The several descriptions of the recent Coney Island Organ Rally
organized by AMICA and the COAA raises the question of what makes
a rally big and what makes one successful.

Vincent Morgan's description of the Coney Island rally illustrates
one of the most important functions such a rally can serve: capturing
the interest of the general public and generating an enthusiasm in
people who have not had a chance to see and hear these instruments in
recent times, if ever.

Of course we mechanical music enthusiasts want to see a rally attract
as many instruments and collectors as possible, making the rally feel
like a family reunion.  But when such a "large" rally is held in
a small town where it garners only scant media attention and draws so
few local visitors, it really misses the kind of opportunity which the
Coney Island rally realized.

Let's bring more rallies to the big cities!

Matthew Caulfield
Irondequoit, New York