Chicago, Illinois - March 12, 2008 - The Midwest Decoy Collectors Association (MDCA - http://www.midwestdecoy.org) annual convention will be held at the Pheasant Run Resort in Saint Charles, Illinois from April 21rd - 26th 2008. Members and exhibitors will be in attendance from across the U.S. as well as Canada and Mexico. There will be a global attendance at this event with collector's traveling from as far as Europe and Japan.

The growing popularity of decoy collecting in recent years was typified at the MDCA show in 2007 when several rare examples sold at auction in the  quarter million dollar range.  Collecting these magnificent carved specimens has become a national and international phenomena. With the worlds growing interest in decoy collecting, organizations such as the MDCA and their annual convention play a key role in the growth and advocacy of this fascinating and rewarding hobby.

For 43 years, the MDCA's annual convention has continued to host a wonderful selection of special events, educational seminars and social activities for decoy collectors. This year is no exception and promises to offer even more chances to mingle and meet with some of the world's leading authorities on decoy collecting Friday evening at the annual networking and dinner buffet.

As always , there will be plenty of opportunities for collectors to buy, sell and trade. From Monday April 21st through Saturday April 26th the ever popular room trading and displays will be open to attendees. There will also be over 386 tables with over 20,000 items on display at the Pheasant Run Resort Megacenter.

This year's seminars on decoy collecting include; "Collecting History and Memories" with Dick Brust (Wed at 8:30AM) and "How to Begin and Build a Collection" which will be a round table discussion (Wed at 4PM)

For many attendees the highlight of the annual MDCA convention is the Guyette and Schmidt auction. Last year's auction was extremely exciting, with realized prices smashing several records for decoys. This year promises to be even more exciting with over 900 lots being offered. Previews are on Wednesday from 6-8pm, Thursday from 8-11am and Friday from 8-10am. The auction will run Thursday 11am - 5pm and Friday from 10am - 2pm. The day after the Guyette and Schmidt auction, the MDCA will be hosting a silent auction on Saturday from 10am - 1pm.

Additional events and displays include a special collection  of Canadian antique decoys. These best of breed decoys from member's collections will be organized in a special presentation at the Megacenter at Pheasant Run Resort. This collection is a once in a lifetime opportunity to view outstanding Canadian folk art from some of the world's best collections. Also in attendance, the National Duck Call Makers and Collector's will conduct their annual call competition and convention.

MDCA members are also offering free identification and evaluation services starting Friday, April 25th thru Saturday, April 26th.