Specialties
You'rE invited to participate in our Chicago Dog Show at McCormick Place in Chicago
The International Kennel Club is pleased to invite your specialty club to participate in our Chicago Dog Show at McCormick Place in Chicago August 25-27, 2023 and our Windy City Cluster January 6-8, 2023 a the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, Illinois. As you have no doubt heard, the IKC is making its return, and we plan to be even bigger than before!
To that end, we invite you to be a part of history by holding your club’s specialty show as part of our January or August events. As you will see in the attached proposal, this is an unprecedented opportunity to be seen by thousands of people and have your specialty truly shine. We look forward to having you join us, and we are excited to help you put “special” back into “specialty”!
Our designated specialty package allows your club to have an event with ease of management and no financial risk.
Both of our event weekends will feature large, fully carpeted rings and ample grooming space. In addition to hosting world class dog shows, IKC’s mission is to provide educational opportunities for the public to learn about the wonders of the purpose bred dog. Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to showcase your breed!
The August Great American Dog Show, brought to you by the International Kennel Club of Chicago will be in the IKC tradition-held in the heart of downtown Chicago at McCormick Place Convention Center. These shows will be held August 25-27. While the former downtown IKC shows were benched, we will instead be featuring “Meet the Breeds”. The Saturday show’s Group and Best in Show judging along with our new prestigious Chicago Challenge Cup competition will be fully televised from the stunning Arie Crown Theater.
Current AKC Policy allows for regional breed clubs to present four designated specialties per year.
This designated specialty allowance does NOT count against the three independent specialties that you are also allowed to have! This means that if your club has a history or tradition of having specialties on a certain weekend, you will not have to give up those dates, or stop having those shows to have one or more designated specialties with the IKC clusters.
IKC does not charge a ring rental fee for designated specialties. As stated earlier we endeavor to offer clubs an opportunity to have specialties with zero financial risk. We do offer a per entry rebate to your club and the designated specialty package includes a standard rosette package (optional upgrades would be at your club’s expense). Judges that are contracted by the cluster would be available to you at no expense.
Have Questions?
We understand that some clubs prefer to have concurrent specialties instead of designated specialties. We do have limited availability for concurrent specialties to be held. If you are interested in a concurrent option, please contact us directly to discuss the details.
James Donahue
(847) 436-0275
Sarah Krickeberg
(724) 462-9987