The final push for campaign checks is in full swing, with Mar. 31 marking the end of the first quarter. That’s when campaigns have to close their books and, within 15 days, report the contributions they received to the Federal Election Commission.

Based on the invitations we have received so far, there are at least 500 fundraisers planned this month, the busiest month for such events since September 2010, which was just before the mid-term elections.

The above graph shows the number of fundraisers each month over the past year. Notice that the totals tend to spike at the end of quarters.

The next graph focuses on this month, when fundraising consultants are prodding PAC representatives and donors to send in checks before March expires. There are more than 100 fundraisers scheduled in the last three days of the month. Last week there were nearly 200 such events planned but because Congress is on recess this week, there are only a few—mostly outside the capital—scheduled for this week.

This week’s out-of-town moneymakers include Rep. Collin Peterson’s, D-Minn., three-day central Florida turkey hunt for his leadership PAC and Mike Ross’s, D-Ark. trip to an Arkansas racetrack and casino, both scheduled for this weekend. On the West Coast, Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., planned an eponymously named golf tournament yesterday, according to the invitation.

Next week, Reps. John Barrow, D-Ga., and Tom Price, R-Ga., are each fundraising at Nationals Park on Opening Day. At the upscale Palm Steakhouse, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has planned its second fundraiser this month aimed at labor interests. That comes at a time when state legislatures have passed recent laws to limit public unions’ bargaining rights.

From the folks at LobbyData.com, a commercial site, comes this free Party Time map mashup that shows all the parties in our database on a searchable, interactive map.

It’s a lot of fun to play with. Look at this view, of parties in the DC/MD/VA area. As expected, the great majority of the parties are clustered downtown. however, there is a scattering of festivities in resort locations, along the Chesapeake Bay and Eastern shore and in the mountains of Virginia.

Here’s a view of New York City parties. Most are in Manhattan. Parties for Democrats are far more plentiful than those for Republicans.

Indeed, searching around provides enticing clues of where lawmakers party when they’re outside the nation’s capital (although also a bit frustrating, because we know there must be many more parties in these locales, but we’re not receiving invitations from our current sources.)

Check out Las Vegas. Here’s Alaska. The Colorado mountains (think skiing). And Florida. If you move around the map of the States you see clusters of parties in Denver and Minneapolis/St. Paul (remember the conventions?), Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dallas and Houston. Rare is the state where we have no parties listed at all.

Glenn A. Kirbo of LobbyData.com says the folks there were  inspired by a Sunlight Labs contest to build the site, although they didn’t end up entering the competition. This is the sort of innovation we love to see. Poke around and have fun.