Perhaps you are thinking about attending MADC’s Harrisburg/Hershey Convention this coming August, but you have never been to one of our Conventions and you really do not know just what goes on at our annual Alexander fest.
How does it all work for attendees?
Well, if you decide to join us, you are in for a treat.
In fact, three days full of treats!
Our Convention registration fee of $275.00 includes two exclusive dolls designed and created by the Alexander Doll Company just for MADC Convention attendees. The first doll will be presented to you at our Welcome Breakfast, “Beginning With a Kiss.” Of course, the breakfast is included in the fee as well as the closing banquet dinner where you will receive our Convention souvenir doll. Your registration helps support the wide range of Convention activities that will be going on during our three day event.
You will be able to visit the Raffle Room, the Sales Room, an amazing special display of Alexander collectable dolls and you can enter dolls in or just view our wonderful Competition event. There will be seminars that are open to all, no charge. We also offer a variety of workshops that are presented for a small fee and give you the opportunity to make something fun for your doll. A Hospitality Room is available where you can relax, meet friends and just take a break every so often. All of the details will be in the registration packet that will be mailed to attendees around the end of April. In addition to the events that are part of your registration fee, we have numerous “breakout” events on our itinerary.
What can you look forward to?
- All breakout events are priced separately from the general Convention registration package. Some will include a doll, others give you the option of registering to receive a doll or attending for a meal only price.
- We begin on Wednesday evening with a “Pre-Convention” event. This year our hostess is Johnnie Benson, our most popular lady from Texas. Ask anyone in MADC about Johnnie and what she does for her events and you will quickly determine that her events are not to be missed. “Kisses of Joy” will celebrate famous kisses and not just Hershey Kisses!
- Thursday opens with our Welcome Breakfast, followed by various small gatherings designed to welcome newcomers, honor 20 plus members, and to sell one of the special dolls we will feature. We have our annual meeting following breakfast, late afternoon we have a Fancy Nancy event chaired by Grace Santos from California and in the evening, Cissy is the featured doll for our “Ain’t She Sweet” event hosted by Wendy Holcomb from Florida. Think of 1920’s glamour!
- Friday is another full day that will feature our annual All in a Row Breakfast for attendees who have been to at least the last five conventions. De Nickerson will help us reminisce about many of those wonderful past MADC Conventions. The afternoon luncheon will be our Travel Doll event. We are delighted to have Pat Burns chairing this event. If you are a doll collector, chances are very good that you know Pat from the many events she attends. Pat is well known in the doll world for her knowledge of dolls. Around MADC, she is known as our “Guardian Angel.” Always gracious and ever helpful, Pat will take Wendy on a trip to Amish Country. Friday evening we step back in time a bit with the Blalock gals from Texas and Cissette. We will be at the grand opening night of the Fulton Theater with some beautiful ladies you are certain to recognize. We will also have another special doll sale event, not to be missed.
- Saturday kicks off with a rather new event for MADC, Generations. Open to all this year, mother and daughter team, Ronnie and Randy Stearns help Wendy and all of us have a party with the Popcorn Hat Players. In the afternoon, Lissy takes a turn on the dance floor at the Starlight Ballroom with our local hosts, the Town and Country Doll Club. Barbara Lamb will be one of several seminar presenters at our Convention, but Barbara’s will have a little something extra, the sale of our final Convention special doll. Evening finds us all gathering for our “Goodnight Kiss” banquet. Plans include dinner, music, and dolls.
- In addition to the full range of doll events, MADC Conventions include many other exciting activities for attendees. There will be a themed display of dolls contributed to by our members, a raffle room that will be full of wonderful offerings for you to try your luck at winning, a competition room where you will see some of the “crème de la crème” of Madame Alexander dolls (details of how to enter your dolls in Competition are included with every packet) and a salesroom you will not want to miss. If you want to set up and sell, ask for a contract and get ready to sell to a dedicated collector’s group looking for just the doll they want to add to their collections. Each day will feature some workshops and seminars. Take a break in our Hospitality room while you fill out your raffle tickets or plan to meet new friends for some time to just sit and relax.
- There will also be events dedicated to children and teens along with our annual banquet night Parade of Living Dolls.
- Any golfers in the family? We have another annual event just for our golfers. If you are attending with your husband and he is not registered for the Convention, no problem, he can still join our golfers for an outing that will take them away from dolls for just a day! Often times the gentlemen team up for additional rounds of golf on their own. The outing is a great opportunity for the guys to meet and make plans for more golf!
- Speaking of husbands who might not want to be registered for the whole Convention, this year, for the first time, we are offering a “dinner only” option for the closing banquet. A fully registered Convention attendee will be allowed to bring a guest to the banquet. Details will be in the packet.
- Our event registration packets will include everything you will need to know in order to make the most of your Convention experience. There is always someone ready and willing to answer your questions and help. We love our volunteers, join in to help and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow members who are also lending a hand.
As you can see, we plan for a very full three days of doll fun.
We have several “firsts” at Harrisburg/Hershey. Along with offering meal only options for events, we are also giving attendees an opportunity to purchase several specials that do not require event attendance. Dolls will be limited at events and special sales. If you register for Convention and know that you will want a doll from a particular event, the best advice is to register early for that event once your packet arrives.
I went to my first MADC Convention in 1995…I haven’t missed one since. I have been honored with the friendship of so many wonderful doll friends as a result of going to MADC sponsored events. Our members have traveled all around our beautiful country attending MADC Conventions.
The Club always tries to find locales that offer attendees lots of opportunities to enjoy the surroundings of our Convention site. We even sponsor tours prior to the start of Convention so that you have the opportunity to go places and meet new friends if you arrive a few days early.
So please, think about taking a trip with us to Pennsylvania this summer.
And in case you might still have a question or two, please e-mail me and I will do my best to help.
There is an entire Convention team working right now to make this year’s MADC Convention a “Sweet Success!”
With Love,
Laura Colpus
Convention Chair
