On Saturday, April 16, 2016 The Durham Hamfest brought together over 250 amateur radio enthusiasts to the Pickering Recreation Complex in the early morning hours for it’s 40th year of finding great deals and catching up with old friends in the ham community.
Vendor arrival and set up went smoothly and the beginning of our event went on without a hitch! Attendees arrived excitedly and were treated to complimentary coffee from Tim Hortons Courtice while they browsed over the items offered by over 60 different vendors – a number that grew from the previous year. To name a few of our vendors of the year, Icom drew in a big crowd with their attention-grabbing projected set up, Sew Special Embroidery created custom personalized hats for hams with their call signs and RAC welcomed new members by offering up a free membership as a door prize. Other door prizes included a handheld radio provided by Icom, a contact logging software and a membership to the Toronto FM Communications Society.
Our Hamfest committee, consisting of members from both the NSARC and SPARC, were proud of the event’s results and were excited to start planning for next year!