Fyi: Maps Is Likely To Be Moving To Iowa City, Ia

[trilobiteruss]

This is a FYI for all of you who attend MAPS, the Mid-America Paleontology Society annual meeting in Macomb, IL

Link: http://midamericapaleo.org

From the front page of above link:

Expo 35 Attention: Probable Change from Macomb to Iowa City, Iowa

Due to the closing of the Days Inn motel and the apparent lack of any other rooms in Macomb for the weekend of our April 5 – 7, 2013 show, we are looking seriously at moving the 2013 show to another site with Iowa City, Iowa being the focus of our investigation at this time.

The board will be meeting in Iowa City on December 8th to try and finalize the plans for a new location.

At this time the intent is to keep the same dates and just change location. Please check website after December 11th for additional information or contact: Marv Houg

[Xiphactinus]

Ugh....Bummer. Counts us out. Doubles the distance from STL. Hope that doesn't become the permanent location.

[RCFossils]

Thanks Russ,

I just heard this from another friend of mine. Let's hope they get this worked out.

[Caleb]

I feel that moving the show right off I-80 could be beneficial for the attendance of the show. The initial move is not going to be easy though being that it has been in Macomb for the past 34 years, save for one or two long ago that were held in Davenport/Quad Cities I believe. I hopped onto google maps for a quick estimate for drive times from 5 "nearby" large cities:

...................... Macomb--Iowa City

Des Moines.....4hrs ---- 1.5hrs

St. Louis..........3 -------- 4

Chicago...........4 -------- 3.5

Kansas City.....4.5 ------ 4

Madison, WI....4 --------- 3

This is just my opinion, and I'm a little biased since this move would cut my travel time almost in half. There's also fossil collecting to be done in the Iowa City area. Great Devonian stuff, and since that's the theme for the show this year...

Edit: This looks a little easier to read than the formatting fail I did first attempt.

Edited December 11, 2012 by Caleb

[trilobiteruss]

The problem for me is that it almost doubles the miles for a show (140 ro 247) that was at least helping us in sales for our business that helps us get to Tucson each year. The Days Inn in Macomb although showing age and having more and more issues was "cheaper" So my gas bill (I pay my own way to show had not yet included in cost of our business) doubles, and who knows with Motel. Yes it is more on regular roads, but frankly I enjoyed the back road two lane drive it was always pleasant for me, I-74 to I-80 which I drive alot to visit family in Iowa is boring as well. So for me it is a major hassle. We probably will go with our business again Joes Jems and Paleo-pix but we are going to ahve to do better financially as I cannot keep affording trips on my pension. If we do not do good after a couple years well I may have to consider other venues.

[old dead things]

It would be a possibility that Old Dead Things might be able to do the show now that it is closer to us. I have to admit that distance doesn't play that much of a roll in our decisions to do shows, living in central Wyoming, it is a long way to anywhere. For us it is more the time of year, and early April still means snow storms to us.

I remember hearing about the first Quartzsite shows years ago and look at it now. Sometimes a change in venue is a good thing. That being said, I'd not like to have to make the decision and wish the board good luck at their meeting.

Jim

Old Dead Things

[trilobiteruss]

It would be a possibility that Old Dead Things might be able to do the show now that it is closer to us. I have to admit that distance doesn't play that much of a roll in our decisions to do shows, living in central Wyoming, it is a long way to anywhere. For us it is more the time of year, and early April still means snow storms to us.

I remember hearing about the first Quartzsite shows years ago and look at it now. Sometimes a change in venue is a good thing. That being said, I'd not like to have to make the decision and wish the board good luck at their meeting.

Jim

Old Dead Things

I am sure for others this move brings it closer and helps them. Our businesses are more for the purpose of supporting our fossil hobby. We chose shows in midwest we liked and also close enough to keep costs down but we are pretty much a hobby business in sense of word as far as the IRS looks at us. We actaully sell minerals in the rooms in pre show and make more money that way, but love to sell and trade fossils in main show as that is our goal and passion and MAPS has alwayrs been a goal to attend before and after starting busineeses to support hobbies. We did in part because we wanted to attend Tucson and we have been sucessful in that regard. But finding shows that are close enough and do not eat our thin profit margin are hard. This will put a strain on a pretty tight budget in our case. My partner still works, buti retired in 2007 from the Illinois Geological Survey, so my funds to pay for my hobby are now limited and my wife also liked the fact that I created my fossil MAD money in other ways. After Tucson, for us MAPS is the hightlight of the year, hope it does not gett too expensive for us to attend.

[Auspex]

I hope that the show, and the new location, are heavily promoted; this can smooth out the bumpy transition. With any luck at all, the new venue, and ease of public access, will translate into better sales for the vendors, IF they really get the word out.

[trilobiteruss]

Yeah they need to do more of that than they have in past. The amount of crowds has been way down last two years at the main event.

[trilobiteruss]

Ok the decision was final, Iowa City it is. Just got this PDF of the details a few hours ago. I want to post the PDF about the MAPS move, motel info and all here for all of you who attend MAPS or are considering attending:

Hopefully they will be able to advertise this, and also with the closeness to major interstates it might be a boon to the MAPS annual meetinh.

