By Ed Ives
Well that was a mouthful, forever now to be known as the Kelso show.
This, the fall show, was a one day affair and not our preferred event, spending as much time setting up and tearing down as the actual show itself. Our reasoning for attending this time was to assess the event and the facilities as to whether we might attend their two day show next May.
The show was held in Kelso’s Three Rivers Mall, in the former Macy’s store, providing ample space, lighting and flat and level flooring. The organizers were very helpful and saw to it that we were in need of nothing for the show. To be honest, the show was more of a very good swapmeet than a train show with few layouts but plenty of space for more. The 9 am Saturday opening did not start with a rush but more of a dribble but steadily built up during the morning to form a good crowd. We met members of the public attending this show from as far away as Oregon to the south and Olympia to the north.
For this writer I would give two thumbs up for this show in the future as an opening event to the train show season.
Ed
After twenty three years I as a NMRA member I finally provided three modules at the Kelso train show. Still have a lot foliage, ground and road cover and other details to improve on.
The organizers were great and very accommodating. Set up was good as there are several doors. The vendors had theirs and the layout exhibitors had theirs with plenty of easy parking. Be glad to return for a two day show.