NEAR-Fest

From HFUnderground

The NEAR-Fest, (an acronym for The New England Amateur Radio Festival) is the largest gathering of radio enthusiasts in the Northeastern US and Eastern Canada. The NEAR-Fest convenes twice annually in May and October at the Deerfield Fairgrounds at Deerfield NH. Dates for 2009 are Friday May 1st and Saturday May 2nd as well as Friday October 16th and Saturday October 17th. Visit the Official NEAR-Fest Web Site

Radio enthusiasts line up at the Deerfield NH Fairgrounds gates in anticipation of another NEAR-Fest.

All radio enthusiasts are cordially invited to attend. In addition to a large number of amateur radio operators, many short-wave listeners, scanner buffs and antique radio collectors enjoy the NEAR-Fest. In addition to the huge tailgating swapfest there are two large buildings filled to capacity with commercial vendors, many forums and seminars, FCC examining sessions and the world renown NEAR-Fest "Ham-Jam" that rocks the Fairgrounds until the wee hours of the morning.

NEAR-Fest is NOT run by a club or any other such entity. It is is best described as a "benevolent dictatorship" and as "a party for 3,000 of our closest friends". The not-for-profit corporation devotes any funds in excess of its costs to promoting the amateur radio hobby to newcomers, especially young people. Towards that end in May 2008 NEAR-Fest donated an amateur radio station to the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium in Concord NH.