Convention Ins & Outs

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If you weren’t at the CHAP Convention last year, you will notice some big changes from previous CHAP Conventions. Some change in life is inevitable and CHAP and the CHAP Convention have undergone the most changes ever in the CHAP Convention these last two years. Read carefully!

May 11-12, 2012
Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex
2300 North Cameron Street
Harrisburg, PA 17110
Exit 67 off Interstate 81

Note Convention hours:

Friday and Saturday – 8 AM to 5 PM – Convention open to paid attendees
Friday evening CHAP Graduation Ceremony – 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM – graduation is open to the public

• HUGE Vendor Exhibit Hall!
• Over 170 Workshops
• Children’s Program – ages 5 to 12
• Teen Track with Mike Snavely of Mission Imperative
• Used Curriculum Sale
  
• First-Time Parents of Pre-Schoolers Free Admission
• FAMILY PACKAGE PRICING!
• NEW! High School Graduation Ceremony
• Free! A full-length Christian film and videos
• Jack Hubley and his “Wild Moment” critters
  

Registration Information

CHAP will continue to be “family friendly” in the pricing for the CHAP Homeschool Convention. The price for early bird registration is $30 for the first person to a maximum of $55 per family – must be postmarked by 3/31. After 3/31 online and at-the-door the pricing will be $38 for the first person and a maximum of $65 per family. A family will consist of parents and their children living at home and grandparents. CHAP will once again be offering optional teen and children’s programs for an additional fee of $15/student.

CHAP has gone Green! Registration is paperless this year in an effort to keep costs as low as possible. If you do not have internet access at home, find a friend who does, or go to the public library where you can access the internet free of charge. You can register online, then pay by Visa, MasterCard, or personal check. If you choose Visa or MasterCard your registration will be finalized immediately. If you choose to mail a check after entering your online registration, the check must be postmarked within 2 days. Your registration will be finalized once your check is received.

• Use one registration per household. Family members include parents and children in the same household and grandparents even if they are not living with you.
• Fill in the name of your spouse even if they are not planning to attend the convention.
• Be sure to include your email address and phone number so we can contact you if there is a problem.
• You may register after March 31st, at the walk-in registration rate.
• The registration fee allows you to attend both Friday and Saturday. There are no registration fee reductions for attending only one day.

Confirmation

Your canceled check or online receipt will serve as your confirmation but you do not need to bring it with you. There will be no confirmation mailing and no bothersome name tags! Wristbands will be issued at the door to all paid registrants.

Refunds

CHAP must receive a refund request postmarked no later than May 1, 2012. You will then be refunded your registration fee less a $3 handling charge per family. No check will be issued under $5. Refund requests may take up to twelve weeks to process.

Send refund requests to:

CHAP Refund
231 North Chestnut Street
Palmyra, PA 17078

Farm Show Complex Information:

No food or drink may be brought into the Farm Show building by order of the Farm Show. You are welcome to go to your car to eat a sack lunch but please be above reproach and respect the rules of the facility. This is not CHAP’s rule but the Farm Show’s policy. The Farm Show has several ATM machines inside the complex buildings and also a drive-up machine outside the Cameron Street Lobby. Please consult your complex map for exact location denoted “$.” The emergency phone number for the Farm Show Complex during the hours of the convention is 717-783-2815.
Here is a printable version of the Farm Show Map (189k, PDF format).

Parking

Parking is available on site for $8 per vehicle. If the main lot becomes full, overflow parking will be available off-site for $8 per vehicle in the parking lot at the corner of Elmerton Avenue and Sycamore Drive (watch for signs off I-81 and Cameron Street) and includes shuttle bus service to the Farm Show Complex. This parking fee is the Farm Show’s policy and a requirement.

This map shows the various areas of parking for the 2012 CHAP Convention. Please note the map key in the lower right quadrant. Attendees must enter from the Wildwood / Industrial Road entrance to the Farm Show Complex. If you are handicapped, please have your handicapped placard visible to be routed to the handicapped parking area. If you have a temporary medical situation and don’t have a handicapped placard, your driver can drop you in the vicinity of the Convention Entrance and then the driver can park the car in the regular parking lot.

