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Here are the four best known curriculum fairs in the Pacific Northwest.
The Homeschool Market (Renton)
This one is sponsored by TEACH Magazine, one Saturday in August at Renton Technical College. The 1999 market hosted 50 booths of new materials and 20 tables of used. Entry fee of $3 included a dozen workshops.
NW Curriculum Exhibition: Worth the Trip to Portland
This incredibly well organized event boasts a bargain entry fee, plenty of room to maneuver or sit, demonstration workshops, and "The Used Curriculum Exchange" (best known source of used materials in the Northwest) .
In 1999, the Memorial Coliseum's spacious exhibit hall housed 75 exhibitors without crowding. Big-name publishers, regional retailers, and cottage industries presented a mixed market. Several vendors offered scheduled workshops from podiums that faced chairs arranged in the hall's corners. Visitors could slip in our out of a workshop at will, easily weave through the hall in any direction, and even leave their purchases at a student-run check room.
Some exhibitors offered significant discounts on new books. The Saturday Used Curriculum was remarkably well organized and well stocked.
This annual event is a great excuse for spending a weekend in Portland, especially since it's held when the roses are blooming. Favorite attractions for the family include the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (they'll spend an entire day there), the zoo and rose gardens at Washington Park, Saturday crafts fair, and the Oregon History Center (an immense display of incredible wagon models).
Using 2-for-1 coupons received on the flyers , admission for the two days was only $2.50 per person in 1999. (Parking fees are about $5, but special rate coupons come with the flyers.) To get on the mailing list for upcoming exhibits, call (503) 288-1285.
WATCH Conference (Redmond)
Washington Association of Teaching Christian Homes, based in Yakima since 1989 and affiliated with the Home School Legal Defense Association, hosts an April weekend conference at Overlake Christian Church in Redmond. The 1999 conference featured 41 vendors and speakers, and three workshop sessions with 6-7 choices for each session. Admission was $45 for non-members but spouses were free. Teens attended for $10. Conference hours were 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. both Friday and Saturday.
WHO Convention & Curriculum Exhibit (2000 in Puyallup)
The Washington Homeschool Organization's annual convention attracts the largest local crowd, but is the most expensive. ($65 per person, but members get in for a reduced rate, and member volunteers attend free of charge.) Values received for convention registration include assemblies and workshops as well as admission to the curriculum fair. A graduation ceremony and a graduates' night out are also offered. Tickets for just the curriculum fair sold for $8 in 2000; parking was free.
Assemblies: Besides speeches, Friday and Saturday assemblies include introductions of WHO board members, presentation of scholarships to graduating homeschoolers, introductions of WHO regional representatives, and entertainment by students who competed at the WHO Student Exposition.
Workshops: Multiple one-hour workshop "blocks" with several choice for each block.
Curriculum Exhibit: A wide range of publishers and producers (over 100), not all clearly related to homeschooling. Seeing it all is not an easily met goal. WHO does not release the vendor list and exhibit map except to customers already in the door, so charting a tour is virtually impossible, and the layout can be confusing. Convention registrants who are running to assemblies and workshops tend to miss some exhibits for lack of time. So do visitors who budget only a few hours.
To get on WHO's mailing list for registration brochures or offer suggestions for workshop topics, contact WHO at 6632 S 191st Place, Suite E-100, Kent, 98032-2117 or e-mail whoofice@juno.com.
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