It may seem that there were only the events below, but really there was a lot of wheeling and dealing (trading) going on as well!
The show officially got under way on Friday, but many folks showed up earlier. (See my previous entry for one unofficial event.) This was mainly a meet-and-greet day with the
Registration table and Hospitality Room open for business. We even managed to get the free hot dogs going as well!In the evening, the Skedder Chapter held their Invitational Trade Session while the Hockey Corner drew a respectable crowd to see the playoffs.Skedder king Kerry Winters was also kept busy switching channels to catch both games and also running down to his room for the soccer(or was it baseball?) scores. Here's Bob Brecka checking out the thousands of schedules available.
Saturday was to be a busy day.
We started off with Tim Horton's coffee and doughnuts in the Hospitality Room. One of the people that made it by 9:00AM was Les Gradski.
Next came our popular (borrowed from the Blue-Gray show) Mix-Six trade.
Participants brought in a 6-pack of micro-brew from their region and were then able
to take out 6 new beers to try. Some 
people had trouble with the concept, especially lining up to take one at a time. Thankfully, this year Ralph Nunnaro got it right and showed up with some decent stuff!Right, Mark Armstrong, Jay Dertinger, Jen Biro and Paul Rivard look over the selection. Above right were my picks. The Golden Horseshoe Premium Lager was my favourite of the six.
Next it was off to the Kingston Brew Pub for lunch. Glen, our trusty bus driver picked us up promptly at 11:00AM for the short ride to Kingston.
Our host, Van Allen Turner was there to greet us and gave a short intro before announcing that the first round was on him. Damn! I had only ordered a half-pint to start!
During lunch, TJ Clifford presented Van Allen with some Hart Brewery memorabilia to add to his collection. This came about through the efforts of Terry Keough, when
the old brewery building was sold.Far right are some of the collectors enjoying lunch in the upstairs room.
We also took advantage of a photo-op at the downstairs bar.
The bus left promptly at 2:00PM and we didn't have to leave anyone behind this time!
Next on the agenda came the auction, with many interesting (and cool!) items up for grabs.
Once again, George Vine and Wray Martin were pressed into service as auctioneers. Administrators were Bob Berry and Mark Armstrong who gave yeoman service as usual. Below are some pics from the auction. Left are our auctioneers, George and Wray. I'm the guy in the middle, acting as a runner (a tough job). Right is a view of the crowd. Below,
Peter Bechtel (with Laura) seems to be praying for a win-"Please, God, I want this!"
Later in the evening, after dinner, it was time for the Euchre Tournament.
The defending champs, Dick Piche and Peter Lindsay, lost the first round to Jay Dertinger and Dave Platt. Jay and Dave went on to win the tournament and it was my sad duty to hand over the trophy to them. Its whereabouts are unknown at this time, as Jay is from New Jersey and Dave is from Kingston. Just make sure it returns to Gananoque next year guys!
The evening ended with TJ's Charity Raffle with a lot of great prizes donated for the cause. Winners had lots to choose from and cleared the table happily!
We closed the Hospitality Room down for another year with only a few stragglers hanging in to finish that "last beer".
Next year is our 20th anniversary and I'm looking forward to another great show!
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