Due to growing crowd estimates for an event featuring Sarah Palin and Laura Bush at a women's event this summer, organizers are moving the venue from Wilkes Community College to Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena, according to a report in the Winston-Salem Journal:
The Blue Ridge Educational Resource Group said in February that Bush, the former first lady, and Palin, the Republican Party's 2008 vice-presidential candidate, would appear June 5 in Wilkesboro as part of the Complete Woman Expo 2010. The group had signed a contract to use the college's Watson Stage and grounds.- JP
But organizers never provided an adequate plan to town and college officials for managing an anticipated crowd that grew in estimates from some 3,000 to more than 30,000 people.
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The group... decided to move the event to the Charlotte arena, which seats 18,000, it said in an announcement.
"We feel that the Time Warner Cable Arena fits our purposes and needs to make this event a success," said a statement issued by the resource group. "This move answers questions concerning security details, safety details, and all others needed including allowing room for more ladies to attend."
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The statement says that the expo will remain a free, ticketed event for women of all ages.
Its websites still had the Wilkesboro information up yesterday, but the group asked people to visit the websites for more information at www.thecompletewomanexpo.com or www.blueridge-erg.org, or to call 336-667-8777.
