by Peter Wolf.

I love summer in Maryland. I’m always amazed at how green and lush everything is, as well as how hot and humid it can be. The Chesapeake Bay, with its large body of water, provides a very Mediterranean vibe, especially around the town of Annapolis and Kent Island. Things tend do go a bit slower in summer and the locals seem to be spending more time outdoors enjoying the warm weather.

Annapolis is called “The Sailing Capital of the World” and is the home of the U.S. Naval Academy. If you are into water sports and boating this is the place to be.

At the moment, we at PRS are busy preparing an extremely heavy schedule for one of the largest events in our company history, Open House 2008 – Experience PRS, Part 2. On September 19 and 20, we will open our doors again to everyone who is interested in ‘experiencing PRS’ on all levels.

Visitors will get to see our new 100,000-square-foot building. As we speak, a construction crew is in the midst of putting on the roof. It’s very impressive looking and reminds me a little bit of the German submarine bunker in La Rochelle, France, from which the Germans launched their submarine attacks in the Atlantic ocean during World War II.

But don’t worry! We won’t be launching anything from this building except new musical instruments and amplifiers that we hope the world will love and appreciate. If you want more details, you’ll have to come in September and see for yourself.

Friends of PRS, including dealers, distributors and others will join our PRS crew, as well as a variety of internationally acclaimed artists and representatives from the most important industry magazines around the globe. We promise you that this will be a great party!

We will also release a new PRS magazine called Signature that will be stashed in every PRS gift bag waiting for visitors on Friday, September 19 and then we’ll distribute the magazine to our friends in 69 countries around the world.

Registration stays open until Friday, August 15, and based on sign-ups so far, it looks like we’ll be having a larger audience than last year. So, hurry up and register at our PRS website.

Almost every PRS Department is working on preparing for the Open House 2008.

Our Production Department is working diligently on a special limited run of guitars for this year and is in the midst of completing prototypes. We expect the new models to be unveiled in September. PRS managers and their teams are all pulling their weight to prepare the factory, so that everyone can have a look at everything safely.

Artist Relations has been busy taking care gathering the bands we work with for the event. Many are touring this summer, so a great deal of coordination is needed to get them on site for artist appearances and performances. We’re also making sure that we have a great sound system available, as well as good lighting and a stage worthy of the great musicians who’ll be rocking out.

Our entire Sales & Marketing team will be on hand, including PRS representatives from our major distributors around the world.

A major force in making this PRS event work smoothly is Beverly Fowler. Bev oversees, facilitates, coordinates and communicates the various logistical and planning aspects for the two days. She’s the lady who makes everyone’s hotel reservations, books all flights and local transportation needs between PRS and over 25 hotels around Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Annapolis, Kent Island and the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The logistics of getting tents, arranging food and beverages for everyone rests on Bev’s shoulders. She also runs a tight security team, necessary to secure the premises during the Open House 2008 – Experience PRS event.

We’ll have a lot of special things for you this year including interactive factory tours, guitar related clinics and seminars and some great performances by world class artists, as noted below: .

Interactive factory tours

Clinics: Jim McCarty, Paul Smith, Johnny Hiland, David Grissom, Gary Grainger, Emil Wrestler, Mike Scott, Howard Leese, Pat Travers, Al di Meola, Chris Henderson, Mark Tremonti, Myles Kennedy, Paul Allendar and more!

New product demos: J.Hayes

Seminars:

• Guitar making: Paul Smith
• Archive seminar: Paul Smith
• Private Stock seminar: Joe Knaggs
• Spray/finish demonstration: Paul Miles

Artists:

We are expecting many high profile artists to join us, including the following:

• Paul Allendar
• Mike Ault
• Gary Grainger
• Greg Grainger
• Kenny Greenburg
• Dave Grissom
• Chris Henderson
• Johnny Hiland
• Derek St.Holmes
• Paul Jackson, Jr.
• Myles Kennedy
• Cody Kilby
• Howard Leese
• Jim McCarty
• Al Di Meola & Band
• Nicky Moroch
• Ricky Skaggs
• Mike Scott
• Paul Reed Smith Band
• Pat Travers
• Mark Tremonti
• Emil Wrestler

There will be two evening shows both Friday and Saturday night after dinner (which we will provide for everyone): Family Force 5, Caimbo (UK), The Paul Reed Smith Band, Al Di Meola Band and possibly David Grissom’s Band will play full blown shows.

The list of artists is still not complete! We’re talking to many more and are hoping to be able to get more artists to interrupt their busy schedules to join us.

So…once again, if you have time and are interested, please register as soon you possible at our PRS website to make sure you don’t miss the festivities on Kent Island on September 19-20, 2008.

We look forward to seeing you.

Peter Wolf