2012 Ladies & Gentlemen of the 1860s Conference

[Stephanie Brennan]

Displays start on Friday night and are switched several times between Saturday and Sunday. Vendors are open Friday-Sunday. I think there is a separate fee for each . Check the conference website Carolann does a good job of breaking down costs for those who cannot attend the entire weekend.             Stephanie

[Mother Dean]

Thanks.
I checked the "complete 2012 conference information" and the "2012 conference flyer". I have not been able to find a vendor list yet. 

[Maggie Koenig]

The vendor list is not available at the time of the information publication.  The list does go out in the confirmation packets that are sent to participants.

[Mother Dean]

Thanks,
Can you give me a hint to the number of vendors? That would help me to plan my trip. It's just a little over an hour but I will have 3 (maybe 4) children with me.
Thanks again

[Mother Dean]

The children and I enjoyed seeing the vendors this afternoon. You all had such wonderful things. I wish that we had had more time to spend looking at your items.

[K Krewer]

Had a wonderful time seeing folks, and meeting a few more !!!!!!  Had a wonderful time learning things!!!!!!!!  Wish I could have gone to all the presentations, but the ones I heard were top-notch.    Let the AAR's begin!

[MrsPeebles]

Post Pictures! Post Pictures, please everyone who went, post some pictures for those of us who couldn't make the trip.

[Miss Lisa]

As well as pics, are the presentations put up anywhere for the edification of those of us in foreign parts?
Thanks, Miss Lisa

[kellydorman]

I'll be posting photos - I shot over 1000, but it may be a couple days before I'll have dug myself out from the "been away from home" mountain of things-to-do.

Regards,
Kelly

[Maggie Koenig]

As well as pics, are the presentations put up anywhere for the edification of those of us in foreign parts?
Thanks, Miss Lisa

   
     While I can't quote directly from the FAQ section of the notebook, it generally says no, presentations will never be posted.  Presenters often use visual materials that they may only have permission to show the once (they are owned by museums and private collectors not the presenter themselves).  You then have the issue of the presenters perhaps not wanting their work posted online where they essentially lose control over it creating a whole other slew of intellectual property rights issues.  I really hope this doesn't come across as mean as it might sound but......I've helped out Carolann for several years now, I know when she goes through to get this conference up and running and I probably still don't see 90% of what she does.  My Fiance has been a presenter and I've seen the work and research that goes into his presentations.  It takes a lot of time and a lot of money to produce the conference.  Posting the presentations online for free would cut back on registrations, after all, why pay for it when you can get it for free later.  So, without the conference being able to pay for itself what would be the point of putting it on at all? 

[Carolann Schmitt]

As well as pics, are the presentations put up anywhere for the edification of those of us in foreign parts?
Thanks, Miss Lisa

We get many requests to post the presentations on-line or sell DVDs of the presentations.  Unfortunately, neither is an option.  

As Maggie mentioned, many of the presentations include images that are not owned by the presenter.  The speakers have done extensive research to locate the images. They have obtained permission from the owners - and may have also paid fees - for their use for the Conference only.  Neither the speakers nor the Conference have permission to duplicate them, publish them via other means or post them on-line, and photographs of the images on the screen during the Conference are not permitted.  Upon request, the speakers can and do provide information for the source of the images if a participant wishes to obtain a copy for their use.

As Maggie also mentioned, there is also an issue of the speaker's intellectual property rights.  Some speakers rightfully prefer to retain these rights; others will share information privately upon request with stipulations on how they may be used.  K. Krewer is one of our speakers who regularly provides copies of her images and research on a CD-Rom to each Conference participant. Maggie is one of the workshop instructors who also provided detailed information on a CD-Rom. Other  members of the faculty include information in their 'chapter' of the Conference notebook or in the handouts/workbooks for their workshops. The Conference notebooks average 150-200 pages; our copy order for the notebooks alone averages 30,000-40.000+ pages!    The Conference encourages the speakers to share information while respecting intellectual property rights and obeying copyright law.

