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With a “save the date” ad for Woodworking in America appearing in the June issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine (and by the way, the dates are Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 2011), we’ve started getting questions about the conference – including “When will registration open?”; “Who is speaking this year?”; and “What classes will be offered?”
Honestly, we don’t yet have anything (other than the dates) set in stone. Oh – and the overarching theme this year is “The Ultimate Joinery Weekend” – we’re planning a wide range of classes on all sorts of topics related to joinery. We’ve contacted the speakers we’re hoping to have join us, and most of them (we’re happy to say) have said yes (and we’re still waiting on a few), but we don’t yet have contracts, so what I’m about to write is tentative: Roy Underhill will be back; we’re delighted that Jay van Arsdale will be joining us for the first time, to speak about Japanese joinery and tools. Brian Boggs is making the trip from North Carolina for his second WIA. Chuck Bender is moving out of the marketplace and into the classroom. Jeff Headley and Steve Hamilton will be bringing at least one of their awesome projects that comes completely apart (and hopefully goes back together). Peter Follansbee will be, as he says, visiting “the west” for the first time. David Charlesworth is making the trip from England. And Ron Herman will be with us again. And all the editors will be teaching this year (OK – that’s not tentative; all the editors will indeed be teaching, whether they want to or not). And there are a couple more from whom we’ve not yet received a response. But that’s all I can say right now about the speakers.
And until we get the speakers contracted, we’re not ready to talk about the sessions. But rest assured there will be many of them, and many of them will be on topics new to the conference (in other words, even if you’ve been to all the previous WIA conferences – for which we thank you – there will be new sessions to attend).
We’re still debating the “extracurricular” activities, but I can say that there will be two events on Friday night and two events on Saturday night from which to choose, and those will be limited to about 150 each. There will be no banquet (I know…you’re disappointed in the lack of rubber chicken. Sorry).
The new web site will be up and running, I’m told, by the first week of June, with a complete list of speakers, sessions and marketplace vendors – including our sponsors who this year are Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, Woodcraft and Gorilla Glue. To be among the the first to know, please sign up for the conference newsletter at WoodworkingInAmerica.com (in the upper right corner under “stay connected”).
And finally, if you’re wanting to get a head start on planning, you can book your hotel room now – we do have the discount codes in place, for which you have to use this link.
And that’s it – the sum total of information we’re ready to release for Woodworking in America 2011, Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 2011, at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.
Of course, we hope you can join us!
