Radio Daze 2011: Northland Antique Radio Club

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RADIO DAZE 2011

This will be our 25th annual Radio Daze event! Thinking back over the years brings up many great memories of what we have experienced at Radio Daze, including fun auctions, swap meet deals, good and bad weather, interesting contest entries, the variety of guest speakers, and most importantly the friends we've made. Please mark May 20 and 21, 2011, on your calendar today!

The new meet format started in 2008 has been very well received and will be continued. The Pavek Museum of Broadcasting will hold their usual sale on Friday and Saturday at the museum. At the Comfort Inn of Plymouth, the auction will be held Friday evening and the swap meet, radio contest, and program will be Saturday.

Radio Daze 2011, the Upper Midwest's ultimate vintage radio collecting event, will be held Friday and Saturday, May 20-21, 2011, at the Comfort Inn of Plymouth, located at the northwest corner of I-494 and Hwy. 55 in Plymouth, Minnesota. This will be our 14th year at this great location! Room rates are still only $73.00 (plus tax) per night for either a single or a double room. The Comfort Inn's reservation phone number is (763) 559-1222.

This is NARC's premier event, and we are proud to have both the the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting and the Antique Wireless Association (AWA) as supporting sponsors. The auction, swap meet, radio contest, program, and awards presentation are well attended by prominent vintage radio collectors from across the country. The radio contest includes equipment displayed from the earliest days of radio to the 1960's. Brochures will be mailed in early April to all known radio collectors in the five state area.

The meet kicks off with a large antique radio auction in the hotel main ballroom at 7:00 p.m. Friday! We make this an entertaining auction and there will be a good variety of radios available. If you want to sell your radio(s) at the auction, check them in between 3:00 and 6:00 pm Friday. Auction preview is 6:00 to 7:00 pm, and the auction starts at 7:00 pm.

The auction will be different this year.

New auctioneer: Our long-time auctioneer Ed Ripley has moved to Florida and Frank Rasada will take his place at the gavel. Frank has helped with the auction for many years, describing the lots, holding things up so we can see them, and does the same for a number of other radio clubs. He knows old radios and we are excited to have someone with his experience helping us.
Fees lowered: The 5% commission paid by the seller in past years has been eliminated. This year, there will be ZERO seller's or buyer's commission fees on the sale price! However, just like last year, the seller will be required to pay a $5 flat consignment fee per lot prior to the auction. Last year was the first time we tried a consignment fee and it resulted in the best auction we've had in many years by eliminating the many low-value lots that were consigned in previous years. Total sales almost doubled compared to 2009 although we actually sold 34 less items! There were only 11 no-sales (mostly reserve prices that weren't met), compared to 41 in 2009 and the items were better with the average item selling for $94.53 compared to only $42.31 in 2009.
$75 minimum reserve price eliminated. Sellers will have the option to set a reserve at any price they want, but there will be a new $2 fee per lot to set a reserve price. You might think this contradicts the 'Fees lowered' statement, but the 5% commission sellers paid on a $75 sale last year was $3.75, and even higher on higher priced sales, and this year they will only pay $2.00 no matter what the sale price is if they choose to set a reserve.

Please read ALL the auction rules listed in the Radio Daze 2011 brochure!

A visit to the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting is always a highlight of 'Radio Daze' and they schedule their annual garage sale of surplus radio relics for this weekend. The Pavek museum is located at 3517 Raleigh Avenue in St. Louis Park, Minnesota and will be open at 10:00 am sharp on both Friday and Saturday. Make sure you are displaying your Radio Daze name tag for free admission.

Saturday begins with the hotel parking lot swap meet in the morning. (Please note that the permit from the City of Plymouth does not allow any parking lot sales prior to Saturday morning.) The hospitality room will be open at 7:00 am with hot coffee and rolls. A light lunch will be available 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. The registration room opens at 8:00 am. Item check in for the old radio contest will run from 11:00 am to noon, with viewing from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm.

The contest has some new categories, including MY FAVORITE RADIO. We hope EVERYONE brings a radio for this category and includes a short description of WHY it is their favorite radio. This particular category won't be judged by rarity, condition, or value and may actually be an extremely difficult category to judge, so don't be surprised to see multiple blue ribbon winners!

Also, the Best Restoration award will again be awarded to a restored item in ANY category! If you are entering a restored item, documentation of the restoration would greatly improve your chances of winning this award.
Contest categories are described in the Radio Daze 2011 brochure. A trip to the contest room always yields a surprise or two!

For Saturday lunch, NARC will offer a light lunch in the hospitality room, or a great meal can be had at Axel's Bonfire restaurant within the hotel. Several other restaurants are nearby, including Perkins, Jake's Sports Bar, and some fast food establishments.

The Saturday program begins at 2:00 pm and includes opening comments, contest awards, door prizes, and a featured speaker. This year's speaker will be Don Patterson, publisher of the first 201 issues of the Radio Age publication. Don is a great source of information on all the major early radio brands. You won't want to miss this presentation!

Click here to see the Radio Daze 2011 brochure. Also, click here ( 2001 / 2002 / 2004 / 2005 / 2007) to see photos from previous years!

Registration is required for admittance to all indoor events, the Hospitality Room, the Pavek Museum, and to sell items in the parking lot. Registration is encouraged, but not required, for anyone just attending the auction or buying at the swap meet. You can pre-register (and save $3.00) by returning a registration form before May 13th. After you arrive, please pick up your name badge and other materials in the Registration Room.

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