We have discussed publishing the presentations often and at length; unfortunately it is not possible at this time.    Perhaps some day in the future when I've retired from my 21st century job. 

Regards,
Carolann
  

[netnet]

Kudos to Carolann and her staff for all they do to get this conference done! I had a wonderful time and enjoyed the whole thing. I'm still in Denver so AAR and pix in the next few days. Thanks again, Genteel Arts staff!

[Miss Lisa]

I'm sure all the exciting research will percolate through to this board!  Maybe I'll be able to get there one day!
Miss Lisa

[Elizabeth]

Carolann and Maggie explained it perfectly--and since the Conference is annual, it's a great time to start *now* to set aside budget money to attend in person, if not next year, the year after.

[Maggie Koenig]

It also really helps to con....I mean....get friends to attend with you.  It really helps to cut down on travel expenses if you drive and the hotel costs.  I stayed 4 nights this year and the hotel only cost me 120.00 by the time all the ladies who stayed split the costs.  I know people also cut costs by either packing non-refriderated foods or eating across the street at Perkins, McDonalds or Taco Bell during the pre-conference workshops (the conference includes all of your meals saturday as well as breakfast Sunday).  You really do get a lot for your money....shopping oportunities at places that you may only ever see online or in some cases at conference, the displays of originals are endless and change every single day and, being around people that share the same interests as you.  The networking is priceless.  This year there was a woman who wanted to talk Sanitary fairs so, when she sat down for meals, she plopped down a sign that said "Sanitary Fairs" so people that wanted to talk about them could find her.   

[Maggie Koenig]

Ok, So, I just actually checked and poor Lisa is over in the UK.  But don't let that stop you!!  We had someone from Australia last year!

[Elizabeth]

That "sign on the table" idea is a BRILLIANT one.

[Beth Chamberlain]

Ditto on Annette's kudos. Carolann, her husband and her staff put on a really wonderful program. The presentations are always wonderful and you leave with not just new knowledge but new found interests. The access to originals and their knowledgeable owners is a rarity. And the spirit of fellowship which Carolann has fostered is really remarkable. (and the hotel is quite welcoming and tolerant of us right down to our games of musical tables in the restaurant  ) It's really worth saving your pennies even if you can only make is every few years.

Can someone pass the name of the person interested in sanitary fairs to me? Her name fell out of my head in @ half a second and since I didn't have my glasses on all I could see was that there was a person standing up  

Beth

[kellydorman]

Here's my first round of photos, taken at Saturday night's "Fancy Dress" party: http://mackin-art.blogspot.com/2012/03/most-fancy-event.html

More to come....

[K Krewer]

I had a lovely time.  It was neat to have fellow Michigoyim there, and Illinoisy's as well.

Mr. Hughes did a well-received continuation of the saga of Senator Gaulladet, focusing on how we could make a camp look more homey and authentic at the same time.  Em Dabney told a fascinating story of a family that was both slave-holding AND enslaved.  Beth Chamberlain told about the silk industry in the US (who knew?) and shed some light on silk fabrics.  Patty Grunwald enlightened us about mid-19th Century medical practices and substances, and Carolann gave us some hints for hot weather living history activities and garments.  Mrs. Hughes gave some important information and insights about 19th C agriculture -- and I, who come from farming country and thought I knew a lot about agriculture, learned a lot about the changes in agricultural practices and the reasons for them, and  information about how crops and seasons would have influenced even life in the big city.  The final speaker talked about the impact of the battle of Gettysburg on civilians.  I would have preferred that he go in greater depth about the civilians he chose to talk about instead of battle overviews and film snippets, but it was interesting, nonetheless.

I didn't get to go to track B on Saturday but heard that the presentations were well researched and well done. 

The "conference dress" project  is always popular and showed a wide variety of interpretations of one particular fabric -- I was pretty impressed with dresses, paletots, vests, and even a bloomer outfit!  Similarly, the fancy dress ball showed the great creativity of the folks in the living history community.