The Fifth Annual Conference of The North American Sundial Society Set aside the weekend of October 8-10, 1999 to be in Hartford, Connecticut for an entertaining, informative, social conference with your fellow NASS members! Meet fellow dialists, share your experiences and enthusiasm, and come away with new bits of knowledge relating to one of humanity's oldest inventions! We will begin early on Friday October 8 (you can register the night before) and will go through midday on Sunday the 10th.
Each year our conference features several stimulating presentations on dialing - covering such areas as history, art, technology, instruments, theory and current practice. Presenters include scholars and hobbyists, longtime dialists and newly emerging novices. In addition to these presentations, we also encourage members to bring items for a show-and-tell session or for display during the meeting. The conference also includes a Saturday bus tour which this year will take us through Hartford and its suburbs to visit 7 interesting dials (including 3 by NASS members) and will conclude with a visit to the Albert Waugh collection of rare books on dialing at the University of Connecticut. This collection includes 162 titles covering 423 years of dialing practice. Hartford is readily accessible by air, train, bus or car. The city is served by Bradley International Airport. Amtrak trains run regularly from New York. The Trailways and Greyhound bus terminals are within a few blocks of the conference hotel. And Hartford is at the intersection of two major Interstates: 91 and 84. The dates of the conference this year have been selected to give attendees an opportunity to view the beautiful Fall Foliage in New England. A drive north along Interstate 91 into Vermont in the week following the conference would take you right into the peak viewing region. The gorgeous colors usually reach their peak in Connecticut around October 15. Other attractions in Hartford include The Mark Twain House - which Twain designed and lived in while he wrote his most famous novels; and the Wadsworth Atheneum - the oldest public art museum in the country. Other sites within driving distance include The American Watch and Clock Museum (Bristol), Old Mystic Seaport (Mystic) and Sturbridge Village (Sturbridge MA). Final registration details will be included with the June issue of The Compendium. (If you would like to receive registration information as soon as it becomes available, send a note to Fred Sawyer and I will put you on the notification list.) In the meantime: mark your calendars, consider putting together a presentation to share with a very appreciative audience, and plan to be here in October!
