Can you be in the greater Los Angeles area this weekend? If so, I suspect you will enjoy attending the 42nd Annual Southern California Genealogy Jamboree being held Friday through Sunday, June 10-12, 2011. The conference is at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel, 2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505.
This annual event usually is the largest regional genealogy conference in North America. Last year, more than 1,700 attendees, speakers, exhibitors, and volunteers were in attendance. I am guessing that this year's event will be as big, if not larger.
Sponsored by the Southern California Genealogical Society, the Jamboree features more than 130 presentations plus a number of extended workshops and tours. The Jamboree also features breakfasts and two banquets. In addition, this year's event also features a one-day Family History Writers Conference, held the day before the official start of the Jamboree, on Thursday, June 9, plus a day-long Kids Family History Camp, also held the day before Jamboree, June 9.
You can download the extensive schedule to learn the speakers, titles and descriptions of the presentations at http://goo.gl/QZ4OE.
At most conferences, I download the schedule and either print it on paper or download it to my iPhone before leaving home. However, the Jamboree has an app for that! New this year, the Southern California Genealogical Society interactive smartphone application has been developed for Jamboree 2011. The app is available for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and any other smartphone that has web-enabled browser capability. You will find the app content to be useful before and after Jamboree, as well as during the conference. You can:
- Connect with your friends and share the app with others
- Review lecture sessions and add them to your personal calendar
- Learn about the speakers by reading pages with their bios and contact info
- Search for exhibitors and find them on the trade show floor map
- Download exhibitor brochures, syllabus articles, and other documents
- Receive updates about both scheduled or informal or "unconference" activities
- Follow or join in on the Twitter feed (#SCGS11)
- Read posts made by bloggers attending Jamboree
- Share your photos and see photos taken by others
- Find Burbank and Los Angeles services and destination spots
- Refer to venue maps to locate meeting rooms and hotel services
- And more
Information about the free app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch systems may be found at http://goo.gl/B5ZWc or in the iPhone App store, using the same process as is used for all other iPhone apps. For all other phone types (including Android, BlackBerry and all other web browser-enabled phones), point your mobile browser to http://m.core-apps.com/scgs2011. If you don't have a smartphone but want to take a look at the app, just click on the link http://m.core-apps.com/scgs2011 and poke around.
The conference Exhibit Area will feature about 70 exhibitors, commercial vendors, genealogical societies and heritage organizations, speakers/authors, and others.
I do have to add a few of my own comments as well. I have attended the past several Jamborees and have loved them. The Jamboree is large enough to attract top-notch speakers, holds great seminars, and yet is not so large as to become overwhelming.
The Jamboree is held in a Marriott hotel across the street from the main entrance to Burbank's Bob Hope Airport. It is also only a few hundred yards from the nearby Metrolink train station. The hotel sends a shuttle van to both locations frequently. I find this to be one of the easiest travel experiences I have ever had while attending genealogy conferences. I wish that travel to all genealogy conferences was this easy!
If you are driving to the conference, set your GPS to 2500 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, California. Actually, just watch the signs for "airport" and you will find it easily as the hotel is directly across the street from the airport's main entrance. You'll see a lot of signs that say "airport."
The hotel becomes a bit crowded during the conference. With 1,700 people in attendance, the hotel's single restaurant and lounge sometimes have long lines of people waiting to be seated. Luckily, there are a number of restaurants across the street in a local strip mall that is a one or two minute walk away. The restaurants vary from fast food to Denny's to a nice Greek restaurant and a Japanese restaurant that I always enjoy. Then there is the ice cream place...
I often eat my meals across the street in an environment that is not crowded and the service is quick. You can find a list of all restaurants within walking distance of the hotel at http://goo.gl/maps/ZMuL. If you have an automobile available, you will find hundreds of restaurants within a few miles.
If you are now making a last-minute decision to attend, you need to be aware that the official conference hotel, the Marriott Los Angeles Burbank Airport Hotel, is now fully booked, according to the hotel's web site. I'd suggest calling the hotel at 1-818-843-6000 to make sure, as hotels sometimes keep a few rooms in reserve or have last-minute cancellations. You can find other hotels in the area at http://goo.gl/maps/K4Pf. You probably will need an automobile, however, if you stay at any of the other hotels as all of the others are a half mile or further away.
I'll be at this week's Southern California Genealogy Jamboree and hope to see you there as well. If you are unable to attend, watch this newsletter for my reports from the conference. I also hope to record some podcasts and perhaps even a video or two as I interview some of the people I meet.
For more information about the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree, look at http://goo.gl/YBWsW. You might also want to read the Jamboree blog at http://goo.gl/Gj6v0.
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