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Have You Attended Any RHS International or Regional Conve...
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thank you Ms Deb!
Have a wonderful Day!
Eight ladies of my chapter attended the Nashville convention a few years ago. We all felt like it was overpriced. It was not well organized and the sleeping rooms seemed like miles from the convention area. The tour buses were late and again, not organized. The food was nothing to write home about (in fact, there was chicken at every meal, even breakfast), with the only good food on Sunday morning.
We met some really nice ladies and we enjoyed th experience. We now attend the smaller events not put on by the RHS. They seem to run smoother and everyone gets to participate together. Also, they are more affordable. The RHS is having a "mini" convention at Stone Mountain in September, but our group decided not to attend because unless you stay at the hotel at $159.00 per night +taxes,etc., you can not attend. We live just a few miles from Stone Mountain.
I realize money is a problem for the Red Hat Society; however, it is also a problem for a lot of ladies.
I have attended the 50th Birthday of Disneyland. That was an official RHS event. I also attended the convention in Nashville two years ago. Both events were HUGE. I have decided that RHS events are a bit too large for me. I am deaf in one ear and very hard of hearing in the other. Big events and I just can't jell!
I like the pre-parties! Meet and greets are a lot of fun and fabulous photo opportunities. We make Jello Shots and sometimes take them to the pre-parties if we know they are welcomed.
I like the events that are under 300 people. I have attended the Tri State Tea in Laughlin, Nevada for the last four years. I have also attended Razzle Dazzle in Sacramento twice and one Funvention also. I have attended every QMB reunion and plan to attend the next one in 2010. I attended a convention in North Carolina. Most events which are NOT hosted by RHS are smaller and less expensive. They don't require mega monster hotels and the rooms are normally much less expensive. The one's in Laughlin ran $52 on Friday and Saturday night. Two people to a room makes it $26 ! I also attended a convention in Reno that was fabulous. There was a hat contest and the ladies modeled their creations. A lady from Texas sang THE ROSE and there was not a dry eye in the house. I don't care for paid entertainers and the impersonator copycats are awful. I try to find out what the entertainment IS before I commit to attending. Entertainers charge a lot of money and if I'm going to pay for entertainment, I want to be certain it is something I will enjoy. Hot, sweaty, male strippers are NOT what I want to see! Jeanne Robertson is my all time favorite.
My favorite conventions are the QMB conventions as they are much smaller and everyone pretty much knows everyone. It's more like a family reunion with all females and all hats! LOL I try to make a giftie for everyone that attends a smaller reunion and IF I can get the names of the ladies, I try to personalize them. I do some beading, so it is usually something I have beaded.
Conventions are a LOT of fun!
easily done three 5-night cruises. Fortunately majority of the sites in DC were free
to the public: i.e. the Smithsonian, the various bureaus, the Capitol Building, the
cemeteries -- all subsidized with taxpayers dollars! I finally got something free
from the decades of paying taxes! :)
There are about 8 of us from my chapter who attend every National Convention. And we did the regional in DC as well. We enjoy them very much and wouldn't think of missing one. Like anything else, we save up for what we want to do. And we will be in San Diego as well! Unfortunately, when a large organization has to plan for an event where there could be a large turnout, they have to plan at the larger venues. They cost more money. It's different planning a convention for a few hundred and a few thousand.
Yes I went to a Nashville convention when one of my members got ill that morning and gave me her hotel room for the entire five day stay. I scurriered and took her place I became her name (withheld for her own reasons she is sitting next to me) now, but she stated that she was so ill she could not go so I paid her for the ticket on the plane and went. alone. I had been a loner through out this, I observed this, if you did not attend with a friend you were not welcomed. I sat in a table which was number 352 whomever that was it was I at that table. and I met the most wonderful ladies, I met this woman she was from Nashville area she came with her daughter who decorated thier room which was next to mine. it was like a palace. grandiously. ALSO, I tried to find a place to sit, now that was 5 yrs ago. Then there was no seats and then there was no place to eat. The trip would have cost me close to 1000.00 but my member could not attend so I went in her place.
I was not going to spend that kind of money but if i did not go my member would have lost her money all 1100.00 worth. SO i trucked along. the food at these big conventions was lousy... the extra events were so so... so I did not attend anymore. I felt that these overpriced events were that it over priced for that price I could have gone on a cruise with hubby.
In fact we did go on a red hat cruise, the price was quoted all of us 1500.00 out of Tampa on the Inspiration. Mind you the tickets were all sold out by the time we wanted to go. But at the last minute Monica my dear friend got me in but under a differnent name and I only paid for the ticket of 599.00 I slept with the fishes below on Rivera I hated it there but its all they had while everyone paid 1500.00 for the same cruise. Now the Carnival Inspiration told many ladies that the cruise really was only 599.00 who got the 1000. 00 for? RHS made it, from all of you for the same place 5 day thats the regular price normally. the only extra we did get was a tea to me a cheap tea with some stale cookies for 1000.00 is kind of pricy.
well, ya all, I will never see another convention and if you all want to pull my membership go right ahead I never liked you anyways
The previous poster sounds extremely negative about the Red Hat Society. I have notieced that she posted on another part of this group and also only had negative things to say.
In my experience, this represents a vendetta of some kind.
I have attended 4 conventions put on by the national organization. My first was attended on the spur of the moment. I knew nobody there including the women who I I shared a hotel room with. We met on the Mother Board for the first time and agreed on some ground rules and gave it a go. That was many years ago and I have never regretted my decision.
I was at one convention where they ran out of food at one meal. I was at another where the entertainment was awful. So what? I went with an open mind and open arms and was rewarded.
It seems to me that individuals like the previous poster go in with pre conceived negative notions and finds just what she is looking for. It is a shame. If someone has a bad time at an event it is usually because she wants to.
I do not have unlimited resources. I do not have a business where I can write things off to. I live on social security. But I save up like we did in the old days. And if I haven't saved up enough I don't go and don't complain about it.
I enjoyed reading the other poster's impressions of red hat conventions. I would certainly want to meet some of them if I could go again. But someone who complains about something that was basically free to her in the first place leaves me very suspicious.
Like I said. Looks like she and the one with the paperclips are on a vendetta.
