RMAF October 2021 - Cancelled

RMAF 2021 will be my first! Getting excited.

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My son relocated to the greater Denver area and I need to get out that way for a visit. I don’t want him thinking that I had an ulterior motive, but seeing as how I would be in the area… Hey son. Want to hear some really good audio gear? :grin:

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Let’s hope that RMAF will still be on by the time October rolls around.

Just take him to RMAF, pick-out and prder the gear for his new system, being the generous dad that I am sure you are.

I surely would if my pockets were deep enough. :wink:

I need to finish building out (upgrade) my own system first. Perhaps he can inherit some of my current gear prior to my demise.

Received an official RMAF email saying…

RMAF 2021 is a go!

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Sadly, just received cancellation email… :disappointed_relieved: :disappointed_relieved:

Huh? I have not received such notification.

AXPONA, it seems, @rayw

Just received my cancellation email as well. This is tough news for PSA as they were looking forward to rolling out several new products at RMAF. Personally I think it is the right call, as disappointed as many including myself may be with it.

I have provided the correspondence I just received.

SideLogo October 8-10, 2021

September 2, 2021

Dear weedeewop,

A year and a half ago, our hearts were aching as we made the hard decision to cancel our 2020 show. Back then, we somehow imagined that as a country, we could band together and transcend COVID-19, and our lives could return to normal. We hoped we could ride out a year in isolation and emerge healthy and ready to gather again. Here at RMAF, we spent the year improving our business by producing new room layouts with all the outlets marked, and created a handbook to guide exhibitors as they learned yet again to navigate their exhibitor accounts. We imagined ourselves enthusiastically greeting our audio industry friends in a few weeks, and we’ve held onto that dream in spite of our nervous fears and scary news reports.

Even though some parts of the United States are fully open, the number of people contracting the virus, and the number of deaths attributed to it are still rising, and the CDC is projecting an even more deadly Lambda wave this fall. We are frightened on behalf of our friends in the audio industry on many levels. The very worst thing that we can envision is for someone to fall ill because they came to our show, whether as an exhibitor, a journalist, an attendee, or a volunteer. Good health is a precious gift, and we are learning that although recovery is possible, the residual effects of COVID-19 and its variants can be profound, and we are unwilling to risk even one case. Up until now, we have held onto the possibility that our October show could be produced as planned. After reading and listening to the news concerning the Coronavirus pandemic, and watching the cancellation of numerous other shows, we no longer hold that hope. In spite of our initial optimism, we have read and listened to all of your thoughtful comments and then looked at the numbers and made the difficult decision to cancel RMAF 2021.

As is our policy, RMAF will be issuing refunds to those who have paid for tickets. You may expect to see your refund within the next 7 to 10 business days.

This has been a wrenching decision, and along with it comes the added impact of deciding that we are no longer able to envision RMAF as our hearts delight. RMAF was our founder Al Stiefel’s dream, and we’ve done our best to nurture his vision for 12 years, along with help from the Colorado Audio Society and all our volunteers from around the world. Now, we are off to new adventures! And so it is with both sadness and anticipation for the future, we announce that the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest as we have all known it will be no more. It has been our very great pleasure to have served this community of audio professionals. We have learned so much from you! Thank you for 17 years of friendship and support. It has meant more than you can possibly imagine.

We offer you our heartiest wishes for good health and great happiness.

Your Friends,

Marjorie and Marcie

Marjorie Baumert and Marcie Miller

Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest

October 8-10, 2021

303-393-7918

Re-reading their memo, there are no intentions of future RMAF. All I can say I am lad I made the 2019 RMAF and contact with those forum members I was able to meet with ever so briefly.
I feel for the RMAF staff, Denver Audio Society volunteers and PS Audio. The nature of audiophile conventions may not be the same for some time. The telling aspect is the mention of a Lambda Covid variant.

edit:
I checked the RMAF Audio Fest website, and as of September 2 no mention of a cancellation.
RMAF 2021

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RMAF may see the need to hold off doing any planning until this curse is lifted off all our backs. IF it ever is.

@tarheelneil, you may wish to revisit their emailed letter. As I read it the organizers have no intention of bringing RMAF back. There is always the possibility of someone else picking it up, but with the current situation regarding COVID-19 it is rather doubtful.

This has been a wrenching decision, and along with it comes the added impact of deciding that we are no longer able to envision RMAF as our hearts delight. RMAF was our founder Al Stiefel’s dream, and we’ve done our best to nurture his vision for 12 years, along with help from the Colorado Audio Society and all our volunteers from around the world. Now, we are off to new adventures! And so it is with both sadness and anticipation for the future, we announce that the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest as we have all known it will be no more. It has been our very great pleasure to have served this community of audio professionals.

Maybe I’ll pick it up and run with it. Haha.

This sucks so bad! For everyone, audiophiles, PS Audio, and the Denver business community. So sad to read this.

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Ahhh, the “as we have known it” keeps open the opportunity to come back with it in an altered format. Possibly virtual? I’m sure they have at least some hope something can be done in the future, even if at present they don’t know what. Only time will tell what the future holds for them. But I think this and future pandemics might be in the early stages of killing off all these “fests”, be they RMAF, AXPONA, the Great American Beer Festival, political conventions, etc., at least as an “in person, huge crowd” event. To stay alive, creative reinvention might be necessary.

Creative options will be the key.

It will be particularly difficult with audio conventions as they serve two purposes: let people hear equipment, and in person contact pressing of the flesh with like-minded enthusiasts. Neither can be accomplished virtually.

Well, Elk - a number of folks seem to think you can listen to speakers via a camera mic in another room, play it back via YouTube in your room or on headphones, and make buying decisions🤷🏻‍♂️ It’s a head-scratcher.

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I thought of this precise example as I was typing!

The concept remains just as bizarre before.

That area is also hurt by the cancellation of another huge event, the Great American Beer Festival in Boulder, which hopefully will return in October 2022. In 2019, their attendance was 60,000.