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Charting New Courses!
Join us in Salt Lake City, over Columbus Day Weekend, October 10 -12,
2003 at the University of Utah Guest House
in Fort Douglas. Make new friends. Reunite with old ones. Tour historical
sites. Enjoy the Utah landscape. Experience gay nightlife in the heart
of Mormondom. And learn about the new courses GLBTI Mormons are charting
for themselves.
Remember that you need to make your reservation by calling the hotel directly.
You will need a credit card to reserve the room. Rooms to choose from have either one king or two queen beds. Check out what the rooms look like at the Guest House website. Early reservations are encouraged to ensure space and price. Rooms will be held for the Affirmation conference until September 15. Then all available rooms will become available to other university guests. Room Costs: The cost per night is $79.30 (including taxes) for double occupancy. A third or fourth person would be an additional $10 (excluding taxes) per person per room. Up to four people can stay in one room. Facilities & Food Services: The rooms have a small refrigerator and microwave. The hotel does not have a swimming pool or a jacuzzi, but it does have a fitness room. Those staying in the Guest House will be served a continental breakfast, and other meals are included in the conference registration. Even though the hotel does not have a restaurant, there is a fine dormitory cafeteria nearby, and restaurants can be reached by campus shuttle. Parking: Free parking is readily available for conference registrants at the Guest House, Friday-Monday (about 200 stalls). In addition, parking is free Saturday-Sunday for the whole University of Utah campus. Just don't park in any spot that has a reserved number on it or is a handicapped stall. All restricted spots are well marked. Finding a Roommate Interested in sharing your hotel room with another conference attendee? Use this Roommate Finder. This handy map in PDF format includes the Guesthouse and all buildings where conference events will take place.
by Duane Jennings, Conference Chair Join us October 10-12 (Columbus Day Weekend) as we gather for our annual conference to be held in the heart of Mormondom. "Charting New Courses" is this year's theme. We will discuss the unique issues facing GLTBI people from Mormon backgrounds and celebrate both aspects of our dual identity-Peculiar/Queer and Mormon. The conference will be held at the Guesthouse on the University of Utah Campus in Salt Lake City. Preliminary Program Friday, October 10 All Friday events held in the Officers Club
2:00 - 5:00 Leadership Meeting. Saturday, October 11
8:00 - 8:30 Breakfast Sunday, October 12
9:30 - 10:00 Music and the Spoken Word - Temple Square Excursion leaves at 8:45 am
Friday Afternoon: Affirmation leaders and members are strongly encouraged to attend a leadership meeting Friday from 2 to 5 in the East Room of the Officers Club. The Friday opening, at 6:00 pm, will include entertainment, a few serious words, and how could any Mormon related event be complete without refreshments! The serious part of our opening event will be a look back at our past and the challenges we face in our future. The opening will also include entertainment, and we'll be learning some Latino steps by members of the Mexico City chapter. Playwright/actor Steven Fales will read selections from his new one-man show in progress, Cult!, which explores his obsession with cults of all shapes and sizes in our cult-saturated society. Alternately lighthearted and tender, with satire both mischievous and biting, Fales examines the way we so easily offer our allegiances to others, allowing them to define who and what we are, when the real secrets are already within our grasp--and much simpler than we've ever imagined. Don't Forget Your Swimsuit & Towel! For those who aren't into the bar/club scene, Friday evening, after the Open Social and presentation of "Cult," at the Officers Club, Wasatch chapter members Kevin and Steve are hosting a reception at their new home in Federal Heights--at walking distance from the Guest House. There will be hors d'oeuvres, music, videos--and they have an enclosed heated swimming pool. So those who wish, bring your swim suite and towel. We'll also have a few cars to shuttle over those who don't bring their walking shoes. Festivities will start approximately 9:00 pm and run until 1:00 am'ish (whenever). We'll have maps at the Opening Social and a phone number if you get lost.
Saturday
Workshops (Saturday, 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., in the hotel) Women
Spirituality
Saturday Afternoon: Free Time! The afternoon has been set apart as free time. Information will be available for groups interested in touring Temple Square, the Family History Library, and the City Cemetery.
