Audiophiles recently learned the sad news that the annual fall Rocky Mountain Audio Fest will not only no longer be staged October 8-10 2021, but has ended its longtime run in Denver, Colo., as one of the most anticipated annual audio gatherings.
After being cancelled last year due to COVID-19, hopes were high among the audio industry for a return of the event next month but in early September, Marjorie Baumert and Marcie Miller announced their difficult decision to shutter Rocky Mountain Audio Fest.
Baumert and Miller cited health and safety concerns as Covid continues to impact custom electronics industry events as a driver of their “wrenching decision” to cancel RMAF, which they have guided for a dozen years.
‘New Adventures’ Ahead for RMAF Leaders
Posted on the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest Facebook page, they stated:
“Dear Friends, A year and a half ago, our hearts were aching as we made the hard decision to cancel our 2020 show. Back then, we somehow imagined that as a country, we could band together and transcend COVID-19, and our lives could return to normal. We hoped we could ride out a year in isolation and emerge healthy and ready to gather again.
“Here at RMAF, we spent the year improving our business by producing new room layouts with all the outlets marked and created a handbook to guide exhibitors as they learned yet again to navigate their exhibitor accounts. We imagined ourselves enthusiastically greeting our audio industry friends in a few weeks, and we’ve held onto that dream in spite of our nervous fears and scary news reports. …
“This has been a wrenching decision, and along with it comes the added impact of deciding that we are no longer able to envision RMAF as our heart’s delight,” the statement continues. “RMAF was our founder Al Stiefel’s dream, and we’ve done our best to nurture his vision for 12 years, along with help from the Colorado Audio Society and all our volunteers from around the world. Now, we are off to new adventures!
“And so it is with both sadness and anticipation for the future, we announce that the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest as we have all known it will be no more. It has been our very great pleasure to have served this community of audio professionals. We have learned so much from you! Thank you for 17 years of friendship and support. It has meant more than you can possibly imagine.”
RMAF’s move followed this year’s cancellation of High End Munich back in the spring. Along with Baumert and Miller’s “new adventures” perhaps, audiophiles can look forward to the next Germany-held event, arguably the most renowned such audio show, slated to be held May 19-22, 2022.
