Well, I attended this event yesterday on the 28th of August, 2005 with my 5 year old son. This was a rather unique experience as it was my first reptile show to ever attend. I know several on this board have attended this show in the past and I thought I would give my perspective on it as well.
We arrived around 10 am at the start of the show. There was a line of approximately 30 people waiting to get in. Upon entry I was impressed with the layout. Despite the 200+ people in the room the traffic was not too unmanageable. The place was well lit and the air conditioning was very nice. I was able to see some animals that I had not had the chance to view previously such as a pied BP (beautiful animal!) as well as some larger lizards for my son's viewing pleasures.
Now, with the pro's out of the way let me tell you what my specific gripes are.
1) Why do the attendee's (not vendors) believe this is a petting zoo? I could not count the number of people that were walking around with large boa's and pythons drapped across their necks! People were wearing bearded dragons as though they were broaches or a fashion accessory! If you want to do this BEHIND your stand then so be it. At one point, I turned around only to see the head of a 7 foot burmese about 12 inches from my son's face! He of course thought it was cool but it scared the dickins out of me! That would have been one dead snake and a severely wounded person had that animal grabbed my son not to mention a rather large bill for the organizers!
2) Why did the majority of the vendors dress up like they were going to a biker rally? No offense to those of you with ink (I have ink as well) but if I am going to operate a business at a professional trade show then I am going to make certain that I dress like one. There were a few booths where my son and I had to leave because the vendor had gone several days without bathing. A few of the vendors had ripped pants/shirts but yet somehow expect me to drop $5000 on an animal. I was amazed at the lack of professional business sense most of these guys have.
3) If you want to be treated as a professional then act like one. There was one booth in particular that I had to yank my son from because he was talking about how he would rip the head off of a snake and SH#$ down it's neck if it ever bit him. I am not a prude and I am not an overly protective father, but I do not understand why people think it is ok to speak like this at a professional event LET ALONE IN FRONT OF A 5 YEAR OLD CHILD! And to answer your question before you ask it, yes, he knew my son was standing there as we had just conversed with him.
Anyways, I am going to email this response to the organizers of the event. The insurance liability that this show as well as ANY show represents is staggering if there are not better controls put in place on the petting zoo aspect. I can tell you as the President and CEO of an insurance consulting firm that I would not, I repeat, I would NOT insure an event like this.
I will be attending the Tinley Park show and I most certainly hope that it is ran differently then the Indy show. Will I go back to the Indy show? Probably, but most certainly not with my children. The risk is too great.
Griz
We arrived around 10 am at the start of the show. There was a line of approximately 30 people waiting to get in. Upon entry I was impressed with the layout. Despite the 200+ people in the room the traffic was not too unmanageable. The place was well lit and the air conditioning was very nice. I was able to see some animals that I had not had the chance to view previously such as a pied BP (beautiful animal!) as well as some larger lizards for my son's viewing pleasures.
Now, with the pro's out of the way let me tell you what my specific gripes are.
1) Why do the attendee's (not vendors) believe this is a petting zoo? I could not count the number of people that were walking around with large boa's and pythons drapped across their necks! People were wearing bearded dragons as though they were broaches or a fashion accessory! If you want to do this BEHIND your stand then so be it. At one point, I turned around only to see the head of a 7 foot burmese about 12 inches from my son's face! He of course thought it was cool but it scared the dickins out of me! That would have been one dead snake and a severely wounded person had that animal grabbed my son not to mention a rather large bill for the organizers!
2) Why did the majority of the vendors dress up like they were going to a biker rally? No offense to those of you with ink (I have ink as well) but if I am going to operate a business at a professional trade show then I am going to make certain that I dress like one. There were a few booths where my son and I had to leave because the vendor had gone several days without bathing. A few of the vendors had ripped pants/shirts but yet somehow expect me to drop $5000 on an animal. I was amazed at the lack of professional business sense most of these guys have.
3) If you want to be treated as a professional then act like one. There was one booth in particular that I had to yank my son from because he was talking about how he would rip the head off of a snake and SH#$ down it's neck if it ever bit him. I am not a prude and I am not an overly protective father, but I do not understand why people think it is ok to speak like this at a professional event LET ALONE IN FRONT OF A 5 YEAR OLD CHILD! And to answer your question before you ask it, yes, he knew my son was standing there as we had just conversed with him.
Anyways, I am going to email this response to the organizers of the event. The insurance liability that this show as well as ANY show represents is staggering if there are not better controls put in place on the petting zoo aspect. I can tell you as the President and CEO of an insurance consulting firm that I would not, I repeat, I would NOT insure an event like this.
I will be attending the Tinley Park show and I most certainly hope that it is ran differently then the Indy show. Will I go back to the Indy show? Probably, but most certainly not with my children. The risk is too great.
Griz