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Cleveland

 

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 Mobile Beat Cleveland

 Kyle McPeck -Staff Writer

 

Cleveland was the site of the second summer Mobile Beat show.  The actual show returned to the Cleveland Convention Center while the host hotel was changed (for the better) to the Holiday Inn-Lakeshore.

Opening night was a blast as ProSing & Karaoke Singer magazine brought out the Whitney Houston and Garth Brooks wannabes in the audience.  The room was packed with those wanting to entertain and be entertained.

Monday, the opening introductions brought remarks from Mobile Beat's Mike Buonaccorso regarding the "surprise" announcement of the week.  It was announced that after much consideration that the show will be moved to Chicago next year.  Then, many door prizes from various vendors were given out.  Next, Mark Ferrell presented the first in his famous three-part series entitled "What You're Worth" to a crowded room of newly sworn Ferrellites. 

Dean Lichtenwalner and Mike Weinstock (of Game Show Mania fame) presented the next seminar on Games.  Sheldon Starke returned in his role of telling it like it is in the "Legal: Nuts and Bolts" seminar.  Mike Ficher held a continuous seminar on various dances like the Stroll and the Hustle for those of us with two left feet. 

Monday Night was the return of the Mobile Beat All Stars.  It was great to watch some of these entertainers perform.  One of my favorites was Adam Sandler lookalike George Thomas of Montreal who has some easy "Tai-Bo type dance routines.  Rumor has it that he was approached for autographs regularly while in Cleveland.  Some showed dance routines, some showed performance styles, and others showed games that they perform in public.  Overall, I loved it.  Some of the more bizarre moments included a couple of disc jockeys being presented DJ All Star awards from business cards at random and a game that involves throwing buckets of ping pong balls into the audience (can anyone say lawsuit?).

Tuesday began with part two of the Mark Ferrell presentation which was chock full of selling tips on how to get what you are worth.  The exhibits opened softly as the Ferrell program continued.  The quality of vendors was high with many manufacturers represented.  There were some great deals out there if you looked hard enough.  Multi-op Dave Scroggins held a hands-on tech shop that proved to be beneficial to the experienced and inexperienced entertainers.  Other workshops on MP3 and Karaoke promotions were held as Mike Ficher danced with his students through the afternoon.

The fun didn't stop Tuesday night as ProDJ.com held their Networking event with various games like the No/Know game, Who Am I?, and some other dance lessons from the DJ Diva Jolene.  Then, it was off to a night at Shooters in the Flats for the American DJ VIP party.  American DJ and the Karaoke Kandy Store went all out with over 2000 free drinks given away, a great dj, and performers Debbie & the Debutantes.  Various contests were held to give away lots of American DJ gear.

Mark Ferrell continued his seminar with part three on Wednesday with "Being What You Are Worth" and a testimonial from Peter Merry.  Larry MacKenzie later taught us how to grab the wedding market with a strong hold and Dave Kreiner and Richard Gastmeier from The Source taught us how to be better programmers both in the clubs and out doing mobile jobs.

There was lots of great networking going on during the convention.  We found the best place to learn and take part was the hotel bar.  We ate most of our meals there and closed it nearly every night.  The pool and hot tub area of the hotel was also another great place to learn.  The overall show and experience was a huge improvement to Cleveland '99.  Now that we have Cleveland all figured out we'll have to start all over again at Chicago in 2001

 


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