Russ

Edited December 12, 2012 by trilobiteruss

[trilobiteruss]

Ok I also am going to post the info in above PDF here for all of you.

Greetings MAPS members:

!

! I hope this message finds you all well this holiday season. We have very important and urgent news for everyone regarding the forthcoming Expo 2013. We recently received news that the Days Inn Macomb is going out of business, and thus would not be available at the scheduled time of the show next April 5-7. As it happens that weekend is also Mothers’ Weekend at WIU, which is apparently well attended - so all other available hotel rooms are booked. The nearest other towns of any size are 20 to 30 miles away from Macomb at a minimum.

! Therefore, the MAPS Board has decided to move Expo 2013 to Iowa City, Iowa to the Sharpless Auctions building:

• ! 5049 Herbert Hoover Hwy NE (I-80 Exit 249)
  
• ! Iowa City, IA 52240.
  
• ! The dates and times for the show will remain the same - April 5-7, 2013. We have reserved a block of rooms at the nearby Travelodge Hotel:
  

• ! 2216 North Dodge St
  
• ! Iowa City, IA, 52245
  
• ! It offers similar accommodations to what we had in Macomb for the hotel pre- show. The Travelodge has given us a price quote of $45/night for a double bed room or $50/night for a king bed room - when you call to reserve a room please identify yourself with “MAPS Fossil Show” to get the special rate.
  !
  

! About Sharpless Auctions:

Web site: http://sharplessauct....com/index.html

! The building is just north of Interstate 80, Exit 249, on the Herbert Hoover Highway. There is plenty of on site parking very close to the building, and there are several overhead doors for easy setup and tear down access. Sharpless also has approximately 20 large gurneys which they will allow us to use for setup and tear down. There is a kitchen on site and they will staff it and have coffee & rolls available for sale file:///page1image17448

in the mornings and then an a-la-carte lunch menu (sandwiches/onion rings/fries/etc) will be available for purchase during the day.

! There are many power outlets throughout the building although we strongly recommend that anyone who might need power for their booth to bring your own extension cords/outlet extenders as those will not be available from Sharpless. There will be metal folding chairs available, but if you want something more comfortable to sit on, we recommend bringing your own chairs if you are able to do so.

! The tables that they rent us for the show are 8’ tables instead of the 6’ ones used previously at Macomb. Table fees will be $30 each for the first 2 tables and $40 for each table after that.

! Early set up is available for an additional $10/table on Thursday, April 4th beginning at 2pm. Regular set up can begin at 7am on Friday, April 5th. MAPS will provide security overnight on Friday and Saturday only, just as was done at WIU in Macomb. A revised Expo Newsletter is being prepared with all this new information and will be available from the club website or via e-mail within the next 48 hours, and a paper mail version will also be sent out to replace the previous mailing which unfortunately went out just days prior to us receiving word that the Days Inn Macomb was closing its doors. We apologize for the short notice, but it was unavoidable.

! About the Travelodge:

Web site: Travelodge (phone# 866 430 2692)

! The hotel is located south of Interstate 80, at Exit 246. Driving time to and from the Expo venue is about 5 minutes. The hotel building is in a large “L” shape - it has 2 floors. There are 40 rooms on the ground floor, the outer row of 20 are connected via their outside doors to the parking lot. The inner 40 ground floor rooms do have outdoor patios, but are not connected by sidewalks to the parking lot (they open to a grassy courtyard area). However, there is access to those rooms via an indoor hallway which can accommodate small carts and so forth.

! Anyone who is planning on selling in the vendor pre-show should request a ground floor room. People who are planning on getting 2 rooms - 1 for selling/1 for sleeping - should request a sleeping room on the 2nd floor if possible. Those who are file:///page2image20552

not selling should request a 2nd floor room unless you need a handicapped accessible room.

! The Travelodge has an indoor swimming pool, and they have continental breakfast from 6-9am weekdays and 7-10am weekends. The hotel is next to the Bob’s Your Uncle Restaurant, which apparently will deliver to your hotel room if you so wish. ! There is another hotel at the same exit (246) on the north side of I-80 - the Clarion (aka The Highlander). In case the Travelodge were to fill up completely, the Clarion would be the next closest to the Expo venue. Driving time to the Expo venue would be the same 5 minute drive as from the Travelodge.

! We have also received a special MAPS Fossil Show rate from the Superseven Motel in Coralville - $42.99 for a single and $47.99 for a double. That one would be about a 15 minute drive from the Expo venue.

! There are also many other hotels/motels in the Iowa City/Coralville/North Liberty area - I will put a list together and pass that along to all of you in another e-mail. I will also put together a list of Iowa City area restaurants soon, as we all know that so much of the fun of Expo includes meeting up with friends and catching up over dinner. There are options available to suit just about any taste.

• ! About Iowa City:
  
• ! It is the home of the University of Iowa, and is in a rapidly growing area of southeast Iowa referred to locally as “the corridor”, situated near the intersection of Interstates 80 & 380. Nearby towns include Coralville (home of Coral Ridge Mall), North Liberty, and Cedar Rapids. There are plenty of restaurants, shops, and other hotels within a short distance of the Expo location.
  

