By Karen Robbins

We get a lot of requests for AFRMA to come to another area and put on a show. If you are within driving distance (3–6 hours) to our shows in Riverside, CA, then we encourage you to come to our shows here! See our list of shows on the Show Dates page so you can make plans ahead of time to come participate. It would be possible for us to come to other local locations such as AZ, NV, or Northern California and put on an AFRMA show if there was enough interest from the members, breeders, and pet owners in the areas there to support a show. Independent/affiliated clubs can be started in these areas by individuals or groups (see the “Starting A Club” article for more details to get started) so there can be shows on a regular basis in those areas.

For AFRMA to come to a location other than Southern California and put on a show, there are a few things we would need from the person/people there. A show location must be found (ideas on where to look in the “Tips On Starting A Club” article); advertise for the show to get the public and other interested pet owners to attend; you/your group to have entries for the classes and get other members, local breeders, and pet owners to participate and enter their animals; help out the day of the show with the running of the show to make it successful (setting up, clerking and stewarding, clean up, etc.). Putting on a show takes a lot of time, work, and expense, so we need people who are willing to volunteer to set something up for AFRMA to come to your location and have a show.

For AFRMA to put on a show in another part of the country, we would not only need all the above, but the person/group should be prepared to pay most of the expenses for the judge to attend the show to judge and give the local breeders and fanciers the learning they need for their type of animals, and if you are starting a new club, to give your club assistance in running your club or a show.

If you have any questions, contact us and put “AFRMA Shows” in the e-mail subject line. We would love to be able to have AFRMA shows in other areas as it is clear that rat and mouse fanciers want shows in their area—we just need people that can get the ball rolling to make that happen!