An ARRL Event Sanctioned in Delta & Southeastern Divisions
Sponsored by The Chattanooga Amateur Radio Club and
The North Georgia GMRS Network.
Open to the Public
Friday, October 3, 2025 – Noon – 6PM ET
Saturday, October 4, 2025 – 8AM – 3PM ET
General Admission (18 & Over): $10 per Person
Good for Both Days of Our Show.
Youth Admission (Under 18): Free
Must Be Accompanied by a Paying Adult.
Email Us: hamfest@w4am.net
Radio clubs & radio-related organizations may request free table space for use as information-sharing purposes, such as promoting their club or organization, selling memberships, and selling promotional merchandise.
Hamfest Micro-Schedule.
Thursday, Oct 2:
No Inside Setup.
3 – 9 PM ET Comm Trailers, RVs, & Campers may arrive for overnight stays. Building restroom access until 10 PM. Overnight guests should be prepared to operate “self-contained”. Some free 110v AC power is available on a first come, first served basis from outlets on a few outdoor streetlight poles in the RV parking area.
Friday, Oct 3:
Vendor Building Access: 8 AM ET
Perimeter Inside Vendor Setup: 8:30 AM as tables/space becomes available.
Interior Vendor Setup: 9 – Noon as tables/space becomes available; earlier if possible.
Outside Flea Market Setup: 10 AM ET
Flea Market / Inside Areas: Open to the Public: Noon – 6PM ET
Saturday, Oct. 4:
Vendor Building Access: 7 AM ET
Inside or Outside Late Setups or Saturday-Only Vendors: 7 AM ET
Open to the Public: 8AM – 3PM ET
Tear Down/Out of Building Deadline: 5 PM ET
As a commercial vendor or other seller, we’ve prepared this short overview & guide to help you understand our reimagined Hamfest Chattanooga 2025. If you have questions after reading it, contact us at “hamfest@w4am.net”, and we’ll do our best to answer your questions and to work with you.
Hamfest Chattanooga 2025 (HFC) has a new, larger venue, which permits us to grow and offer a higher-quality show than in past years. We have examined every aspect of our show and made necessary adjustments in pricing to remain viable and provide funding for club projects that we do to support the radio community. We have chosen to stay with a “brick & mortar” approach to our show, along with an outdoor component to provide a variety of selling space to you.
Space is primarily available as indoor and outdoor space.
Weather in October.
Our weather in October runs the gamut of sunny, rainy, cold, and even sometimes, snowy. Being inside a building is often just easier and creates less headaches than outside space. So we encourage you to keep the elements at bay by coming inside to our inviting, comfortable space.
***2025-09-19 Special Note to Inside Vendors***
As you have already noted, for 2025, our show had to mesh with the pre-existing event schedule for The Colonnade. That’s why we are in early October instead of our normal timeslot of mid-to-late October. That pre-existing schedule included a nighttime event unrelated to our show on Thursday, October 2nd, if needed.
Also, in this venue, our “final” floor plan requires a Fire Marshall Review. We are in that process now. Most of you will be unaffected by this review; however, some tweaks to our layout are possible. If your location is affected, we’ll be in touch. Fire Codes are for the good of all, and we certainly want to conform and keep our guests safe.
The effect of these previously scheduled events and activities means the following:
- There is NO inside setup on Thursday at all. However, if you have made arrangements with us for overnight parking of your RV, you may arrive on Thursday afternoon and set up for your stay with us. The building will be open for restroom access until 10PM ET Thursday night.
- Installation & arrangement of tables identified in the floor plan design cannot begin until approximately 6:00 AM ET on Friday morning. We still plan to adhere to a noon opening schedule for Friday.
- Inside vendors may occupy their assigned space as soon as it becomes available on Friday morning.
- It is in everyone’s best interest to be “ready to roll” when your space is available. Please be as compact as you can so that you can quickly move into your space on the Main Floor.
- A loading dock, as well as multiple entry doors, are available for load-in.
- In the event of inclement weather, we plan to queue vendors in the large, inside Main Hall, which has direct access to the Main Floor area.
We ask for your patience and understanding as we go through “growing pains” with our new venue. Thank you. If you have questions, please contact us at “hamfest@w4am.net”.
Setup & Operating Hours
Friday, October 3, 2025
7AM ET – Noon Inside Setup Begins
Noon – Show Opens to the Public
6 PM ET – Show Closes for Day 1
Saturday, October 4, 2025
7AM ET – Doors Open for Inside Vendor Setup
8 AM ET – Show Opens to the Public for Day 2
3 PM ET – Show Closes (End of Show)
Cellular & Wi-Fi Service.
Multi-carrier cellular service is available in and around the Hamfest site. In-building Wi-Fi service is provided by the facility-provider. If you have critical needs for Cellular/Internet/Wi-Fi service, please research your carrier’s coverage area and/or consider a cellular hotspot for your own use or plan to use the in-building wi-fi. Wi-Fi service is NOT available in the Open Air Flea Market. Since we do not own or control such services, we cannot guarantee their availability.
ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Facility.
