Conclave of Richmond Pipe Smokers (CORPS)

"Greeting fellow Pipe Smokers!  The 28th Annual CORPS Expo is right around the corner (October 5-7), and we want you and your Club to be there!  In an effort to make that happen, the CORPS is offering one FREE table to any UPCA Member Pipe Club that wants to attend!  Come meet other Pipe Smokers, Pipe Makers, Tobacconists, and Clubs and let them know about your Club!

Just go to the CORPS website (http://www.corpipesmokers.org/expo.html) print out a registration form and send it in (please put your Club name in the "name" line - also be sure to include a contact person).  If your club has already registered for the Expo we will refund your table fee.

Not an UPCA member?  Go to http://www.unitedpipeclubs.org/Pipe_Club  and join now.

Hope to see you at the Expo!"

If you haven't already heard, the CORPS 28th Expo is ON!  We are moving again, this time to the heart of downtown, to the Greater Richmond Convention Center.  This is a MUCH larger venue (approx. 30k sq. ft.) and YES WE CAN SMOKE inside the show!  There will also be a snack bar/concession stand in the room, so folks will be able to get food or drinks any time during the show without leaving the hall.  The show is Columbus Day weekend, 5-7 October.  Jeff and Eddie (they print the NASPC newsletter) are bringing flyers; I'll try to get them or our member Jeff to get some to you for the meeting.

We hope that everyone fared well during hurricane Irene.  Our Richmond Pipe and Cigar Exposition will a good break during the Columbus Day weekend.  Please stop by, share your storm stories, and relax with a bowl of your favorite tobacco or a fine hand rolled cigar.

Just a friendly reminder: please book your room at the Hilton soon, if you haven’t already done so.  Our block of rooms, at the special rate, will be released to the public on September 15 and the prices will increase.  Please, if possible, book your rooms through our website, www.corpipesmokers.org to get the special rate and to show the hotel that there really are a lot of pipe and cigar smokers out there.  The more rooms that we book, the greater our chances of having a show there again next year.  Maybe they will have more smoking rooms next year.

It looks like another great exposition is in the works.  Lots of new people and participants have rented tables and are anxious to meet you. Don’t forget an extra day or two in Richmond will give you a chance to visit Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown and the Richmond-Petersburg area. Explore history, watch reenactments, shop and dine (don’t forget the Smithfield country ham and the pecan pie).  An adventure of historic proportion awaits you here in Virginia.

October is fast approaching and we are working hard to get ready for your  arrival at our new Corps Expo location.  First let me remind you that  this year's dates are October 7,8 and 9.

Next remember our new location is the Hilton Richmond Hotel and Spa,  12042 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA.  Please use our website, www.corpipesmokers.org to register for a room, learn  more about the Expo and/or to rent a table to show your collection or promote  your smoking products.  Our web site has a direct link to the block of  rooms reserved for the show at our special rate.  From that link you can  get more information about the hotel, directions, etc.

Also we ask that you be aware that this beautiful luxury Hilton hotel is  primarily a "smoke free environment".  They have graciously consented to  allow us to smoke in the exhibit hall on Saturday and Sunday and at the Friday  night dinner.  We ask that everyone be diligent and respectful of the no  smoking policy when you exit the exhibit hall.  We are very thankful that  we are smoking in the exhibit hall and not outdoors in a tent.

This new location, in a growing section of the west end of Richmond, will  give you close access to many new restaurants, the newest and largest shopping  center in the area and lots of activities for your spouses and families.   We hope that you will come a few days early and stay a few days after the show  to enjoy our great Southern Hospitality.  Another letter will be sent to  you with additional information about events and activities in the area during  that time of the year.

Meanwhile, read the nice article by Andy Camire about our past shows in  the August issue of The Pipe Collector.  Everyone does get The Pipe  Collector don't they?  It is the excellent publication of the North  American Society of Pipe Collectors (NASPC).  You really should be a  member of that group also.

 
 

October 7-9, 2011 (Columbus Day weekend holiday – which allows a lot of people to be off from work on Monday – which will allow more people to come to the show)! It is in a new place – a new Hilton hotel (with a spa and Shula’s Steakhouse) – and YES you can smoke in the Expo hall, as ever in Virginia! The hotel is in the new, huge, shopping area west of Richmond – so the ladies will love being able to go to the upscale mall/shopping centers!

You can get the information on our web site here:

Registration forms are at the bottom of the page and there is a link tomake your room reservations on-line!!!

We hope to see you there!

Legends Brewery &  Pub
July 20, 2010 6:00 pm -  9:00pm
We will have the entire “pipe smokers’  room”! (we can allow random visitors IF we want to); the club is providing the rounds, and  hors-d’oeuvres everhow you spell it….chips & salsa before dinner. Each person will order his own meal  from the menu (check out their new seafood menu too!) – and will be  responsible for his own check for his meal (+ tax and gratuity).

A birthday bash worth coming too!   Legend Brewery crafts some of the best  ales in the world – and we’re darn  lucky that they embrace the CORPS! Come hungry, enjoy the camaraderie,  the fabulous ales and food, the classic architecture, heck, maybe even relax  on the deck overlooking the James River rapids!

Enjoy a bowl of the new  McClelland’s CORPS blends!  Yep, our own pipe tobaccos!  No  kidding!  MAYBE, if you can convince them to, we will have representation from the Richmond area tobacconists; maybe raffles for special stuff!  You might be surprised!

It should be a night to remember!   Don’t miss THIS celebration!  PLEASE get the word out, especially to  your pipe smoking friends that we’ve not met – and bring  ‘em!

See our website www.corpipesmokers.org for more details/directions, etc.
Also look for info/registration forms for the 26th Annual Expo coming up on 1-3 October 2010!

2, 3, 4 October 2009 – Richmond, Virginia, the Tobacco Capital

Celebrating our 25th Pipe Smokers’ Exposition and our Enjoyment of our PIPES & TOBACCOS!

Our friends, our pipes, our tobaccos – Since 1984

All of the great CORPS Expo events will be happening + MORE! Join fellow pipe smokers, pipe makers, tobacco blenders and friends from around the WORLD! Fabulous Friday night dinner for Exhibitors and CORPS members!

Sample Tobacconists’ great blends! Marvel at pipe makers’ latest creations! Exhibit your own collection of pipes and smoking related tobacciana, or just come and enjoy the exhibits and events!

GENTLEMEN (and Ladies) YOU MAY SMOKE! *

* In the Expo Hall and immediate surroundings.