! For anyone who may be interested in flying in for the show, Iowa City is only 30 minutes drive south from the Eastern Iowa Airport, and is also reasonably close to the Des Moines Airport (approx 2 hours away) and the Quad Cities Airport (about 1.5 hours away). file:///page3image18200 file:///page3image18360 file:///page3image18520 file:///page3image18680 file:///page3image18840 file:///page3image19000 file:///page3image19160 file:///page3image19320 file:///page3image19480 file:///page3image19640 file:///page3image19800 file:///page3image19960 file:///page3image20120

! We hope this sudden change of venue does not cause anyone to miss out on the fun of the Expo show! We will all need to work together to try and make this situation turn out the best we possibly can. Our hope is that Iowa City will be a bit easier for folks to travel to than Macomb was, and there is a much larger local population base to draw Expo customers from as well.

! Many Expo attendees had suggested moving to other venues to us over the past few years. The demise of the Macomb Days Inn caused a move much earlier than we had anticipated. The move to Iowa City will be on a trial basis and we are currently exploring other midwestern venues as potential sites to host Expo 2014 and beyond. Please feel free to contact myself or anyone on the Board if you have any questions or comments, or perhaps suggestions for future Expo venues. Also, check the club web site to keep up on any developments: http://www.midamericapaleo.org.

Signed,

Jim Preslicka, Treasurer-MAPS E-mail MAPS.fossil.club@gmail.com

PS - My wife & I are both nearly lifelong residents of Iowa City/Coralville, so please contact us by all means if you have questions about accommodations, restaurants, etc., or need directions to/from various destinations!

[Shamalama]

Well, I want to go visit the show, so maybe this will give me an excuse to travel past some other localities on a vacation to iowa!

[Auspex]

I updated the info on the Forum events calendar.

Spread the word: it is hard to get high attendance at a new location for an event with a long history elsewhere!

[squalicorax]

Well, I want to go visit the show, so maybe this will give me an excuse to travel past some other localities on a vacation to iowa!

You MUST!

[Caleb]

Well, I want to go visit the show, so maybe this will give me an excuse to travel past some other localities on a vacation to iowa!

And once you get to Iowa City there is the Devonian Fossil Gorge just a couple miles away!

[Shamalama]

Well, then... I'd best be making my reservations!

[Indy]

I hope to attend in April ...

I and others will miss having the show in Macomb !!

The word I have is it will not be retuning to Macomb in the future.

The MAPS promo website was updated with current information: LINK

[AgrilusHunter]

I'll be attending in April. I'm heading out to Provo to visit BYU and I plan to schedule the trip so I can stop by at MAPS in Iowa along the way, or maybe on the way back. I hope to meet up with some forum members while I'm there, maybe do a bit of collecting.

Edited December 16, 2012 by AgrilusHunter

[Wrangellian]

I'd attend if I could

I wish we had an outfit/show like this in this area! Looks fantastic

[Auspex]

...The MAPS promo website was updated with current information: LINK

Isn't it going to be in Iowa City?

[Indy]

Isn't it going to be in Iowa City?

BINGO

I just update the Promo website to reflect Iowa City and more ...

If you see Macomb, IL anywhere ... You'll need to Clear History

to see the current version of the website.

Edited December 16, 2012 by Indy

[Auspex]

I hope to attend in April ...

I and others will miss having the show in Macomb !!

The word I have is it will not be retuning to Macomb in the future.

The MAPS promo website was updated with current information: LINK

BINGO

I just update the Promo website to reflect Iowa City and more ...

If you see Macomb, IL anywhere ... You'll need to Clear History

to see the current version of the website.

Where I see Macomb is at the link in your preceding post #17.

[Indy]

Where I see Macomb is at the link in your preceding post #17.

All I see in post #17 was my reference to I'm going to miss having the show in Macomb

and the link goes to the updated version of the promo website

at the top of the web page ...

MAPS Fossil Show

April 5 - April 7, 2013 Iowa City, Iowa

Edited December 17, 2012 by Indy

[Jurassic Jim]

Adds a couple more hours to the already long drive...maybe too much this year.

[Indy]

Adds a couple more hours to the already long drive...maybe too much this year.

I fear many will feel the same way.

The odds are the MAPS show in 2014 won't be in Iowa City

Maybe in Cedar Rapids ... Which is even a little further away for most.

I expect there will be a smaller crowd compared to previous shows.

Bet there will be people showing up in Macomb, IL for the show

and they won't know where the show moved to. The Macomb Days Inn

was where we held the Jump Start show...I just called the Macomb Days Inn

and was told the motel is Permanently Closed and will not re-open under

new management.

If anyone shows up in Macomb ... The Days Inn is Closed so no one

there to tell them where the shows moved to. The facility where previous

shows were held ... I doubt there will be any signs up advising the public

if the show is still on but in a different city. Lots of literature passed out

last year to the public advising the show will be in Macomb and the dates.

Many regulars are not members of the MAPS fossil club.

It will be interesting ... Oh, well, lets call it an adventure

and hope for the best