I had the great pleasure to spend last weekend with the indomitable Dale Ahlquist and the irrepressible Kevin O’Brien at the eighth annual Rochester Chesterton Conference in New York. I believe that this conference is the largest of the Chesterton Society’s regional conferences. The mother of all Chesterton conferences is, however, the national conference, which moves from city to city across the United States from one year to the next. I was not at this year’s conference in St. Louis but will be at next year’s in Reno. I know of no other event, anywhere in the world, that better encapsulates the Chesterbellocian ideal of “laughter and the love of friends”. Here’s Dale Ahlquist’s official notice of next year’s conference:
Attention!
The 31st Annual G.K. Chesterton Conference will be Aug. 2-4, 2012, at the Silver Legacy Hotel (and Casino) in Reno, Nevada.
It will be the 100th anniversary of Chesterton’s novel, Manalive.
To celebrate, we will be showing the world premiere of the movie, “Manalive”, directed by Joey Odendahl and starring Mark Shea and Kevin O’Brien.
Featured speakers are Dale Ahlquist and Joseph Pearce
And also: Mark Shea and Kevin O’Brien. And Joey Odendahl himself.
We will also have Jason Jones, the producer of the movie “Bella”.
Julian Ahlquist will be speaking on “Chesterton and Aristotle”
Ralph Wood of Baylor University will be speaking on his new book “Chesterton and The Nightmare Goodness of God.”
The theme of the conference will be a pivotal line from Manalive: “Break the Conventions. Keep the Commandments.”
Playing a major role in the hosting duties will be the Chesterton Society of Nevada, led by Sharon Parker. We’re hoping to have the Bishop of Reno say Mass for us at the Cathedral, which is only two blocks from the hotel in downtown Reno. The area features lots of wonderful things to see and do, including beautiful Lake Tahoe, historic Virginia City, a variety of art galleries, family friendly activities (safari zoo, water park, Exploratorium), and a monastery and a convent. That’s right. What did you think you’d find in Reno?
It will be the best conference we’ve ever had.
We’re going to establish the schedule very early and make registration available very early and publicize the event very heavily for the coming year. But let’s start getting the word out right now.
Dale Ahlquist
President, American Chesterton Society
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