Yes, we are doing it again! An online convention for the International Organization of Lace. Last year we pulled together an online event on relatively short notice when we canceled the yearly convention. This year we have had more time to work on it and our ambition has been unbridled if not hallucinogenic. We will have at least 27 classes with the potential for 357 maximum student slots. This will be handled through the Lace Museum which has spent the last year refining the experience of online lace classes through their own offerings. Classes are open to members and non-members and there will be a charge. The Lace Museum is hoping to have final details about the classes available on or about May 1. Registration for members will begin on May 15. We will have a concert of Lace Tells by Jackie Oates. There will be a talk by Yvonne Scheele-Kerkoff called "Beauty of the Orient Painted in Thread." There will be a talk by Kara Quinteros in collaboration with Orenburg Shal, lace knitters of Orenburg, about their work (open to the public) . There will be a joint talk by Elena Kanagy-Loux and Cajah Reed about their domination of the lace Tiktok realm. They routinely receive a million views of their TikToks, mainly by Gen X'ers. Then some of these Gen X'ers seek out lace instruction, often through the Lace Museum's online classes. Virtual Vending will take a giant leap forward from last year's rather static format. This year there will be Trunk shows in which the vendor gives a filmed presentation of interesting wares along with convention specials. This will be open to the public. We are planning a "Trip around the World" with presentations from different lace museums or museums with lace collections every morning. Interactive fun will be achieved in a Lace Trivia Game. Form your own team or be matched with others. Some may recall that in our last live convention our team, "Media Committee" came close to winning the bobbin lace on a watermelon challenge. I think it is safe to say that the formidable competition posed by Media Committee will not be a problem this year because Media Committee is not competing due to running the convention. Also, we will have a Lace Identification Bingo Game. You will have a Bingo card marked with the names of different laces. Slides of photos of laces will be shown, with their identification and you will mark your bingo cards. As I am compiling these slides, I will confess that I had planned to use museum photos entirely, but now find that I am taking a lot of the photography myself on my kitchen table. So many of these lace photos have never been seen before! There is a contest which requires you to make a moon. There is a lace showcase display. There will be a Tat-off (speed tatting competition.) Of course, there are the Annual Meeting (the reason for the convention), the Regional Meetings, and the Thread passing ceremony which is our way of transferring power from the old officers to the new officers. . Do you really just want to socialize with other lace people? We will have a series of Table Talks. There will be a theme/speaker but a limited number of people who can then chat on zoom as a small group. Since there will be no time to socialize during the so-called "Banquet", an opportunity for socializing is provided in a Cocktail Party. Are you confused as to what cocktail or mocktail you might want to drink at the Cocktail Party? Well, we are hoping to solve that problem forever by having a Quarantini Challenge. For this challenge you are invited to invent a lace themed cocktail. You can base it on a famous lace personality or historical event, feature an ingredient special to a lace region, allude to a lace style or technique, or decorate it with a lace theme.. The winner will be decided by popular choice and announced at the Cocktail Party. We will all toast "Lace" and then be randomly assigned to small breakout rooms for chatting for about 10-15 minutes in each period. I suppose we will go on with this until people lose interest and leave. Our plans are ambitious, but it is safe to say there will be plenty of "spontaneity". Some of the events are open to the public. But most of the events are for IOLI members only. Good news! A digital membership to the IOLI costs $30. https://sites.google.com/internationalorganizationoflace.org/ioliorganization/organization/membership The convention is free to members. For a $30 membership you will be able to experience lace fun continuously from July 25th to August 1st. Some of it will even be recorded for later viewing. Details are constantly evolving, but they can be found here https://sites.google.com/internationalorganizationoflace.org/uncon/uncon-2-0 Devon
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