(Saturday, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Officers Club) Affirmation is pleased and excited to announce that international writer and comedian Sue-Ann Post will share her talents and thoughts at the Saturday Night Awards Banquet. Sue-Ann or Posty, is a comic with a past. She has left church activity (the Mormon one), she has come out (she's gay) and she's told everyone about it. Since Sue-Ann launched onto the scene with her multi award winning solo show, A Bit Of A Post-Script, she has been creating her own brand of information charged comedy that has shocked and delighted audiences around Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Posty is possibly the only comic to perform for the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras and the World Council of Churches in the same week--and she was cheered at both events! Her autobiography, "A Bit of a Postscript," is available through Penguin Books.
(Saturday, 9:00 pm - 12:00 am, Student Union) From the banquet we will be traveling down to lower campus and joining the LGBT campus community for the Rainbow Ball and entertainment to be held at the Student Union. Affirmation is in for a treat as the Saliva Sisters make a repeat performance at their third Affirmation Conference (previous conferences were 1997 in Salt Lake and 1998 in Portland, Oregon). The Saliva Sisters are an unnatural act. Who would have supposed a girl group singing parody songs about fiber, bidets, and bras would have survived, let alone flourished, in Utah? Well, they have. In fact, they've become an institution. In 20-something years of melody, mirth and mucous, they have performed for groups as varied as the Western Republican Governors and the Gay Rodeo. As their performance list attests, they also get around. People who have seen them in their natural habitat import them to parties, conferences and cheap motels all over the country.
Sunday Sunday morning there will be an excursion to Music and the Spoken Word at the Tabernacle on the LDS Temple complex and the annual Affirmation Sunday Devotional. This will be followed up with the traditional Sunday Closing Luncheon. But conference participants are highly encouraged to extend their weekend through Monday. For a few lucky ones, Monday will be a day off from work as it is Columbus Day Weekend. The extended conference activities include the following:
(2:30 - 4:30, Social & Behavioral Science Auditorium) Moderated by Duane Jennings with Clay Essig, Carlie and David Hardy, and others, this panel will focus on matters of education and activism. The purpose of "Soul Force," much like the actions of Gandhi in India and Martin Luther King Jr., in the United States, is to put in motion people of faith to address the issues of discrimination and injustice. We will screen part of the documentary "THIS Obedience" and discuss discussion that have taken place the past 4 years on educating our LDS tradition - moving hearts, saving lives, building families and improving our communities . 'THIS Obedience' is an emotional journey through one of the most contentious justice issues of our time. In an act of "ecclesiastical disobedience," a Lutheran congregation in Minnesota ordains the Rev. Anita C. Hill, a lesbian pastor in a committed relationship, who refuses the requirement of celibacy for gay clergy. See www.thisobedience.com for additional information.
(5:00 pm, Social & Behavioral Science Auditorium) Sunday Evening Affirmation is cosponsoring the quarterly Family Fellowship Forum. Family Fellowship is an organization dedicated to strengthening LDS families with gay and lesbian members. We will screen a video produced and directed by Susan Randall, Assistant Director, University Television Productions, Boise State University, entitled "Voices in Exile - Stories of Lesbians Mormons." Susan will be here for the screening and will participate in a panel discussion following the film. The video features interviews with several Mormon lesbian couples, all with compelling stories and interesting perspectives.
If you are 21+, join us Sunday evening at Club Splash in downtown Salt Lake. The inside is smoke-free! The party will start around 7:00 pm, Sunday evening after the Family Fellowship Forum at 404 South West Temple.
August 5 Flying to Salt Lake for the October Affirmation conference doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg. Southwest.com is offering some inexpensive, direct flights from Seattle, ($186), Oakland ($156), Portland ($180), Phoenix ($118), and other cities. These are special prices available only via the Internet. Delta.com also offers some excellent deals to Salt Lake--especially from cities on the Pacific coast. Generally speaking, the sooner you buy your ticket, the more chances to get the best deals.
