I spent about two weeks investigating this about a year ago, and the bottom line was essentially that unless you had a huge number of people commited to attend, individual dealers and manufacturers were not the least bit interested.

To put this in perspective, the cost per person is almost insignificant in comparison to the other expenses. Sure, most members would be more than willing to spend $50 to $75 a night for a place to sleep, but that doesn't scratch the surface. You would also need a large room for dealers and manufacturers to exibit their wares. The cost of this space is enormous.

A good friend of mine is a show promoter, a person who put these type of events together. One of his shows, which caters to recreational anglers along the east coast, draws more than 30,000 spectators during the four-day show. Obviously, dealers and manufacturers are waiting in line to get into this show, and they're willing to pay premium prices to reach a targeted audience of this size at a single location.

Tell a dealer, especially one of the larger ones, that you're possibly going to have 35 to 50 individuals attending a convention and you would like them to purchase booth space and set up some keyboards for two or three days and most would think you just broke out of the looney bin.

Putting together a convention of this type takes lots of planning, cost a fair amount of money, and involves significant commitment by everyone involved. In realistic terms, I just don't see this happening. Sorry to put a damper on your party, but I sincerely believe I'll see a lot more Synthzone members during my trip in a few months.

Good Luck,

Gary