Alright, here's the scoop.
The conference is August 11-13, 2012, and field trips will follow for several days afterward. The conference theme is "Conservation through Education." We in the New England Carnivorous Plant Society put on a huge (600+ guests) public show every year, and what we've found is everybody who sees these plants and learns about them instantly falls in love with them. With issues such as habitat loss continuing to threaten CPs in the wild, we feel that the best way to promote conservation of CPs is through teaching people about them and inspiring them to protect these unique plants.
Registration for the conference is $125 before April 15 and $175 after April 15. Registration includes Friday night activities, admission to all lectures and programs, VIP access to the CP show, lunch and coffee breaks during the 3 days, access to field trips (additional fee for the field trips, so if you only want to attend the conference part you're only paying for that part), access to banquet (I think a small fee).
The conference will be held at the Johnson and Wales Inn in Seekonk, MA. Seekonk is just over the RI/MA border and it's about a 10 minute drive from Providence. The closest airports are Providence (~20 minute drive), Boston (~1.5 hours), and New York (~3 hours). Providence is also easily accessible by bus and train. If you stay at the Inn, there are shuttles available from downtown Providence and PVD airport.
We have three rooms reserved for the conference, the main ballroom and two big conference rooms across the hall. The large conference room will be where we will have the main conference...academic lectures, etc. Where you rub elbows with the big guys.
In the small conference center, we're planning to have people give talks and classes on things that are more geared towards, say, a hobbyist/public crowd. Things like tissue culture, Nepenthes cuttings, or even more basic things like how to put a VFT through dormancy. All sorts of presentations...whatever it is that makes carnivorous plants special to YOU. This is really where we want to "walk the walk" when it comes to education and inspiring people to protect these plants. We would love to hear from you if you'd be interested in giving a presentation or lecture!!
And in the main ballroom, we're not only going to have vendors and information booths, but also our biggest carnivorous plant show EVAH! This event will be open to the public and admission will be about $5. We'll have hundreds of plants on display and all sorts of exhibits. One NECPS member is going to be displaying CP artwork, I can't wait to see it. Feel free to bring any plants you want to show off...I'm pretty sure we're going to be having judges and awarding ribbons.
Field trips. We're working on nailing down the details, but we have a few lined up so far. A couple of local bogs/day trips. We also have a few people who have generously offered to lead trips through the Jersey Pine Barrens and the Green Swamp. So we're gonna take a road trip!!
Bringing your family/significant other? We'll have day trips available if they're just not that into CPs.
As we compile the speaking programs, vendors, etc, we'll have that info available on our website. We also have a guy working on a local guide to other motels and hotels in the area, as well as restaurants, attractions, etc, and we'll post that as well.
There is a restaurant and full bar next door to the public lecture room.
Keep the questions coming!