This year's IBMA World of Bluegrass Trade Show and Awards Show is going to take place at a new time and a new place. Details are still being worked out, according to Dan Hays, Executive Director of the IBMA.
Louisville, Kentucky will be the location of the 1997 World of Bluegrass event which has historically been held in Owensboro, KY. The center of this event has been the Executive Inn and RiverPark Center. Due to significant financial problems and subsequent foreclosure of the Executive Inn Hotel and Convention Center, it became necessary to find a new home for this year's event.
The IBMA staff and board investigated several possibilities and decided upon the Louisville location for a variety of reasons. Other contenders included Nashville, TN and Lexington, KY. One of the primary reason for selecting the Louisville location was to keep costs down for the attendees and to insure adequate facilities for the event. The IBMA staff had to weigh considerable complex issues in making their decision and had very little time to accomplish this. Cybergrass commends the IBMA for their expedient effort to this cause!
One problem which was associated with holding the event at a new location with very little time to work with was when would the event be held. It was just not possible to hold the event during the same week as has been the case for many years. This year's event will not be held during the last week of September but, rather, during the third week of October (13th through 19th).
This new scheduling has had a significant impact on many people and their ability to attend. This date is not flexible as the events must be coordinated with a lot of facilities and availability of rooms. Even Cybergrass will not be able to attend this year due to the change in dates however, one must remember that these dates were established to benefit the majority of those who can attend.
The IBMA's small staff performs miracles at times and one must surely consider this to be one of those special activities. Its one thing to coordinate and plan such a large event on your own turf and in your own back yard. During the past years while the event was held in Owensboro, the ability of the small staff and volunteers to pull off such a grand event in high-class style has been impressive. To once again do this when the facilities are much farther away and unfamiliar is a gigantic undertaking! We must all remember to thank and congratulate the IBMA staff and volunteers for an outstanding job!
Its already 1997 and many of the details of holding the event are not yet finalized. This is the result of having to make many changes with very little time to plan for them. Generally, the IBMA notifies its membership of the details before the end of the preceding year. This year, that has not been possible as the staff has been spending a great deal of time away from the office in preparation for the World of Bluegrass show.
The selection of the Galt House for the event was probably a very good choice due to its location and ease of access. They have the rooms and facilities necessary to host this event but, even with that, the Fan Fest will be an indoor event this year. If you're interested in making your reservations now, their number is 1-800-626-1814. There should be plenty of rooms available so you may also want to wait until the official IBMA announcement.
The IBMM annual Fan FEAST has been a welcome diversion for the past years. This is an important event as it is a major fund raiser for the museum. The annual breakfast and auction is also an entertaining event where the artists serve the fans breakfast. This has traditionally been one of my favorite activities during the World of bluegrass event. I have the souvenir coffee mugs from the past three years which I proudly display.
With all of the recent changes however, it is not yet known if the museum will again have this event this year. The museum has a new board of directors and is facing its own financial responsibilities and obligations as well as trying to get open on a full time basis. The additional time and resources required to hold this event in Louisville have yet to be resolved by the museum board.
The songs and story telling event by the museum is also an unknown event at this time. We hope that the museum will be able to participate fully this year and this event has been one of their finer presentations. Again, always entertaining and always enjoyable for everybody who attends.
There will be many changes this year. Changes for the IBMA and IBMM. Changes for the business person who attend each year. Changes for the fans. But, the most important of all of these are the significant changes for the staff of the IBMA which is challenged to pull off yet another grand event in grand style. They are the most dedicated people I have ever seen when it comes to bluegrass and I am confident that they will somehow manage to do it again.
What's in store of 1998? That is unknown at this time and I'd like to personally ask that you not speculate on it. Speculation gets in the way of the IBMA doing their job properly as they must also spend time squelching rumors before they get too wide spread. Dan Hays has clearly stated that 1998 is not on the table at the moment and there are many variables which come into play such as the future status of the Executive Inn. Since these are totally unknown at this time, there is no way to adequately address them now.
Every year, the IBMA staff continues to amaze me in how they achieve so much with so little! How a small staff of three people can pull off an event for thousands of people which lasts almost a full week. This is a tremendous undertaking and I'm proud to be a part of this fine organization which is so fully dedicated to bluegrass music.