According to the facility owner, the site is ADA-compliant. Ramps, a covered passenger unloading/loading area, etc., are available at the front entrance to the building. In addition, the site is basically flat on a single level. If you have specific questions, please let us know (hamfest@w4am.net).
We welcome you to enjoy our show regardless of cane, walker, or wheelchair use. Come and have fun with us!
Taxes.
Anyone selling products, services, etc., that require the collection of any federal, state, or local taxes is responsible for collecting, reporting, and filing as required by applicable laws.
Main Floor
Main Hall
Open Air Flea Market
Main Floor
Main Floor – oriented toward commercial vendors and sellers and more serious individuals that need high-quality, inside, carpeted space that is available rain or shine, cold or hot, wet or dry. Space is available with or without tables or tables. For those that need it, standard 110-volt AC power is available for only $10 for the two-day event. This is centralized, premium space in which all commercial and other sellers are located in the same area for the convenience of our guests and to help us focus on providing you the best possible service & support during your visit to HFC
Main Floor space requires a reservation request from you via the web form below. Space that is NOT available is designed as “Not Avail”. Upon receipt of your space request, we will issue a confirmation of your request; however, until we officially confirm that your space request has been approved, you do not have a reserved space. This is done for purely practical reasons, as other space requests may be in the queue ahead of yours. We do not update the floor layout every day, so what you see when you submit your request may be slightly out of date.
Main Floor Pricing
$35 for the First Table; $30 for Each Additional Table
Our Main Floor Pricing is simple: $35 for the first table; $30 for each additional table, i.e., known simply as “$35/$30” pricing. This price includes an appropriate number of chairs. Pricing is the same with or without tables. If you need tables from us, we will also provide an appropriate number of chairs. If you bring your own tables, please bring chairs for your use. If you do not need or use tables at all, floor space pricing is calculated simply on space used based on how many tables would normally be used in that space.
The “renter” will also receive 1 admission & 1 door prize ticket good for both days of our show. If you are a commercial dealer and rent more than a few tables/floor space and bring staff to work, we will work with you on no-charge admission for your working staff; however, door prize ticket(s) for working staff are not included.
*Rental of table(s) / space on the Main Floor includes 1 Admission Ticket & 1 Door Prize Ticket only, regardless of how many tables are rented. Each ticket is valid for both days of our show. For larger commercial vendors who need customized space, we will work with you. Just let us know what you need.
Note: The tables we provide are rectangular, generally 8 feet long and approximately 30 inches deep. In some cases, we may combine two narrower tables to produce a similar depth. This is simply a practical consideration, as we must use tables that are available for our use.
Main Hall - Usage & Pricing
Main Hall space – oriented toward radio-related clubs and organizations. It is also a carpeted, controlled climate environment, just like the Main Floor. Clubs & organizations may provide information materials, promote and sell memberships, but may NOT sell or trade products, gear, etc., in this space. Selling space is available in the Main Floor area or the Open Air Market space.
We will provide clubs & organizations 1 table and up to 2 chairs in this space free of charge for the two-day event to promote their club or organization and/or sell memberships; however, no selling of gear, radios, antennas, etc., is permitted in the Main Hall.
Though the Main Hall space is less rigidly defined than the Main Floor space, it still requires a reservation request from you via the web form below. Upon receipt of your space request, we will issue a confirmation of your request; however, until we officially confirm that your space request has been approved, you do not have a reserved space. This is done for purely practical reasons, as other space requests may be in the queue ahead of yours. We do not update the Main Hall layout every day, so what you see when you submit your request may be slightly out of date. During the setup session for the Main Hall Space, tables/organizations will be organized on a first-come, first-served basis.
Use of the Main Hall space does NOT provide free admission to the show or door prize tickets.
Open Air Flea Market & Boneyard
Open Air Flea Market provides ample space for vehicles, trailers, etc., in a paved, flat parking lot with outside security lighting and overnight parking (for a small fee) for those who wish to stay on-site overnight. Space allocations are made based on “parking spaces used”.
The first flea market parking space is $20; the second parking space (or more) by the same person renting the 1st space are only $15 each.
Fees paid cover BOTH days of the two-day event for those who wish to sell on both days. Upon payment of fees, you will be given a special receipt which you must display on your vehicle’s windshield or dashboard to confirm to our staff that you have paid.
Open Air Market Space is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis for each day of the show…no reservation is required. There is no reserved space.
Taxes.
Anyone selling products, services, etc., that require the collection of any federal, state, or local taxes is responsible for collecting, reporting, and filing as required by applicable laws.
Please note that the space layout shown below is “relative” and may change from time to time or on the day of the show to accommodate individual seller needs or for the overall benefit of the show.
It’s easy to request space for our show:
- Look over the Main Floor Diagram below (Yellow tables are shown as general representations of how the space is laid out.)
- Note the table numbers of the space of interest.
- Scroll further down the page and review those numbers in the checklist of tables currently available. Generally, tables/space that has no name associated with it, are available.
As with many things, “the early bird gets the worm,” so making your space request early will often give you better options for where you wish to be on the Main Floor.
Space Request Form
This form is currently closed for submissions.
