RARS Menu ☰

Experience the Largest All-Indoor Hamfest
on the East Coast
and the 2024 ARRL Roanoke Division Convention!
Brought to you by the
Raleigh Amateur Radio Society

When & Where







April 6, 2024

8:00 am — 3:00 pm

The Jim Graham Building
North Carolina State Fairgrounds
Raleigh, NC
See here for directions

Cousin's Confections will have food and beverages for sale in the restaurant area, including assorted Danish; sausage, bacon and ham biscuits; assorted juices; and fresh brewed coffee for breakfast; and burgers, hot dogs, BBQ pork sandwiches, assorted wraps, soft drinks, and lemonade for lunch! The restaurant will open at 7:30 am so people waiting in line before the hamfest starts can get a beverage and a snack while they are waiting. Once the hamfest starts at 8:00 am, the restaurant will be accessible only from the show floor.

General Admission

  • $10 during the “Early Bird” period from January 30 through March 30
  • There will be a special prize drawing for people who buy their tickets during the “Early Bird” period
  • $12 after March 30
  • Admission for attendees age 16 and under will continue to be complimentary when accompanied by a paying adult
  • Admission will also be complimentary for anyone earning their first amateur radio license at our license exam session. Details at the exam session.
  • Use the main entrances to the Jim Graham Building

See here for details and to order on-line from January 30 through March 30, 2024.

Commercial Area

  • For commercial sellers of new amateur radio and related equipment, and non-commercial exhibitors
  • Located in a prime traffic area at the front of the show floor
  • Your choice of attractive 10' x 10' booth space or eight-foot tables in a custom arrangement (space permitting)
  • Power outlets available
  • Reasonably priced
  • Easy setup and take-down—drive to your space!
  • Use the load-in (a/k/a "Flea Market") entrance to the Jim Graham Building

See here for details, including how to request space in the Commercial Area. The deadline for ordering is March 30, 2024, one week prior to RARSfest.

Flea Market

See here for details and to order on-line from January 30 through March 30, 2024.


Become a RARSfest Volunteer!

We need volunteers! We need volunteers on Friday, the day before the show, to help set up. We need volunteers on Saturday, the day of the show, to help put it on. Without volunteers, there would be no RARSfest. Please give us a few hours of your time and become one of the people who helps make RARSfest a success. Benefits of being a registered RARSfest Volunteer include:

And, finally and perhaps most importantly, helping to ensure the continuation of RARSfest into the future. The biggest threat to hamfests today is the lack of volunteers. Some large hamfests that were suspended during COVID have not come back, due in part to the lack of volunteers. We need your help to keep RARSfest alive.

Go to our Become a Volunteer Page to see where we need help and then click on the Press to Sign Up! button to sign up in the Volunteer Sign-Up System for the benefits above!


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You may have noticed that the RARSfest homepage has a new look. This is part of our effort to modernize the RARSfest website and make it more mobile-friendly as part of our 50th anniversary celebration.