Overland Expo East 2017

I know Expo is the big fish in our little east coast pond, but some consideration for pre-existing event dates would have been nice. That said, having been involved with events of all shapes and sizes over the years I know this could not have been an easy decision for the Expo leadership to make. I don't think it will be too big a deal in the grand scheme of things though. The vast majority of enthusiasts can only pull one weekend off and usually stick to the event in their region or the one that best suits their expectations (social vs. instructional; laid back vs. commercial; small vs. large; etc). However, while it may not impact the participant side of things, it will certainly impact the industry side of things more. Those of us on the other end of the spectrum who are lucky/privileged/insane enough to attend multiple events are more than a little annoyed right now.

With all that in mind, my focus on education places Expo higher on my priority list. As such it saddens me to say I'll have to skip the Rendezvous this year (unless the dates magically change). It's a great event with great people and I've enjoyed both the 2015 and 2016 events immensely.

Hopefully some proactive communication and coordination between event promotors can iron things out a little better for 2018. This community is too small to have conflicts like this.
 
Thanks @Dean for your accurate and amplifying remarks.

As many can already appreciate, Overland Expo has a real tough task to get "The Biltmore Estate' pinned down to specific dates, and even Expo is "small potatoes" in the overall scheme of "Corporate Biltmore". I can appreciate the buckets of sweat expended out West in Arizona to get the Asheville attraction event nailed down - you know how Roseann and @Jonathan Hanson like to get things buttoned up promptly and snugly.

As mentioned in another post on the same subject, the Appalachian Rendezvous events were communicated verbally and in writing immediately after we confirmed the dates on 03 October 2016. We at American Adventurist like to plan and a year out is sufficient. I suspect that ConserVentures has a lot of moving parts in motion right now and forgot to let us know.

Like you parenthetically observed Dean, we also like magic so expect a miracle to occur - well not really, our staffs backgrounds won't allow us to leave anything to chance. As much as you'all love Uwharrie and the Appalachian Rendezvous our hosts enjoy your visit there each year too, and they're working diligently with us to make AR17 at Uwharrie, NC happen again and in concert with Overland Expo East. We may be small but for those that know the Rendezvous events and the outstanding guests that attend, we - YOU - are appreciated.

I recommend planing to attend both the Appalachian Rendezvous and Overland Expo East on their own separate weekend. Expect an announcement soon after the "T"s are crossed and "I"s dotted, and we get our panties un-knotted (we too were caught surprised at this announcement yesterday). Besides, where else are you going to get delicious clam chowder? :D
 
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My New Year's resolution was to do more in the community side of overlanding this year. That meant Uwharrie and Asheville were on my list. Both are within a couple hours of me, and make arriving after work possible, minimizing the number of days the Mrs. and I have to take off. I count myself lucky in that regard. The prospect of choosing was a difficult one. However, my family were placing a premium on ARV b/c of the people (and the dutch oven competitions) and location. Even though I am still new to this forum, I appreciate the body of knowledge and camaraderie represented here. It's good to know, and much appreciated that such quick work has gone into shifting things so that we don't have to choose.
 
Twin Magnolias said:
The prospect of choosing was a difficult one. However, my family were placing a premium on ARV b/c of the people (and the dutch oven competitions) and location. Even though I am still new to this forum, I appreciate the body of knowledge and camaraderie represented here. It's good to know, and much appreciated that such quick work has gone into shifting things so that we don't have to choose.
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Well said.

TangoBlue said:
As much as you'all love Uwharrie and the Appalachian Rendezvous our hosts enjoy your visit there each year too, and they're working diligently with us to make AR17 at Uwharrie, NC happen again and in concert with Overland Expo East. We may be small but for those that know the Rendezvous events and the outstanding guests that attend, we - YOU - are appreciated.

I recommend planing to attend both the Appalachian Rendezvous and Overland Expo East on their own separate weekend. Expect an announcement soon after the "T"s are crossed and "I"s dotted, and we get our panties un-knotted (we too were caught surprised at this announcement yesterday). Besides, where else are you going to get delicious clam chowder? :D
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Now I am getting all giggity... let me know if you need local help to pull this off. Always willing to pitch in.
 
Slightly different demographics for the people attending, but there is a similar conflict with King of the Hammer's and DRV this year, I'd love to have attended both as I usually do, unable to pull that one off this year.
 
I'm wondering if by chance the Expo folks changed to an earlier date to hopefully avoid some of Asheville's typical October rains....
 
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Although I may not be there at the Expo itself, I live in the area about 20 minutes from Biltmore and am willing to act as a way station before or after the event if anyone has need. One of the instructors had a Jeep axel failure after the Asheville show a couple of years ago and ended up staying here for over a week. He returned the favor and helped me replace my whole front brakes systems on my last trip this past year while passing through Colorado. Good folks...
 
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Thanks for all the comments, and thanks Tim for helping to explain our scheduling, which we angst over with each show. Biltmore's schedule does indeed eliminate later dates, and we can't move the event much earlier without too much heat/humidity. (Incidentally, October is statistically the month with the least precipitation of the year in Asheville; you can look it up.) With all the different vehicle and motorcycle events, it is inevitable that we conflict with one or more at this point; we simply do what we can to avoid as many as possible.

I will say we don't bother worrying about conflicting with King of the Hammers.
 
Since I did not attend last year's East expo at the Biltmore maybe somebody can answer this for me. Someone told me that when you go to the Biltmore for the expo that you not only have to pay the expo price to get in but you also have to pay the Biltmore to get in. Is this correct, and if so how much more does one need to pay to attend the event?
 
Jonathan Hanson said:
Thanks for all the comments, and thanks Tim for helping to explain our scheduling, which we angst over with each show. Biltmore's schedule does indeed eliminate later dates, and we can't move the event much earlier without too much heat/humidity. (Incidentally, October is statistically the month with the least precipitation of the year in Asheville; you can look it up.) With all the different vehicle and motorcycle events, it is inevitable that we conflict with one or more at this point; we simply do what we can to avoid as many as possible.

I will say we don't bother worrying about conflicting with King of the Hammers.
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Thanks @Jonathan Hanson - I for one am really looking forward to this event.

I've attended every Expo West since the first iteration in Amado, AZ (after the inaugural fairground Expo) and always look forward to the big family reunion. This will be my first Expo East and I look forward to using this event as a yearly springboard to other destinations in the East.
 
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