May 2, 2008 7:00

Welcome to Omaha! A Berkshire Hathaway weekend preview

Berkshire Hathaway is expecting a record turn-out for tomorrow’s annual meeting. The crowd-control paraphernalia—what do you call those metal divider things?—is all set up in front of the Qwest Center and ready to go.

There’s plenty for shareholders to ask the Oracle—how his new bond insurance business is going, the deal for Wrigley, those rumors about buying American Express, when he thinks all this credit craziness will end, details on who is going to take over Berkshire after he’s gone. Tune in tomorrow for a play-by-play as he and Charlie Munger field five hours of questions.

To tide you over, here’s a little video previewing the weekend and talking to some of the people showing up about why they’re here. We’ve got shareholders, yes, but also the CEO of a Berkshire subsidiary—who will be among the Berkshire executives pushing his wares in 200,000 square-feet of exhibition space—and a member of the Karuk Tribe of California who has come to protest how the dams of one of Berkshire’s energy subsidiaries are ruining the Klamath River and its salmon population.

(Thanks to Caitlin for the editing and to Danny for finding an Internet connection.)

If you want to hear what Warren Buffett has to say about the booming size of the annual meeting and how you can’t get a hotel room in Omaha, check out this interview from CNBC. For the record, I asked to talk to Buffett, but was told no. I hate how bloggers get no respect. Someday, MSM. Someday.