Hi, Any chance you could show the picture?
Thanks in advance if it’s possible
Scott

Steve…what a great idea on holing out a year to go big on celebrating the 30 year anniversary.  Sign me up now….castle’s have a certain lure about them.  

For this year…how about making it a virtual Decfest where you just setup a few of your favorite amp and speaker combos, create a monster curated playlist, and just stream music for guys to listen to.  You could do different genre playlists and post when you would play them.  That way listeners could tune in at a specific time to listen to their favorite music.  

To make things easier..we could have forum members post a Qobuz and/or Tidal link to their favorite songs and cut down on your workload.  

Just a thought but I figured it would be a good way to members involved in their favorite yearly Decfest event.  😄

https://strongholdcenter.org/

Looks nice

Just registered.  Make that 23 that are staying at the Castle!

@whale7760..........that's awesome! Will you be coming? Nice trip down memory lane.  ;D

Actually when I think back to some of the very first DECFESTs, there were people sleeping on the floors and in their cars. Snoring into giant concrete horns... we've all grown up a lot since then.

This will certainly be an improvement over that : )

This is great news... now some of us will need less alcohol to sleep!

Steve

Wow, nice—This truly will be a Zen fest! Looking forward!

I had heard about the Decfest for many years and missed it every year. Two years in a row (about 7-8 years ago) I called to check the date the weekend after, both years. I think that is when I actually gave up and stopped trying. I put the whole thing out of my head until I was lucky enough to touch base with Steve professionally four years ago as I was able to become part of the team. Having now met, or at least observed, several of the long time members of the group my mind occasionally wanders to contemplate how much fun some of those late night sessions could have been... many moons ago...

... that being said...

I am really excited about the future of Decware and the Decfests to come! Witnessing the last couple years had really shone a light on the crazy amount of work and planning that is needed to pull these things off. The castle should allow everyone a equal opportunity to relax. Especially Steve and Devon, but also myself and the other employees and friends in attendance that really make the things happen. No suddenly needing to run and get 5 gallons of pickles for dinner that were forgotten, or any of the other associated craziness that always happens. How freeing! ... and how much easier it will be to make more personal connections with folks, now that we won't be packed in like sardines!

I wonder if younger me would really have appreciated things fully. Would I even still be interested in hifi in 2026, or would my tastes have changed by now? Shoulda, coulda, woulda... without the parts of the journey that were not great ( like the several years where I truly thought I would not be able to enjoy music again the rest of my life) I may not have the appreciation or respect that I have now. Being able to share this with with so many great people is fantastic, and doing it in person is one of my favorite things in the world. Either through Decfests, of scheduled listening sessions at the shop, I have met, and continue to meet amazing people and I look forward to doing so, in one fashion or another, for a long time! Thanks everybody, see you at the castle!!!

P.S.- The mattress post is super exciting, lol!

I want to clarify the information regarding the raffle of the Piano finish baffles and F-15 drivers at the upcoming Decware Fest 2026.

No tickets are being sold for this raffle.

A ticket (at no cost) will be provided to each person in attendance if they want one.

A drawing will be held on Saturday evening and the baffles and drivers will be awarded to the winner of the raffle.

As far as I know, it's probably illegal to sell raffle tickets without a permit or license .....

Best wishes,
Randy

DeVon and I are going up again on Monday to take pictures of all the beds so that we can decide where to put everyone.  

We don't want you to have any stress trying to find where to sleep so we will have all the beds assigned ahead of time so that when you arrive someone can simply show you to your bed where you can dump any stuff that you brought.