There is a different entrance this year which is closer to the parking. Look for the white CHAP Convention banner and the large white tent at the new entrance.

Accomodations

This year for your convenience we have secured blocks of rooms at various local hotels that awarded us reduced rates. Please make all reservation by going to www.hersheyharrisburghotels.com. Click on the CHAP link to choose your hotel.

Food Court

The Farm Show concessionaire will have a variety of food available in a Food Court – everything from a cafeteria line with multiple choices to fast food stands for a quick bite to eat.

Vendor Drawings

Several vendors do prize drawings at their booths. If you sign up for one of these, please be alert to the announcements. You will hear an announcement at some point during the convention, but only when there are no workshops in progress. Vendors set their own drawing time and bring a paper to the speaker booth with the name of their booth and the winner of the prize. The speaker booth volunteer will announce the winner as soon as it is possible.

Wristbands

If you lose your wristband there will be a $3 handling fee to replace it. Go to the Special Registration Area for assistance. Wristbands are nontransferable.

Children

The convention is designed for parents to examine and purchase curriculum and attend seminars and workshops for encouragement, inspiration, and education. Child care is not provided. Children must be supervised at all times by a parent. Since seminars and workshops are being recorded, we would like to provide quality recordings without extraneous sounds. Children may attend seminar sessions—with a parent—as long as they are quiet. We would suggest sitting on an aisle, near an exit, in order to leave quickly if the child becomes noisy.

Nursing Mothers’ Room

Facilities will be available for nursing mothers, but baby-care products are not provided. Only very young children may accompany their mothers into the Nursing Mothers’ Room, located in the Vendor Hall.

Audio Recording

Most of the sessions will be audio recorded – please refer to your convention program for this information. CDs may be purchased at the Convention Recording Booth at the convention or after the convention at www.CHAPonline.com. Personal audio and video recorders are prohibited. When picking up CDs, please allow at least one hour after the end time of the last session you wish to purchase.

Book Check

The Book Check Booth is located in a central location in between the two vendor halls near the Convention entrance/exit. For a nominal fee, the volunteers at Book Check will provide a box, collect the items you have bought, and hold them for you until you are ready to leave the convention for the day. No more carrying your items, tugging them around for the whole day, or walking to your car to deposit items.

Wheeled Vehicles

Strollers and small wheeled items for your shopping convenience are permitted. Wagons, large carts, large suitcases, roller shoes, skate boards, bicycles, etc. are NOT permitted due to space constraints and for the safety of other attendees.

Solicitation Prohibited

No solicitation or distribution of material, polling, or interviewing is permitted at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex indoors or in the parking area during the CHAP Homeschool Convention. Violators will be prosecuted and asked to leave the Convention.

HELP

Registration help: 717-838-0980

CHAP Magazine

The CHAP Magazine, formerly known as the CHAP Newsletter and formerly mailed to convention attendees, is undergoing a transformation to better minister to the homeschoolers of Pennsylvania. The CHAP Magazine will be mailed quarterly to homeschooling families across Pennsylvania who are members of CHAP. It contains encouragement and information on events and issues pertinent to home educators including articles of encouragement, academic items for sale, etc. Please see the CHAP membership information inside the front cover. If you do not receive an issue, please contact the CHAP office. Issues are mailed mid-summer, mid-fall, mid-winter, and mid-spring. Non-members may subscribe to the magazine for the yearly subscription rate of $10.

Visiting Legislators, Candidates, and Public Officials:

These public servants are invited to attend the CHAP Convention as our guests. CHAP does not endorse any candidates for office but instead uses their attendance at the CHAP Convention to acquaint them with home education as a successful, proven educational choice. Feel free to introduce yourselves to them and ask them questions! Candidates are not authorized to make the CHAP Convention a time for general solicitations or distributing campaign material. In the context of a personal conversation, they may hand out business cards or other small cards indicating where an interested person could obtain more information or campaign material.