Show Sleuth here with report on the North Carolina ferret show last
weekend!
 
Show Sleuth's first post to the FML about the show was rejected for being
too long, so I am cutting out the commentary at the top (oh, how boring!)
Here's the relevant info:
 
The area of North Carolina that the show was held was quite nice.  The show
facility itself was a good one, it was spacious and well-laid out.  Vendors
seemed to have a lot of room to spread out, and there was a lot of space
for exhibitors that we were not on top of each other.  There were not a lot
of people at the show, it was one of the smallest shows (head-count) that
Show Sleuth has seen.  This was probably because it was in a brand new area
where no shows have been held before.  This actually made the atmosphere
one that was sort of intimate, it was very easy to move around and talk to
a good deal of the people there.  You did not have to fight any crowds to
visit vendor tables or get to your show ring.  I'm sure that in the future
they would like to have more exhibitors and vendors, and again this I'm
sure had a lot to do with the new area that the show was being held in, and
perhaps due to the hurricane some people who might have otherwise come did
not.  But it still was really refreshing to have so much space and to be so
spread out!
 
The show hosts, Judy and Gary, were two of the friendliest, most welcoming
people I've ever met.  I was even at a vendor table when Gary came around
and was asking each vendor how they were doing and if they needed anything -
as mentioned in the Ohio report, Good Idea!
 
The following are a list of what Show Sleuth felt about the pros and cons
of the show (some are comments that were overheard by vendors and
exhibitors)
 
The Good Stuff
 
--Great location both in geography and show hall - more shows need to start
  up in new areas of the country.  The hall may need to be bigger as
  attendance goes up, but for now (and next year I'm sure) it's great.
 
-- Coordination of the show was excellent.  The layout of the hall was very
   good.  The hosts were wonderful!
 
-- Everything was done one at a time - raffles, fun matches, judging and
   seminars - things did not run concurrently, so everyone could focus on
   what was happening at all times (but see related negative comment below)
 
-- Raffle was very good.  Could have had more variety but really could not
   complain about the raffle.
 
-- Gary took the time to acknowledge over the loud speaker each vendor that
   was there, encouraging exhibitors to visit each vendor throughout the
   day by name.
 
-- Ribbons were very nice, and they had a sort of "best in show" award,
   each first place ferret was re-judged at the end.  Unlike other shows
   that have done this they had very large ribbons (I've never seen ribbons
   that big before!) for not only the "best in show" but also the 2nd and
   3rd place.  That was innovative and nice.
 
Could Be Improved
 
-- Hotel was a bit on the far side from the show hall.
 
-- There were no trophies for first place winners, only ribbons.  A few
   people commented on that, some seemed pretty bothered by it.  One
   exhibitor said that if they paid regular price for a show entry as
   other shows they expected to have trophies like other shows give.
   (incidentally, this is not the first time Show Sleuth has heard this.
   At the Warm Fuzzy show, which Show Sleuth did not comment on, that was
   the one thing that was overheard over and over and over again at the
   Warm Fuzzy show.  It was just about the only thing about the Warm Fuzzy
   show that Show Sleuth heard that was negative, except for that the
   places weren't even printed on the ribbons at Warm Fuzzy, which a lot of
   people complained about.  Personally for Show Sleuth, the Warm Fuzzy
   show was a good one but it was too HOT!)
 
-- While most seemed to think that the show moved at a good pace, a few
   people were heard during one of the fun matches saying that they wanted
   the judging to continue already.  The can tipping contest apparently
   went on a little too long and people that weren't interested or involved
   in it didn't want to wait.  Show Sleuth has mixed feelings about that.
   It is sometimes annoying to just sit and wait for your ferret to be
   judged, especially when you don't really have anything better to be
   doing at that time.  But at some shows, there are too many things going
   on at one time and the result is chaos.  Show Sleuth isn't really sure
   how to come to a compromise, and others opinions are of course welcomed!
   It did seem nice though for vendors as they seemed to have more business
   flowing through, when there was "down time" during fun matches or
   seminars, etc.
 
That is about all that Show Sleuth can remember to comment about.  In
summary, the show was a very, very good one for a first show, especially
considering that it was in a brand new area with no real established ferret
community.  One vendor from Pennsylvania said that they would definitely
attend next year if the show was held again, despite the drive which they
said was very long.  While the intimacy of the show was very nice, to make
money a show needs more warm bodies of both the flesh and fur kind in
attendance, and Show Sleuth would recommend if anyone is thinking of making
the trip, it's well worth it.
 
Murray Mustelid the Show Sleuth
[Posted in FML issue 2811]