I am among the 190 that will be at Cooper's Lake and then on to Yadkinville later this year. However, this may be my last year to go to the SEPR. It's been at the same site since 2010 and, frankly, I believe it's numbers are dwindling quicker because of the event not moving. Last year it had maybe 1/3 of the camps it had in 2010. It is convenient for local people to go to so they go and vote to keep it at the same site. That being said, it seems new & different sites are getting hard to come by. So what do you do?
I don't think we will ever see big numbers going to the National Rondyvoos like we saw in the 80's & 90's. In fact, I expect them to keep dwindling at a steady rate. It has become a mostly old folks sport and we old folks keep getting older & older. It gets harder every year to set up & tear down, pack the trailer and drive around the country, too. Most traders can't make enough money to pay for their trip to the rondyvoo so they just stop going. You can't blame them for that. The foundation has to raise prices to account for the fewer people attending and that causes fewer people to attend. It cost me $150.00 to register for each event this year. Five years ago it was $80.00. I, just like the foundation, am not sure how to get people to return to the rondyvoo but I don't think uping the ante is going to help.
I've always said I'll quit when it isn't fun any more. It's becoming more work than fun it seems.
