# Family history shows and fairs (online + in person): the zero-spend route via society stands and talks
Written 31 Oct 2026 (skills harvest). 'really useful'/'family history show'/'genealogy show'/'exhibitor' had 0 hits before this. Distinct from family-history-society-journals-forums.md (print journals and forums), rootstech-free-online-2027-presenter-call-2028-gate.md (US/global), royal-welsh-show-winter-fair-stand-vs-books-council-stall.md (agricultural show) and festival-pitching-wales-literature-history.md (literary festivals).

## What the sources show (31 Oct 2026)
- **The Family History Show, Online**, Sat 6 Feb 2027, 10:00-16:00. The date comes from a search preview of TheGenealogist's page and of thefamilyhistoryshow.com The site itself sits behind a Cloudflare check that blocked our fetch, so this wasn't read in full.
  - It has a virtual exhibition hall of societies, archives and companies, plus a talk timetable.
  - The exhibitor-list preview names **Glamorgan Family History Society** among the 2027 exhibitors (preview only).
  - Past editions: early-bird tickets about **£5-£7** (Facebook previews, not checked).
  - Organiser assertions on the /exhibit/ page (preview only): 97% of visitors would recommend, 90% rate it excellent or good, and **50% of visitors are members of family history societies**.
- **Family Tree Live** (Statfold, near Tamworth; exhibitor page read 31 Oct 2026):
  - Shell stand £45 + VAT per m², minimum 3x3 m = £405 + VAT.
  - **Tabletop 2x2 m with one 6 ft table and 2 chairs = £200 + VAT**, "suitable for ... literature-led stands".
  - Electricity £75 + VAT. Full balance due 8 weeks before the show, and cancellation inside 8 weeks costs 100%.
  - This is the price floor for owning a stand. We don't pay it: zero-spend rule.
- **Really Useful Family History Shows** (run by the Family History Federation with local societies; the FHF is an educational charity with 160+ member organisations, homepage preview):
  - The Southern show, 24 Apr 2027 at Kinson Community Centre, Bournemouth (dorsetfhs.org.uk, read): entry **£1**, talks extra, exhibitor bookings opened 1 Oct.
  - Its exhibitor list mixes societies with small sellers: a "Beginners Guide to Writing (How to write your family history)" stand, a small press (This Way Books) and a Western Front Association branch. Small specialist sellers clearly do get tables.
  - Previous FHF online shows: 75 exhibitors, £5 tickets (Facebook preview).
  - The East Anglia show is next in April 2028 (FHF preview).
- What isn't published anywhere we found: how much a small exhibitor sells, or how many visitors stop at a table. Treat any "sales at fairs" expectation as unknown.

## The play
1. **Ride a society's stand rather than renting one.**
   - Societies staff their own virtual or physical tables and stock local material.
   - Offer the society something for its stand: a free one-page "records for your parish" handout, or a QR card linking to their parish's page on our site.
   - Ask nothing in return beyond the society showing it.
   - This builds on the society-journal relationship, it doesn't replace it.
2. **Pitch a talk, not a stand.**
   - Online shows run timetabled talks. A 20-30 minute "how to read a 19th-century farm lease / tithe apportionment, with a real Glamorgan example" talk is a teaching session, not a sales pitch, and it fits the audience: half of them are society members.
   - Talk calls fill months ahead, so pitch 4-6 months before the show.
3. **Small-press tables are the fallback only if money is ever approved.** The cheapest real option seen is a £200 + VAT tabletop, with full payment 8 weeks out and no refund. Record it as a PROPOSAL, never book it.
4. **Bring a trackable handout.** One QR to a single landing page tagged ?src=fhshow-<event>-<year>, a free first edition offer, and the signup. Count the scans afterwards.

## How we apply it to Cedwyn
- **Target 1: The Family History Show, Online, 6 Feb 2027.** Glamorgan FHS is listed (preview).
  - Prepare a one-page PDF and QR card in Cedwyn's design: "Llandough, Leckwith & Penarth: records you can see online", linking /research/ and the free first edition with ?src=fhshow-online-2027.
  - Offer it to Glamorgan FHS for their virtual stand, through the existing society-journal contact plan.
  - The outreach is a HubSpot draft only, sent by the project lead on his GO. Never contact private individuals.
- **Target 2: a talk pitch** to the Family History Show organisers and to the FHF for a 2027 Really Useful show.
  - Subject: reading a Welsh farm's records, with one real dated record from the evidence catalogue.
  - The draft stays in HubSpot, in neutral teaching tone. Banned words don't appear, and nothing about family holdings or any case outcome is included.
- **Proposals, not actions:** a £200 + VAT Family Tree Live tabletop or any paid stand gets one line in the project workspace (zero-spend rule).
- **Measure:** scans and signups tagged fhshow-*. Stop if a show brings fewer than 10 visits.
- **Calendar:** add 6 Feb 2027 (online show) and 24 Apr 2027 (Southern Really Useful show) to the marketing calendar notes, and check the talk-call deadline for each in December 2026.

## Sources
- family-tree.co.uk (read 31 Oct 2026: stand prices, terms)
- dorsetfhs.org.uk (read 31 Oct 2026: date, £1 entry, exhibitor list)
- thefamilyhistoryshow.com and /exhibit/ (Cloudflare-blocked; search previews only: 6 Feb 2027, Glamorgan FHS listed, visitor stats are organiser assertions)
- familyhistoryfederation.com (blocked 403; preview: charity, 160+ members, East Anglia show Apr 2028)
- Facebook posts from FHF / WDYTYA magazine (previews only: 75 exhibitors, £5-£7 tickets), not checked