Going to Ohio Nationals today! Anyone else?

[DiYMama540]

Somehow I've missed the alerts for this thread...sorry!

But yes @Acre4Me you can stream it on Amazon Video...definitely check it out.

Also a BYC tailgate to the show sounds like fun!! We should definitely have a presence at the chicken shows!!

 

[exop]

I went. Having gone I don’t plan to go back. It was interesting to see all the birds, but it’s a 7 hour drive. Once I get there what is there to do but walk the aisles for a few hours? There are no events as far as I could tell so no opportunities to socialize or learn.
I was expecting to buy some ducks from an exhibitor but he wrote down my request wrong so no ducks. That and the fact that there was no signage to find the show put me in a pretty deflated mood, and I was also tired from early start and long drive to make my appointment to pickup the ducks. I wanted to talk with P Allen Smith to see if he had non-exhibition Aylesbury but he was mobbed, so gave up on that too. You get the picture? That was the least fun thing I’ve done in a really long time! What am I missing?

I went - for the second year. And it didn't last long enough for me. What's funny is that I am not normally a sociable person - long social events wear me down. I didn't get a chance to see all the birds; I didn't get a chance to talk to as many people as I would like. It wasn't just the usual, large, Ohio National - it was the American Poultry Association's annual national show so it was even larger than usual. Walking the aisles all day is best broken up by talking with the people that you run into. Almost invariably there will be owners hanging around their birds at least some of the time... if there's a breed you're interested in it's a great way to meet people with birds. Also, if you bring birds of your own and spend any time at all feeding, watering or checking up on them you will likely meet people who want to know if they are yours and want to talk about the breed. I too have less commercial breeds, and can tell you that the Crevecoeur area was haunted by Crevecoeur breeders, the Polish area was all but infested with Polish breeders, and the Cubalaya area was visited regularly by both the breeders and by people who used to have Cubas years ago. The whole thing is like a vast, disorganized meet and greet. Lots of advice given to anyone in the least interested.

As for finding your way to the show, use 17th avenue... asking Google Maps to take you to the Donahey Ag/Hort building will get you to the correct entrance... at Velma St and 17th ave. There was actually a flashing sign there on 17th ave, saying ”Chicken Show". Voinovich Center, where the show is held, is to the west of Donahey across a large parking lot. Just look for the highest density of parked cars and uhaul trailers. Cooper is next to Voinovich on the north, O'Neill on the south. But anyone you run into on foot should be willing to tell you where things are.

Down side is that the show hall closes at 6 PM on Saturday... I was ready for a couple more hours.