I enjoyed last year's event so much that I am going again: I'll be at this year's Jamboree on June 11 through 13. I won't be alone. This event typically attracts 1,500 or so genealogists. Of course, with all the new television shows broadcast in the past year (NBC prime-time television "Who Do You Think You Are?" and PBS's "Faces of America"), interest in genealogy is higher than I have seen in years. I suspect this year's attendance may set new attendance records.
The Southern California Genealogy Jamboree is what I would call a "general purpose conference." It attracts novice family historians, experienced genealogists, and family archivists alike. The Jamboree provides a mix of lecture sessions, exhibitors, as well as networking and social activities. This year's Jamboree will offer more than 120 quality classes conducted by the most knowledgeable and experienced genealogy speakers from the US, Canada, and points beyond. The exhibitors represent the leading organizations and commercial companies who provide products and services to today's genealogists and family historians.
The advertisements for this year's Jamboree state that the geographic focus will be North America -- Canada, Mexico, and all regions of the United States. DNA and technology will also receive special emphasis in 2010.
Friday night's banquet speaker will be Chris Haley, nephew of Roots author Alex Haley. The younger Haley has continued his family's research and, through the use of DNA, recently met face to face with his Scottish cousins. You can read my report of their first meeting at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/02/haleybaff-family-reunion-thanks-to-dna.html
Ancestry.com will be at the Jamboree and will be bringing along some of their heavy-duty scanners. You can have family photographs, old documents, or old newspapers scanned at this conference. Details may be found at http://genealogyjamboree.blogspot.com/2010/05/ancestry-scanning-sign-up-today.html
The 2010 edition of the Genealogy Jamboree will be held at the Marriott Los Angeles Burbank Airport Hotel and Convention Center, 2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505. This hotel is directly across the street from the Burbank Airport. If you fly into the Burbank Airport, you won't need to rent a car. Just grab the hotel's complimentary shuttle bus for the two-minute ride to the hotel and convention center.
West coast attendees should note that the Bob Hope Airport Train Station is also diagonally across the street from the convention center. This is the Amtrak and Metrolink rail station at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. It is served by both Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner from San Luis Obispo to San Diego and Metrolink's Ventura County Line from Los Angeles Union Station to Montalvo. The ten Pacific Surfliner trains that serve the station daily and 29 Metrolink trains that serve the station each weekday connect arrivals from the airport to downtown Los Angeles' Union Station in about 30 minutes.
There is one restaurant in the hotel which, like most hotel restaurants, is a bit over-priced, in my opinion. Luckily, you can find several moderately priced restaurants directly across the street, less than a five-minute walk away. You can see a listing of the nearby restaurants and a map of their location at http://tinyurl.com/33rowzt or look at the image below:
The Marriott Los Angeles Burbank Airport Hotel is shown as Tab A on the map. The Daily Grill Restaurant is inside the hotel.
You can obtain discounted tickets to the Jamboree if you order before June 1. Otherwise, you'll need to purchase full-priced tickets at the door. You can save $15 if you register before June 1.
You might want to also become a member of the Southern California Genealogical Society. You can join for $30 and that will allow you to purchase tickets to the Jamboree at a $15 discount. In effect, you are joining the Society for only an additional $15.
More information can be found at http://www.scgsgenealogy.com
Will I see you at the Genealogy Jamboree on June 11 through 13? If not, you can read my report in this newsletter during and immediately after the conference. I'll be taking a 3,000-mile red-eye flight home soon after the close of the conference on Sunday night. If I'm awake on the plane, I'll have plenty of time to write about the conference on the flight. However, I usually sleep. Look for my report on Tuesday or Wednesday, after a good night's sleep.
