"Christmas in July" - July 27-28, 2012

 6:30 PM - Dinner at the Machine Shed Restaurant, 11151 Hickman Road, Urbandale 

• Breakfast at the Hotel (included in the room rate)
• 9:00-11:00 AM – Craft Time, Granary Meeting Room, Comfort Suites
• Noon – Lunch, Granary Meeting Room, Comfort Suites
• 2:00 PM – Living History Farms Tour, 2600 111th Street, Urbandale
• 6:30 PM – Dinner, Granary Meeting Room, Comfort Suites
• 8:00 PM – Holiday Pig Costume Contest, Pool Area, Comfort Suites

• Breakfast at the Hotel (included in the room rate)
• 8:00-11:00 AM – Buy and Sell Time, Granary Meeting Room, Comfort Suites
• 10:00-11:00 AM – Show and Tell Time, Granary Meeting Room, Comfort Suites
• 12:30 PM – Lunch, Lion’s Park Shelter House, 4103 72nd Street, Urbandale
• 2:00 PM – Tour of Patsy’s Collection, 4221 69th Street, Urbandale
• 6:00 PM – Dinner/Business Meeting/Awards/Raffle/Group Photo, Granary Meeting Room, Comfort Suites

 The convention will be held at the Comfort Suites Hotel at 11167 Hickman Road in Urbandale, Iowa. A block of rooms has been reserved at the rate of $89.00 per night. Mention you are with the Happy Pig Collectors Club when you make your reservations. The hotel’s phone number is (515) 276-1126. Hotel reservations need to be made by 6/15/2012.

Our Thursday night dinner will be at the Machine Shed Restaurant, 11151 Hickman Road in Urbandale. The Machine Shed is located right next door to the hotel. The price of this meal is not included in the convention fee. Everyone will be responsible for their own tab.

On Friday we will start with breakfast at the hotel, followed by a craft session. Friday’s lunch is also at the hotel. The Friday afternoon tour of Living History Farms is optional. Living History Farms is located right next door to the hotel. You can learn more about the Farms by visiting their website: www.livinghistoryfarms.org. The cost of the tour is $12.00 for adults, $8.00 for children (ages 3-12), and free to children age 2 and younger. On Friday evening we will have a Holiday Pig Costume Contest in the pool area of the hotel. Your costumes can celebrate any holiday. You can chose to be a Santa Pig, but you can also be a pig leprechaun for St. Patrick’s Day or a turkey pig for Thanksgiving. The only limit is your imagination!

On Saturday we will have breakfast at the hotel. The Buy and Sell time will start at 8:00 in the meeting room in the hotel. (Please let Patsy know how many tables you will need for the sale.) At 10:00 we will have our annual Show and Tell time in the meeting room. This is the time when members can share a special pig or two from their collection. We will have Saturday’s lunch at the Lion’s Park Shelter House at 4103 - 72nd Street in Urbandale.

The park is just a few blocks from Patsy and Harold’s house (4221 - 69th Street) where you can see thousands of pigs on display starting at 2:00. At 6:00 we will meet back at the Granary Meeting Room in the hotel for dinner, followed by our business meeting and raffle.

The theme for the 2012 convention is "Christmas in July".

This year's contest is "Best Holiday Pig Costume".

The theme for the Best Pig Contest is "Best Santa Pig".

The fee for the 2012 convention is $100 per person for a two-day reservation and $50 per person if you are just attending on Saturday.

T-shirts featuring the convention logo are available for pre-order. The shirts will be a cotton/poly blend in white with short sleeves. The price is $12.00 (Sizes Small to XL) and $14.00 (Sizes 2XL or 3XL). Orders can be picked up at the convention. If you want the shirt(s) mailed include $3.00 for postage.