CubFest

[George Willer]

CubFest
By George Willer

I’ve been asked to write some background history on how the CubFests came to be. I’ll try to make it brief.

Albie Baddarocco started the ball rolling with his Pennsylvania Cub workshops in 2001 and 2002 which I attended. They were small affairs with attendance limited to about 20 people because of his limited facilities. Albie’s goal was to have others organize similar regional affairs when he had the first one. Since there were no takers he had the second one in 2002.

Early in 2003 I sent a post asking “If I set aside a date for friends to get together to talk about our Cubs would anyone come?” I was overwhelmed by the response! There were about 100 people that showed up from 11 states!!!!

Jamie had already coined the term ‘Cubarama’ so I was casting about for a name. Brian Peirsol came up with the name Cubfest. Changing the “f” to “F” was my idea. It seems to have stuck.

Shortly after naming the date I was diagnosed with cancer and had the first of several surgeries and then a month of daily road trips for radiation treatments so I really didn’t have time or the ability to make proper plans. The Dotson clan along with my family and other friends stepped in to help with preparations the weekend before and helped tremendously at the CubFest. The reason I mention all this , for those who are reluctant to host one, is that CubFests really do work out without elaborate plans. The simple shop schedule was created on the fly… “Who needs something fixed?” worked out well and kept everyone busy.

It’s especially rewarding to me to see all the CubFests that are springing up… the more the merrier. Large or small it seems they are all a success. J Each one is an event in its own right and has different events depending on the host’s facilities. For anyone who is remotely considering hosting one all I can say is go for it! That way you’ll have one in your area.

This winter we broke the ice (pun intended) with a one day winter CubFest on January 13. It’s something others may consider as well. It was well attended.