Well, Show Sleuth wrote a nice long post about Chicago but Yahoo deleted
the message before it was sent, which has made Show Sleuth a not very happy
Sleuth.  So, in order to get this posted tonight, this will be brief.  Most
of Show Sleuth's comments were already raised by other folks, which is
great.  Everyone should speak up about what they do and don't like about
shows so that coordinators know.  That's what Show Sleuth is all about.
 
Things I had mentioned in the now missing in cyberspace message are:
 
-- I have to agree and restate that the timing issue was a negative aspect
of the show.  If the hall just can't be held after 6:00, then you have to
make sure above all else that judging is done by then.  Moving a show
outdoors is just not a good thing, plus it's disappointing to those who
like to stay to see who wins.  However, in fairness, Show Sleuth will say
that it's very hard to gauge how long a show will run, and there are so
many variables that can't be controlled.  Show Sleuth isn't really sure
where to fall on this matter - on one hand, practice makes perfect, on the
other, I'm tempted to say if you can't be sure you'll be done, then you
need a hall that will let you stay later.  Be firm with judges and those
showing their ferrets and make sure that you stay on track all day long.
Adding rings might be worth looking into- run breeder class along with kit
or adult class.  Yes, it would mean you'd need more judges, but if that's
what it takes to be done sooner, it needs to be done.
 
--Next point, a biggie for Sleuth: where were the trophies?  Show Sleuth
will comment vehemently on that point every time a show does not have
trophies.  Yes, it is fine to have trophies just for "Best of" winners, but
ONLY if some other "trophy" is given to the first place winners of each
ring.  It's a big deal to be first!  It's just nice to offer a special
prize for that.  It's come to be expected in the show world and Show Sleuth
feels very strongly about it.  As do others - at every show where there are
no trophies, comments are made about the lack of them.
 
--Another thing that I did not specifically hear anyone mention, perhaps to
spare feelings, was the announcer.  The announcer of this show was at times
not pleasant, which reflects poorly on a show.  An example was at the end
of the show when everyone had to leave, the announcer very bluntly told
everyone to get out - now.  Yes, everyone needed to be told that they had
to leave, but it didn't have to be so blunt.  A pleasant "We're very sorry,
but our contract states that everyone must be out of the hall by 6:00, we
will have to pack things up now" would have worked just as well.  After the
announcer told everyone to leave, four people standing near Show Sleuth
just looked at each other and raised their eyebrows as if to indicate how
surprised they were at the tone.
 
--About the raffle: Show Sleuth will say that it was plentiful, but I
really think that it's not appropriate to have non-ferret related items up
on the show table.  I mentioned this with Crodyon.  At ferret shows, you
are going to make much more money if the items on the table are ferret
related.  Show Sleuth did not even buy raffle tickets, and I usually go
broke on buying them at shows.  I just didn't care to win a basketball.
The time and effort put into gathering these donations could have been put
into getting ferret related items - nearly every retailer will give stuff
for a raffle.  The GCFA has supposedly over 500 paid members - if each one
of them donated even one ferret item to the raffle, it could have been a
huge, huge success and made lots of money.  I did read that someone else
posted that they loved the raffle - as always, this is just my opinion, but
this is one issue I'd love to hear others reply about.  At shows, do you
want to see non-ferret related items in the raffle?
 
--Show Sleuth personally did not like the show being in such a metropolis
of an area, as traffic is not Show Sleuth's friend at all.  But I can't
really fault the coordinators for having the show there - it IS their
territory!  But I'd also like to invite others to comment on this issue.
I've been to shows in both rural and "city" locations, and I personally
like the shows that are a little off the beaten path - close to large
roads, but with little or no traffic to deal with.  But what do you all
think?  Of the shows that you have ever been to, what TOWN did you like
best and why or why not?  Where would you like to see shows be held??
 
--On the positive side, the show hall was amazing, a very nice hall.  It
was almost too big - though that's not really possible, just leaves more
room to fill with new faces next year!  It really was a great hall.  Vendor
selection was nice, and while Show Sleuth did not speak personally to many
vendors, they did seem to be doing pretty well in sales.  That's a nice
thing about shows that aren't in the "regular" show belt (MD/PA/NJ), you
get new faces (and wallets!) going through the show.
 
Despite the problems that Show Sleuth and others raised, it was evident
that the Chicago folks really do care about putting on a good show.  They
are organized (with the exception of the timing, which to some degree was
out of their control, to some degree was not) and put a lot of time into
preparing for the show.  It was a fun, lighthearted show, at least until
the end when people needed to scramble to get out.
 
That's about it, I know there was more that Show Sleuth had written but
it's lost in cyberspace somewhere.  Glad to see so much talk going on about
show stuff lately!  Until next report...
 
Murray Mustelid the Show Sleuth
[Posted in FML issue 2837]