

[Chris Webster]

Get out your date board - it's a moving target!

I just spent a few minutes looking for info about current restrictions in Illinois. There are some Executive Orders posted at the bottom of this page:
State of Illinois Coronavirus (Covid-19) Response

From that page, I learned that Dupage County is in the "#8 West Suburban" mitigation region.

Googled again and found this Chicago Tribune story from Tuesday (January 26) that says:

Kane and DuPage counties, which make up the state’s region 8, moved to Tier 1 Tuesday.

Indoor bar and restaurant service is allowed with limited capacity. To offer indoor service, establishments must also serve food. They must limit the number of patrons per party, cap the length of time guests are allowed to stay and meet other restrictions.

Gatherings are limited to 25 people or 25% of room capacity, whichever is lower.

[up148]

Well, with Covid the way it is, I won't be attending whether its held or not. Not that important considering the big picture.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Gatherings are limited to 25 people or 25% of room capacity, whichever is lower.

No idea how they can possibly hold it with such a restriction.

And, as much as I might like to go, not happening despite the need to sell more stuff...........

[RDSRR]

From Brad...
The hotel is willing to accommodate us under the following conditions:
1) Everybody wears a face mask at all times
2) The event would be split up into multiple rooms with ten tables per room. The ballroom would be sectioned off along with the Junior Ballroom in the back of the hotel as well as the other meeting rooms.
3) Currently, each room is restricted to a maximum of 25 people. It is anticipated that by the time we hold the meet, we would be able to allow up to 40 people in any particular space, which would include the foyers.
4) In order to prevent the county from shutting the Hotel down, any person(s) violating these rules would be required to leave the property.
As additional information:
Nobody loses anything if the event is canceled. Room deposits can be rolled over to next year or refunded. We will discuss those details if we get to that point. We do have the space reserved for the normal configuration for April 1-3, 2022. Almost everybody anticipates a complete return to normal by then.
So, now is the time to comment. Send me a personal message or send us an email chicagomeet@yahoo.com

[Chris Webster]

So, now is the time to comment.

I think attendance would be down, but the organizers could still profit by selling the attendee list to estate buyers.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

[Dennis Holler]

Is there an Indy meet scheduled this year. Might be less restrictions