If AKfest09 was moved...

To the Midwest would you be more likely to attend?

We're looking at the possibility of moving the Fest to Cedar Rapids Iowa which is centrally located to our brothers in the Great White North as well as our friends in the South, East and West.

There is nothing saying it will happen, but we'd like to know for example if more people would attend by putting it in the middle so to speak.

 

I would Love if it was in Denver, but Wichita or KC MO are right in the middle of the country.

 

With the gas going sky high?? Certainly would help my cause.... I think... I better check a map!:scratch2:

 

I plan on attending next year regardless of the location. Why don't we do Hawaii?

 

As long as there is a major airport near by.

 

I like the Iowa idea, but I'm a little biased being in Minnesota.

FYI...FWIW

The geographical center of the lower 48 states lies outside of Lebanon, Kansas.

The geographical center of all 50 states is located 17 miles west of Castle Rock, South Dakota.

The geodetic center of the U.S. is found approximately 42 miles south of Lebanon, Kansas. (Note: A geodetic survey makes corrections to account for the curvature of the Earth.)

 

I'm certain that Dennydog and I would make the trek from MN. :yes:

 

Ah yes...but you must take into consideration our Canadian brothers and sisters.

 

Two connections and more expensive to fly...so no.

 

Seconded :yes:

 

i was hoping to drive out next year from boston. so it depends on gas prices at that point. i have always heard that cedar rapids is a cool town, though. so it's still a definite maybe.

 

I vote Dallas.

 

Yes, my bad and apologies to our Northern pals.

Considering that, it would be Rugby, ND, sometimes referenced as the geographical center of North America.

 

Michigan IS the midwest!!! I think it is fine where it is.

 

If we are talking about most people flying in - then we might want to discuss 'hubs'. That reduces the number of connections for many passengers, and thus can reduce price.

Major hubs in the center of the country:

Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
Lambert-Saint Louis International Airport (STL)
Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE)
Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)
Denver International Airport (DEN)
Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport (MKE)
Kansas City International Airport (MCI)
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP)
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)
Memphis International Airport (MEM)

From Wikipedia:

In terms of driving, Kansas City is close to the center of the country - but is it close to the center of the AK membership? In other words, the 'west' is more sparsely populated that the 'east' part of the country, California excepted. So there could be potentially more AK members who might attend AKFest on the eastern side of North America than on the western side.

One can also consider Amtrak - a great way to go in my opinion. www.amtrak.com will give maps of the major hubs for Amtrak.

We might also consider locality in the sense of what we might do other than attend listening rooms. I realize that in the past, we haven't, but what if we held AKFest in some major city that also had a current or historic audio equipment manufacturer, where we could arrange a tour? Just a thought...

 

Put me down for a "yes"... most of the time it's the timing not the place.

Not saying that the date should be moved, just saying that somehow, something
always seems to come up where I can't go.

If it was a wee bit closer, that might be enough for me to make arrangements! :yes:

Scott

 

Wouldn't have to deal with getting around Chicago so Iowa would work out for people on the West side of Lake Michigan...but those on the East side that's another story...

 

It's a farther drive for me.. and I would like to load up and bring some equipment.. so yes, it would change my chances of coming to less of a chance..

Just tossing something out here... I've seen where they have events in a different part of the country every year, like one year on the east coast, the next on the west coast, the next down south... Why not look at doing something like that, so that every now and then, the majority would get a chance to make at least one fest over a couple years?