At orbitz.com and travelocity.com you can
find specials offered by many airlines. All the prices below are roundtrips offered by orbitz.com on the dates of the
conference (October 10-12):
Finally, if you're the adventurous type, consider making a reservation at hotwire.com. Hotwire provides some excellent deals, especially if you're flying from the East Coast or the Midwest, but alas—you'll find out your itinerary and the name of your airline only after purchasing the ticket.
University of Utah Pride Week 2003
Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Utah
Utah Museum of Natural History
Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) 2002
Olympic Sites (including the new Cauldron Park & Museum at Rice-Eccles Stadium)
The leadership meeting for the 2003 Affirmation Conference will take place on Friday, October 10, from 2:00-5:00 pm at East Room of the Officers Club, south of the University of Utah Guest House in Salt Lake City. We encourage chapter and group representatives to schedule their flights so that they can attend this important event. Even though the meeting is open to all Affirmation members, we are asking every chapter to make sure they are represented in the meeting. For more information about the conference, please visit us at www.affirmation.org. Sincerely,
Scott MacKay, Olin Thomas, Darren Holman, & Hugo Salinas
Charting New Corsets! The rumor that Imelda will perform a musical number at the Affirmation Annual Conference has been spreading in gay Mormon circles like wildfire. "Yes, it's true," wrote the diva in a message emailed from her bungalow hideaway in the Pacific. "I'll be there in black fringe." Join us in Salt Lake City. Enjoy the Utah landscape. Experience gay nightlife in the heart of Mormondom. And learn about the new courses GLBTI Mormons are charting for themselves.
Click here to enlarge map Conference Will Be Held at Historic Site
In the days of Brigham Young, when the federal government saw slavery and polygamy as "twin relics of barbarism," Abraham Lincoln established Fort Douglas at Salt Lake City, with its cannons symbolically pointing to the distant temple. But the cannons were fired only to salute the resolution of the conflict, when Utah finally attained statehood. More recently the University of Utah built its Guesthouse at Fort Douglas to serve as an Olympic Villa during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Featuring 136 rooms, 5000 square feet of conference space, and surrounded by a rich history, the University of Utah Guest House will be the place for the 2003 Affirmation Annual Conference. Join us in Salt Lake City on October 10-12, 2003 for a historic weekend. Links: The Spirit of Fort Douglas  A documentary prepared by the University of
UtahFort Douglas Military Museum Planning Committee Advances Ideas for Annual Conference by Duane Jennings Hi Folks, The 2003 Affirmation Conference Committee is excited about this year's Conference and hope all are looking forward to the annual get-together. We have received many ideas from people and the committee has had two brainstorming meetings. Now the question is just finding people with time and means to bring some of these big ideas to light. Volunteers are always welcome. Some of what we are looking at is a Rainbow Ball sponsored by several local groups, a memorial service of some sort and a celebration of our creativity. We have also decided to resurrect the Handkerchief Project. Inspired by the Clothesline Project and similar to the Shower of Stoles Project, the Handkerchief Project is a visual representation of the pain occasioned by excommunication. If you or someone you love has been impacted by excommunication, or has had their name removed from the records in anticipation of excommunication, we invite you to participate if you didn't in 1997. We'll have more information on this project in the following months. Next month's Affinity and the website will have registration information for the conference and accommodations, and additional information as the details are arranged. We are looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new this year! The Conference Committee PS: Email Duane Jennings for questions, suggestions and to volunteer! International Members Save Money for Conference Every year the Affirmation Conference attracts members from distant lands, but this year international attendees might set a new record. The Mexico Chapter of Affirmation has just announced that a group of 6-12 members will make the trip to Salt Lake City on October 10-12. Nefi, one of the organizers, is promoting a saving plan that will help chapter members complete the difficult trip, which involves buying expensive plane tickets, processing a passport, and obtaining a visa. Nefi himself experienced his first national conference six months ago, when he traveled to the event held in Las Vegas. |
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