Hello all,
Just in case you did not get the email blast - here are a few items to whet your appetite for Open House this year!
The 12th Annual DHS Open House Weekend is coming up fast. You can check out all of the weekend events by visiting the web page at:
DHS Open House Page. The event is scheduled for July 28th and 29th and you really don't want to miss this one. Here are just a few of the things you can expect from the weekend:
- DHS Annual Auction. Over 340 vintage and hard to find items will be auctioned off LIVE at the DHS World Headquarters on Saturday, July 28th. The auction will also run with live bidding available online if you really cannot make it to the event. Check out the front page of our website or go directly to the auction site at:
DHS Open House Auction 2012. All items will be sold and there are NO reserves in this auction.
- NEW EVENT! Saturday evening starting at 7:00 pm (after the auction) we are helping to host the Ohio Museum of Transportation and Industry's kickoff event to tell the world about their new transportation museum concept "Celebrating America in Motion". DHS has partnered with OMTI in order to help bring this idea to the public and we think many of our customers will be interested in the concept. "Museum" is really not the right word for this new venue. It is envisioned more as a theme park than a museum, with highly interactive displays that allow the visitor to touch, feel and even ride in some of the transportation items made in the industrial heartland of America. Celebrating America in Motion also strives to bring back the sense of pride we used to feel about our nation and to promote a return to manufacturing leadership our country once showed. The event will be held across the street from DHS and will be hosted by Chuck and the founding group of people who are very excited about bringing this concept to life. You can check out more about Celebrating America in Motion at their Facebook Page too.
- ENHANCED EVENT! Sunday from 9am until 5pm in the space behind the DHS World Headquarters, we will host the Celebrating America in Motion transportation vehicle display. If you have attended past Open Houses, you have enjoyed a variety of construction-related equipment we have parked behind the DHS offices. This year the construction vehicles will be joined by fire engines, SWAT vehicles, police cars, military vehicles, cranes, dump trucks, wreckers, historical vehicles, tractor trailers, custom vehicles and even a Lyman boat! The enhanced display is to show off transportation at its finest. And also to allow kids of ALL ages to get up close to these vehicles.
- ENHANCED! Special Guests. At the show this year, as in the past, we are providing a venue for local museums, groups and organizations to tell you all about their communities and what they are all about. We love to partner with these groups and want to provide a way for our customers to be exposed to some of the greatest organizations around. This year already have the Historical Construction Equipment Association
Historical Construction Equipment Association, the International Women's Air and Space Museum
International Women's Air & Space Museum, the local chapter of the American Truck Historical Society
American Truck Historical Society and many others joining us for the event. We even have a collector who has over 4000 construction related postcards and over 700 construction related matchbook covers to display! Make sure to visit their tables setup in the new tent area at the show!
- DHS Annual Model Show. Ever since we started hosting Open House Weekend, we have offered builders of custom models and dioramas a venue to show off what they have built. It constantly amazes us just how talented many of our customers are! The DHS Model and Diorama Show will be here again this year and we already have about 20 entrants. We say entrants because there IS a competition and prizes are awarded for best of show in both categories. We still have a little room left if you would like to participate in the show. And ALL visitors will get a chance to participate as we are taking audience voting into account for the first time this year! Here is the link if you are interested in participating:
Model Show Signup Page- Model Introductions and Special Announcements. Every year, the DHS Open House Weekend is the event where model manufacturers and custom builders show off their newest models and/or announce upcoming releases. If you attend this event, you get to find out what is up and coming from the industry and also perhaps hear some industry announcements that you may find VERY interesting. You will have to show up to find out!
- Specials and Sales. Each and every year, DHS rewards those who make the trek to the Open House with some very special pricing and also a variety of items on sale. We feel that the customers who spend time and money to make the trip should be rewarded for their efforts and we feel obligated to make sure they are very happy when they leave the show! These "deals" are only announced at the event and have included some pretty good specials through the years. Also available are many one-of-a-kind items from custom model builders. DHS collects these items and offers them at the Open House as it is difficult to offer them on the company website.
- NEW EVENT! Seminar Sessions. This year we are offering three different seminars which will be scheduled for Sunday July 29th during the day. A Program will be handed out to all attendees upon arrival with the location and times noted for all seminars. Topics this year include: Customizing/Painting Scale Models - hosted by the owner and master craftsman from Steel City Construcktion. Also offered this year will be a session on Building Custom Dioramas hosted by custom model builder and all-around good guy Dave "The Fixer". The third session will be a presentation about Celebrating America in Motion and what the museum/theme park concept is all about. This is the first time we are offering educational seminars and we hope you will check them out!
- Food and Fun. The absolute best part of this weekend is the social aspect. We look at this as a relaxing weekend filled with meeting good friends and making new friends, all interested in many of the same things. We try to provide a fun atmosphere for all ages and encourage families to attend. This year we will offer face painting for kids as well as a play area filled with, what else? Construction Machines! And, of course, there are the Gourmet Hot Dogs to think about. We do provide our famous fresh grilled "dogs", chips, sodas and water for the day on Sunday, July 29th for FREE!
So you see this event is larger and even more interesting than past years. We are always making an effort to mix things up while still keeping the same social feel as in the past. There will still be time to gather under the huge tent, eat a gourmet hot dog and meet new and old friends! We hope to see you there!
Chuck
