KOC 25th Class Reunion

End Time: 5:00 p.m.

Location: Kansas City, MO

Registration

Registration was only accepted online at KOCevents.com.

Opened: April 1, 2011 (at noon)

Event Fees: $50 per KOC member* (included admission to event, activities on Friday, August 5, and Saturday, August 6, plus a gift tote containing a commemorative Keepsake ornament and other surprises)

*Event was limited to KOC members only.

NOTE: There were some issues on April 1st during the registration process. The on-line registration provider (based in Atlanta) experienced server issues during the first few hours of registration. This was not related to the traffic on the site, but actually due to router issues in Atlanta. Once the provider re-routed their server to another region they were back up and running.

Travel/Hotel

A limited number of rooms were available at a discounted rate ($125.00/night) for August 4, 5 & 6 at the Hyatt as well as at the Westin Crown Center Hotel, which adjoins the Hyatt via an enclosed walkway.  Reserve your room early and mention the Hallmark Keepsake Ornament Club to get the discounted rate.

Hyatt Regency Crown Center
2345 McGee St.
Kansas City, MO 64108
Reservation Line: (888) 421-1442

Westin Crown Center Hotel
1 East Pershing Rd.
Kansas City, MO 64108
Reservation Line: (888) 627-8538

Note: A special ‘KOC 25th Class Reunion’ souvenir card key was handed out to hotel guests during check in. In addition to featuring the event logo,the card was captioned: Hallmark Keepsake Ornament Club 25th CLASS REUNION August 5-6, 2011 Kansas City, Mo.”

Agenda

The Toy and Miniature Museum Pre-Event Function

This event, sponsored and hosted the Toy and Miniature Museum, included a private tour, behind the scenes viewing opportunities and featured four Hallmark artists.

Admission to the event was $5 and requires a reservation. Due to space limitation, event was limited to the first 250 collectors who respond by e-mail. All RSVP’s and questions regarding this event were handled directly by the Museum.

Additionally the museum offered a discounted admission rate of $5 for convention attendees through Sunday, August 7. Hours of operation on Friday and Saturday were: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., and Sunday from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.”

Artist Seminars

• A Sneak Behind the Curtain: a few members of the Keepsake staff provided a special Sneak Peek about Hallmark’s 2012 offering! Including the 2011 Mystery Ornaments, the Mary’s Angels 25th Anniversary piece, a 1st in series ornament.
• Mrs. Claus Cupboard Seminar: A behind the scenes look into how Mrs. Claus Cupboard (the event piece) was concepted and then produced in the three different sizes. At the end of each seminar a 24″ handcrafted event exclusive scaled model of the Cupboard was awarded to one lucky seminar attendee.
• Ken Crow: In this nostalgic and creative seminar Ken shared his experiences with Disney animators, the Muppets workshop, visits to Mattel, experiences with Warner Bros., working with Hannah-Barbera and Hasbro, and especially working in Santa’s workshop (the Keepsakes studio) for almost 30 years.
• Decorating Ideas with Eileen Bickerstaff: Eileen a professional holiday designer and avid Hallmark Ornament Collector presented many unique ways to display Keepsake ornaments throughout your home. At the end of each seminar she gave away two door prizes: a copy of her newly released “Secrets of the Pros… How to Decorate a Christmas Tree” DVD, and an original Holiday design featuring a Toymaker Santa Keepsake ornament.

Artist Signings

• Keepsake Studio: Attendees received double the signing tickets (one set for each day of the event).
• Alumni and Tech Artists: were also available to talk with and get signatures from during the event.
• Other Artists: Mary Hamilton and John Wagner were on hand to sign ornaments. Both artists also had a FREE 8″ x 10″ colored print of their artwork

Games
Although individuals didn’t have to per-register to play, a ticket (included in registration packet) was required for each game. In some cases participants were picked from the audience. Games included:

• Name That Tune: This game, that was contested in the main signing hall, tested individuals knowledge of Christmas music in a number of fun and creative ways!
• Pictionary: This popular game, reinterpreted with a Hallmark spin, allowed individuals to draw their way to a prize.
• Password: No word was off limits, but as you can imagine,  there were lots of ornament and Christmas related phrases.
• Let’s Make a Deal: Those individuals who had what it takes, were able to participate in this popular game. Once selected contestants could push their luck as they endeavored to win one of the games top prizes.
• Collector’s Bingo: Perennial favorite with prizes…prizes… and more prizes!
• Fruitcake Walk: Individuals walked, skipped and even danced as they moved around the game board. Once the music stopped, a number (or two or three) was drawn to determine who was in the winning spot.
• The NewlyFriend Game: This hilarious game, tested how well attendees (friends, family, acquaintances) really knew each other.

Local Club Lapel Pin Trading Area

Photo Booth
Picture taking opportunity.

Grab Bag Bonanza
$10 each with ticket. Each bag contained 3 past Keepsake ornaments.Some bags contained special surprises, including: an event exclusive repaint of Snap Happy Friends, 11th in the Snowball and Tuxedo series, the 2011 KOC edition Dream Book signed by all the Keepsake Studio artists, along with a note informing them they were a Grab Bag Bonanza Prize winner.

Shipping Services
Available Friday afternoon through Saturday after the Product Shop closed.

Keepsake Live Auction
Started at the conclusion of the event on Saturday afternoon.
Proceeds from the auction were donated to Cure Search for Children’s Cancer.

Local Club Dinner

Event Fee: $45.00 per member.

Doors opened at 6:00 p.m. and festivities started at 6:30 p.m.

Each local club member attending the Friday night dinner received a repaint of the 14th in series “A Pony For Christmas” Keepsake ornament.