ABANA Conference Survey

Whew! The 2010 ABANA Conference is history. And it was a great one.

Thanks go to our Affiliate Organization sponsors, our Vendor sponsors, the Metal Museum Staff and Directors, the unflappable ABANA Central Office staff, the River Bluff Forge Council, the talented demonstrators, the tireless setup crew, the gallery crew, many other volunteers, the ABANA Board members, the 2010 Conference committee, and the participants .

We learned a lot about what it takes to put on a successful conference. Some of what we did in Memphis succeeded brilliantly. Other things, well, not so much.

We will be posting photos an reviews up on the ABANA web site to document the conference but meanwhile we would like you to post your impressions and remarks here.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Paul Boulay
ABANA President

Video preview of a Conference Demonstration

Mark Aspery and Daryl Nelson will both be demonstrating at the conference. This link is to a YouTube video sample out of a Daryl Nelson DVD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NytRIqtKMqo&feature=digest

Come to Memphis and see Daryl do it live!

New ABANA Conference Brochure

http://www.abana.org/downloads/conference/ABANA_con_info_pages_3-2-2010.pdf

The link above points to a very colorful 9 page brochure telling "all about the conference" in a 1.8MB .pdf .

Notice: Call for 2010 Conference Gallery Submissions!

2010 ABANA Conference will host an open to the public Gallery event in conjunction with the Memphis conference. This is your call for Gallery submissions. The conference Gallery will host an opening reception, inviting the public to an evening event and the opportunity to meet the artists. We invite you to consider donating your Gallery items for the conference auction. Funds raised by the conference auction go to support the mission of your association and are gratefully accepted. Please be sure to indicate whether your Gallery item is for "Display Only", "Auction Item", or "For Sale by Artist". Please Contact Steve Williamson for Gallery Submissions Not attending the 2010 Conference? Well there is still a way for you to display your item(s) in the Gallery and/or donate an item for the Auction. Contact Steve Williamson to find out how! Gallery Submissions Coordinator The ABANA 2010 conference will be held at the AgriCenter International in Memphis, Tennessee. Opening ceremonies will be on Wednesday, June 2, 2010. Thursday through Saturday will be full days of forging demo's and excitement ABANA style. Saturday will conclude with a pay as you go Memphis BBQ banquet and the conference auction. The theme of the conference is to be "ABANA's Greatest Hits" in keeping with Memphis' musical heritage. The ticket price will turn the clock back at least 8 years... The site (click here) is within a few miles of thousands of reasonably priced hotel rooms. Camping and RV hook-ups and hot showers will be available on site. Stay tuned for additional announcements. AgriCenter International is located at 7777 Walnut Grove Road, from I-240, on the east side of Memphis, take Exit 13 and drive east on Walnut Grove Road approximately 4.2 miles to Farm Road and turn south, go .1 mile.

ABANA 2010 Conference
June 2-5, 2010
Memphis, TN

Demonstrations, Lectures, Vendors, Gallery, Memphis BBQ, Camping and The Auction all at the Agricenter International.
Up to date details on the ABANA web site:
http://www.abana.org/business/Conference_division.shtml

See you in Memphis!

Shelley Thomas added to the Demonstrator list

Shelley Thomas -- who regularly demonstrates at the Kew Bridge Steam Museum, London, UK, will round out the international demonstrator list for the conference.

You can check out her work at her web site:

On hearing this news one of our members said:

"I visited Shelly a couple years ago at her shop and admire her work. Good choice! Her work is a bit of whimsy, a bit of fun and the craftsmanship to back it up. Exactly the infusion of energy we all need now. Bravo!"

Small update to demonstrator list

MARK ASPERY (of CA) will do a demo on making tools.

GERALD BOGGS (of VA) will be busy at the teaching station.

PHIL COX (of MO) will do a session -- Power Hammers: Getting the most out of them -- including both mechanical and air hammers. He will also cover tips on checking used hammers and rebuilding them.

AMIT HAR-LEV and TSUR SADAN (of Israel) will demo as a team. Stay tuned for details.