RADIO DAZE 2018 Friday-Saturday May 18-19, 2018 Comfort Inn Plymouth 3000 Harbor Lane, Plymouth, MN

The Northland Antique Radio Club invites you to attend Radio Daze 2018, the Upper Midwest's ultimate vintage radio collecting event, and we are proud that both the Pavek Museum and the Antique Wireless Association (AWA) continue as supporting sponsors for the 32nd consecutive year.

Plans are taking shape to make this year's event one you won't want to miss. The hotel was newly remodeled last year and we will make better use of the new spaces this year. The registration table will now be in the lounge area adjacent to the main ballroom and the hospitality room will be in the first guest room to the right just inside the entrance on the west side of the building where the swap meet is held. The auction will still be in the main ballroom and space for consigned radios is expanded into the adjacent room.

A high priority is to keep the fees we charge to participate in NARC events as low as possible, and so we are very pleased that Radio Daze 2018 fees for NARC members will be the same as in recent years, including membership dues, registration fees, and auction fees. The hotel did raise the room rate from $79 to a still reasonable $85 per night.

Brochures will be mailed in early April to all known radio collectors in the five state area, plus to other vintage radio collectors from across the country who regularly attend this event. Local radio stations are being contacted and asked to make Public Service Announcements. Ads have been sent to AWA and other clubs, will be in some local newspapers, and will be on Craigslist and in several of the old radio forums online. We're doing our best for this to be one of the best Radio Daze events ever!

This year's schedule is entirely the same as in the past, with the auction of vintage radio equipment on Friday evening, and the swap meet, contest and program on Saturday, all at the Comfort Inn in Plymouth, Minnesota.

As usual, please plan time on Friday or Saturday to drive over to the Pavek Museum to view the museum for free and check out their annual garage sale of excess radio items. 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.

All other Radio Daze 2018 activities will be held Friday and Saturday, May 18-19, 2018, at the Comfort Inn Plymouth, located at the northwest corner of I-494 and Hwy. 55 in Plymouth, Minnesota. Room rates are only $85.00 (plus tax) per night for either Double or King rooms, Thursday through Saturday nights. Just mention "Radio Daze" to get this special reduced rate. The Comfort Inn's reservation phone number is (763) 559-1222.

The meet kicks off with a large antique radio auction in the hotel main ballroom at 7:00 p.m. Friday May 18! We make this an entertaining auction and there will be a good variety of radios available. Those who attended last year remember the nice selection of Zeniths and other radios from the Charlie Bradley estate - there will be more of Charlie's radios consigned this year! If you want to sell your radio(s) at the auction, check them in between 3:00 and 6:00 pm Friday. This auction is always well attended and is an inexpensive way to sell your vintage radios. There are no buyer or seller percentage fees and the only charge to sell is a flat $5 entry fee per item and an additional $2 if you want the item to have a reserve price. Auction preview is 6:00 to 7:00 pm, with the auction starting at 7:00 pm. Auction details are in the brochure.

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. The registration table opens at 8:00 am. Item check in for the old radio contest will run from 11:00 am to 11:45 am, with viewing from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm.

The radio contest includes equipment displayed from the earliest days of radio to the 1960's. The contest has some new categories as described in the Radio Daze 2018 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 Lucky's 13 Pub 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 CBS/WCCO radio personality John Hines. A lifelong Twin Cities resident, John will talk about his 40-plus years in broadcasting at various stations, including KSTP, WLOL FM, K102, and of course WCCO where he is currently on the air weekdays from 9 to noon.

Click here ( 2001 / 2002 / 2004 / 2005 / 2007 / 2012) 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 11th. After you arrive, please pick up your name badge and other materials at the registration table in the lounge area adjacent to the hotel's main ballroom.

The auction, the swap meet, the contest and program, and seeing our radio collecting friends again, keeps us coming back. Please mark May 18 and 19, 2018, on your calendar today!