ARRL New England Division

As we get ready to return to Deerfield NH in a couple days to resume our beloved hamfest that we have all missed so much for two years it is obvious that there are some fundamental precautions we must institute in order to be in full compliance with all CDC, State and Town Departments of Public Health guidelines.  We do not want to wear out our welcome.  NEAR-FEST IS SAFE FOR ALL must be our motto!

It is our hope that everyone will have been vaccinated.  However we realize that not everyone will be.  If you have not had your shots please take extra care: wear a mask especially inside and use hand sanitizer often. We don’t want anyone getting sick at our event.

The State of New Hampshire does not currently have a mask mandate so neither does NEAR-Fest.  However, we have some common sense requests and recommendations because we want everybody to feel safe at our hamfest:

1:  We are strongly requesting that everyone wear a mask or face shield while inside the commercial buildings, when attending forums and when at the exam session.   Masks will be available at the entrance to these buildings but it is advisable to bring your own as well.  We are also strongly requesting that all attendees wear a mask when buying or presenting your admission ticket or otherwise interacting with any of our staff members.

2:  Our staff volunteers have expressed some concerns and we want them to feel comfortable helping us run the fester.  Remember we cannot do the hamfest without them. They did not volunteer to get Covid.  Many of them aren’t the young healthy kids we once were and have serious concerns about covid either personally or with immediate family members.  We are requesting that everyone put aside all political and personal views about mask wearing and wear them where we have requested out of respect for the dedicated volunteers who run this event.

We  are committed to keeping everyone safe and this request from me is part of this commitment.

3: The use of hand sanitizer is advised especially after handling any items in the flea market and commercial buildings.  We will have hand sanitizer in automatic dispensers as well as masks available at the entrances to the buildings. 

Additionally, we ask that all attendees attempt to maintain a distance of six feet (or two metres) from others as much as possible and avoid crowding others at flea market and commercial vendor tables.  I know this is difficult especially if there is “good stuff cheap”.

These are still difficult and trying times.  We are glad to be back running the hamfest again but the world has changed in the past 18 months and we must change with it.  We appreciate your cooperation which is particularly important because we want to continue holding the hamfest while assuring the local community that we pose a minimal health threat with our presence.

HELP MAKE NEAR-FEST SAFE FOR ALL! 

Stay well!

MisterMike, W1RC, and the entire NEAR-Fest gang