The Final Countdown Begins
The first week of January is always a bit stressful around here, and this year was no different. In addition to the deadline for submitting a completed 88-page Conference Catalog, we also had to wrap up the Arts & Crafts 2019 Wall Calendar. In addition, I had two projects which I had intended to complete before Thanksgiving – our basement remodel and a book I have been writing on Thomas Wolfe and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s time in Asheville – but both projects have lingered into January.
All four projects, however, are now in their final stages. The catalog has gone to the printer, the calendar is just about ready, the Wolfe-Fitzgerald book has gone to a different printer, and our countertops, windows, and doors are being installed starting Thursday.
All of this, of course, is in preparation for the 32nd National Arts and Crafts Conference, which will be taking place February 15-17 at the historic 1913 Omni Grove Park Inn overlooking Asheville, NC.
Perhaps the most often asked question coming from people who have never been to this event is, “How can I attend?”
There are three different answers.
The first is by registering for a Weekend Package at the Omni Grove Park Inn for either one or two people by calling (828) 252-2711 and asking for Group Reservations. This includes a room Friday and Saturday nights, breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, an evening coffee-and-desert social on Friday and Saturday nights, entry to all of the conference seminars, discussions, and demonstrations, a conference catalog, poster, and Arts and Crafts wall calendar, and entry to the largest, finest, and most important three-day show of Arts and Crafts antiques and new works by juried craftspeople in the country. (One-Person is $595, Two-Person is $836.)
Warning: Our weekend coincides with Valentine’s weekend this year, so rooms at the GPI are disappearing fast. We expect to be sold out very soon.
The second option is for those people who prefer to stay someplace other than the Omni Grove Park Inn, but who still want to attend the conference. You can purchase a Conference Events Pass ($160@) by calling our office (828) 628-1915 and speaking with Kate, our registration manager.
Finally, for those who simply want to shop the shows each afternoon, you can purchase a show ticket for $10 at the door that is good for all three days. Outdoor parking is free, as are three hours of garage parking.
As many will attest, our annual conference has become a galvanizing force within the Arts and Crafts revival, promoting the New York Times to declare it “the most important weekend of the year for Arts and Crafts collectors.”
And if you need even more proof, consider this: more than a hundred people have already registered for the 2020 (that’s not a typo) National Arts and Crafts Conference – still thirteen months away.
I hope you’ll come celebrate the Arts and Crafts revival with us, because this group likes to have a great time!
Until next week,
“We don’t collect Arts and Crafts because its different. We collect Arts and Crafts because we’re different.”
Bruce