{"id":857,"date":"2020-08-09T00:09:07","date_gmt":"2020-08-09T00:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/polkares.org\/?page_id=857"},"modified":"2026-03-24T11:50:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T11:50:51","slug":"current-events","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/polkares.org\/?page_id=857","title":{"rendered":"Current Events"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Updated 03\/24\/2026\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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04\/09\/26 \u2013 Lake Wales Radio Amateurs (LWRA) \u2013 Meeting starts at 7pm \u2013 Meetings are at the Lake Wales City Fire Department Station 1, 253 W Central Ave, Lake Wales, FL 33853.<\/strong>\u00a0 Our Polk County clubs are some of the best around and you\u2019ll find a lot of friendly amateur radio operators.\u00a0 Find more information at\u00a0https:\/\/lwra.us<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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04\/13\/26 – Lakeland Amateur Radio Club (LARC) – Meeting starts at 7pm.\u00a0 Amateur Radio exams begin at 5:30pm.\u00a0 Meetings at at the Parkview Baptist Church, 509 Parkview PL, Lakeland, FL 33805.\u00a0 You can find more information at https:\/\/lakelandarc.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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04\/25\/26 – TARCFest – Tampa Amateur Radio Club, 7801 N. 22nd St. Tampa, FL 33601.\u00a0 http:\/\/www.hamclub.org\u00a0<\/a> Gates open 8AM – 1PM.\u00a0 Admission is $5 per person, children under 12 are free.\u00a0 Tailgating is free with paid admission.\u00a0 Food, drinks, and VE Testing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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05\/09\/26 – East Pasco Amateur Radio Society Hamfest (EPARS) – 0700-1200 – 37745 Church Ave., Dade City, FL 33525.\u00a0 Door prizes, VE Testing.\u00a0 Talk-In on 146.88\/- PL 146.2.\u00a0 Free parking, handicap accessible, food & refreshments, ATM machine.\u00a0 Admission adults and kids, $5 donation.\u00a0 Testing from 0900-1030.\u00a0 You must register for exam online at https:\/\/hamtstudy.org\/sessions\/EPARS\/<\/strong><\/p>\n

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05\/15 & 05\/17 – Hamvention (Dayton) – No, it’s not a local event, but it is the end-all beat-all amateur radio event. It is considered the largest hamfest in the world.\u00a0 There are folks from our area who visit there.\u00a0 Expect surprises from Icom, Yaesu and other amateur radio equipment suppliers to be there.\u00a0 Now located in Xenia, Ohio with larger indoor spaces for vendors, and the largest tailgate area you’ll ever see, it’s worth the trip if you’ve never been there.\u00a0 It’s not just about buying radios and seeing ham friends you’ve made contact with, but there are some great forums held at this event as well.\u00a0 Learn more about Dayton Hamvention at https:\/\/hamvention.org\/<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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08\/22\/26 – TARCFest – Tampa Amateur Radio Club, 7801 N. 22nd St. Tampa, FL 33601.\u00a0 http:\/\/www.hamclub.org\u00a0<\/a> Gates open 8AM – 1PM.\u00a0 Admission is $5 per person, children under 12 are free.\u00a0 Tailgating is free with paid admission.\u00a0 Food, drinks, and VE Testing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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10\/9 & 10\/10 – Melbourne Hamfest 2026 & ARRL Florida State Convention in Melbourne, FL, at the Melbourne Auditorium (625 E Hibiscus Blvd). This event is hosted by the Platinum Coast Amateur Radio Society (PCARS) and will mark the 61st annual celebration of the Hamfest, which has been a Florida tradition since 1965.\u00a0 Admission: $10 for adults (covers both days), free for youth 18 and under. Online Tickets: Available via https:\/\/hfpcars.plumtx.com\/<\/a><\/span>. <\/strong>Features: Commercial vendors, outdoor tailgate area, amateur radio license exams, forums, youth tech workshops, and special event stations\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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11\/14\/26 – SPARC Fest – <\/strong>FREE Swapmeet and Tailgate FREE,\u00a0 <\/strong>Freedom Lake Park, Pinellas Park, FL, <\/strong>8:00 AM UNTIL NOON, <\/strong>FREE ADMISSION, <\/strong>VE TESTING, <\/strong>TALK-IN ON 147.060 (+), NO PL – more info at https:\/\/www.sparc-club.org\/sparcfest\/<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Updated 03\/24\/2026\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 04\/09\/26 \u2013 Lake Wales Radio Amateurs (LWRA) \u2013 Meeting starts at 7pm \u2013 Meetings are at the Lake Wales City Fire Department Station 1, 253 W Central Ave, Lake Wales, FL 33853.\u00a0 Our Polk County clubs are some of the best […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-857","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/polkares.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/polkares.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/polkares.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/polkares.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/polkares.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=857"}],"version-history":[{"count":367,"href":"https:\/\/polkares.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3070,"href":"https:\/\/polkares.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/857\/revisions\/3070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/polkares.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}