Conference Co-Chairs Janette Silverman, Chuck Weinstein and Phyllis Grossman, and Programming Chair Joel Spector were in Seattle this past weekend. Chuck Weinstein sent the following dispatch.
With the Call for Submissions in full swing, Conference Co-chairs met over the weekend in Seattle to inspect the Sheraton Downtown Hotel, site of the 36th Annual IAJGS Conference on Jewish Genealogy, and to make arrangements for what promises to be one of the best conferences ever. From tasting food offerings for meals to viewing the arrangement of conference rooms to provide the best possible flow for attendees, no detail was too small to be examined and considered. With the help of our professional conference planner, Zabrina Hazeltine, and our Programming Chair, Joel Spector, Janette, Chuck, and Phyllis came to some important decisions about the logistics of running such a large conference and doing it right.
The Call for Submissions will close on December 15 and will not be extended, as in some previous years. Conference Registration opens January 3, 2016, and hotel reservations at the Conference rate will be available only through the registration system. An early-bird discount will be available through April 30.
All presentations at the conference will be on one floor, eliminating delays at elevators and escalators. This will allow attendees to move easily from one presentation to another. Rooms of varying sizes will allow for a maximum of 9 presentations to go on at the same time, giving attendees galloping attacks of indecision. With the addition of LIVE!, however, no attendee will have to miss an important session, as they will be able to watch many sessions streaming for up to three months following the conference. A package containing the audio and presentation slides of most presentations will also be available for purchase.
Exhibitors and attendees will find the Exhibitor Hall located conveniently between the Resource Room and the rooms that will contain larger presentations. On Sunday, the popular Share Fair will be offered adjacent to the Exhibitor Hall. Other features of the Conference will include a silent auction of (mostly) local merchandise on the final full day of the Conference, with the winning bids to be presented at the Gala Banquet. An Educator’s Seminar, specifically for Jewish educators, will be held on Sunday morning, August 7, from 9 AM to 1:30 PM. This will be a separate admission from the Conference and will provide attendees with breakfast and lunch, and 9 different presentations on ideas to teach Jewish genealogy. Educators are encouraged to submit presentations for consideration through the Conference Proposal Submission system, found on our web page, www.iajgs2016.org.
A film festival, featuring some of the best films of Jewish interest, will be going on in our theatre, located on the first floor of the hotel during the entire conference. In addition to about 5 or 6 feature films, the Festival is expected to feature documentaries shot by genealogists who have returned to their ancestral towns to trace the footsteps of their ancestors. If you have made such a film, you are encouraged to submit it through the same Conference Proposal system. Additionally, our Film Festival chair, Dr. Eric Goldman, has secured the loan of a large number of films taken in a variety of towns prior to World War II from Yad Vashem in Israel. These films, running anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, illustrate life in Eastern Europe prior to the Shoah. They will run constantly between the other films of the festival. All films that are part of the Film Festival will be shown at least twice during Conference hours.
Among the evening entertainments, the ever popular Jewpardy! will return, along with an original one-act play, entitled “From Door to Door”, presented by the Seattle Jewish Theatre Company that looks back on the immigrant experience.
Conference Co-chairs also sampled some of the fine dining in Seattle, known as a great restaurant town. A wide variety of restaurants are located near the hotel with something for everyone. For those who wish it, we have made arrangements with a Kosher caterer to deliver pre-ordered hot meals directly to your rooms at the Conference hotel. For those who wish to stay in the hotel, Loulay Kitchen, off the lobby of the hotel, is rated by Zagat as one of the finest restaurants in Seattle. With its French-themed menu, and Chef Thierry Rautureau, known as the Chef in the Hat, the owner and chef, it has developed a worldwide reputation.
I would be remiss if we did not mention the beauty of America’s (and Canada’s) Great Northwest. In addition to the Alaska cruises we have previously told you about, we will be offering a number of day trips to scenic and historic places in the Seattle area. By bringing your family, you can combine the conference with the vacation to remember for years to come. We expect to have many of these trips fully arranged before registration opens, but others may be added. You will be able to conveniently book these trips via the Conference Registration System.
With one of the fastest growing Jewish populations in the US, Seattle is quite ready for this Conference. With the third largest Sephardic community in the United States, Jewish Seattle certainly has a Sephardic flavor to it. The Conference has much to offer Sephardim from around the world who are looking into their family histories, as well as all others who are looking for new ideas and methods of finding our roots. We are excited and look forward, along with our local hosts, the Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State, to seeing you in Seattle, August 7-12.
Chuck Weinstein
Co-Chair, 36th Annual IAJGS Conference on Jewish Genealogy
Seattle, WA
August 7-12, 2016
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