For 27 years the Smyrna Community Center served as home for the ACME Southern Nationals and during those years our show grew from a local to a regional and to a national show. The 2019, 2021, and 2022 shows averaged 110+ entrants, 550+ models entered, and 23-27 states represented by those who entered. Pretty amazing. Thank you for supporting us and for making our show what it is.
Over these years ACME worked to find ways to improve the quality and enjoyment of the show for entrants, vendors, and attendees. 2022 provided some challenges regarding the host hotel as well as at the Community Center. The issues included quality of hotel, the parking situation at the Community Center, and decisions by the City of Smyrna making it impossible to schedule our show on the same weekend year after year.
During the show we took a critical view of the items we control and those we do not have direct control over. Our conclusion: physically the Smyrna Community Center could no longer support our show. It limited our ability to expand vendor space as well as to accommodate the number of models on display. It provides challenges people with mobility issues to attend and enjoy the show. The hours of access make it challenging for everyone as vendors try to setup, Early Birds desiring to shop and place their models on display and for ACME to set up for registration and running the show. In order to keep providing the experience you expect from us and the ability to improve our show as we move forward it became apparent – we need a new home capable of meeting our/your current needs as well in the future.
So after 27 years the ACME Southern Nationals is moving to the Clarence Brown Convention Center in Cartersville, GA, our new host hotel is the adjacent Courtyard By Marriott.
We looked at six different venues and four of them did not meet our requirements, one provided the space but not the atmosphere you expect from ACME. Some of the highlights of our new venue include:
- 12,000 square feet of event space (triple what we have now)
- 450 parking spaces on a flat parking lot
- Separate loading area and parking for vendors
- Vendors may set up on Friday if desired
- Separate entrances for Vendors and Early Birds
- Enlarged display area for models with wider aisles
- More vendors (we typically turn down 15 vendors/year)
- Choice of two airports (Chattanooga & Atlanta)
- Multiple year scheduling
- The host hotel is 2 years old and directly adjacent to the Convention Center
- Many family-friendly attractions in the area which are easy to attend/enjoy
Along with the change in venue we are changing the date to the last weekend in October. Moving to this weekend provides the least amount of disruption/conflict with other shows as well as issues associated with the World Series.
The dates for 2023 are October 27th & 28th. The themes are: 100 years of LeMans; 70 years of Corvette; and NASCAR.
We know change is challenging but I guarantee you that all of us at ACME are working and will continue to provide you with an excellent experience with an emphasis on fun and a better way to share your work with others and vice-versa.
As we move forward we will provide updates via e-mail as well as via Facebook and on our website. As soon as we have the booking codes for the host hotel you will be the first to receive them via email so you may book your rooms.
Thank you for your continuing support and all of us look forward to seeing you in Cartersville. Cartersville is an outer suburb on the northwest side of the Atlanta area, it’s right alongside I-75 with far better access and far fewer traffic issues, especially for the many that travel long distances from the north via I-75. We will periodically update maps to help you navigate to the show from the south and northeast so if you want to avoid the Atlanta traffic you’ll have good options.