PROGRAM SCHEDULE NOW AVAILABLE ON WEBSITE

The 39th Annual Conference on Jewish Genealogy is pleased to announce that
the program schedule is now live on the Conference website
(www.iajgs2019.org). This Conference will be held at the Hilton Cleveland
Downtown hotel in Cleveland, Ohio, >from July 28 to August 2, 2019.

EARLY-BIRD DISCOUNT CUTOFF DATE EXTENDED

Early-bird registration for the full Conference at the discounted price of
$325 continues through 11:59 PM, CDT (GMT-5), Thursday, May 9, 2019.

After that, prices for full registration and spouse/significant other
registration will increase by $50. The fees for daily registration and for
purchase of the audio recordings will also go up.

SPECIAL PROGRAM FOR JEWISH EDUCATORS

On Sunday morning there will be a special sub-conference for Jewish
educators. It will feature talks >from experts on ways to create a
curriculum that will excite young students to study their family
histories. A grant will underwrite the cost for up to 35 Cleveland-area
educators. For details, look under the PROGRAM tab on the Conference
website.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The main Conference will start Sunday morning at 10:15 with the first of
some 184 presentations. Sunday will also include the popular SHARE Fair,
and the Exhibit Hall will be open. On Sunday afternoon at 2:45, our
Keynote Speaker, Daniel Goldmark, Director of the Center for Popular Music
Studies at Case Western Reserve University, will describe how Jews
contributed to the evolution of rock and roll. That will prepare us for
the Sunday evening reception at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, just a few
blocks >from the hotel. The "Rock Hall" will be open exclusively for us,
and heavy (kosher) hors d'oevres will be served.

In addition to the lectures, there will be 11 SIG luncheons during the
week, many featuring speakers >from the European areas covered by the SIGs.
There will also be 11 "Breakfasts with the Experts" that provide the
opportunity to sit down in a small group (maximum 25) with top experts in
many facets of Jewish genealogy.

The program on Sunday through Wednesday will kick off with workshops for
beginners (and those who feel that their skills need some refreshing).
They will be led by certified genealogist Dr. Rhoda Miller, Ed.D., who
will provide suggestions on how to get started, where to find resources,
and how to organize what you are doing. Dr. Miller will also cover how to
get the most out of the Conference for those attending their first one.

There are over 35 Birds of a Feather (BOF) meetings along with additional
SIG meetings. Eleven computer workshops will be offered, limited to 25
attendees each. Participants will need to bring a laptop computer with
Internet access.

Evening sessions will include the annual JewishGen gathering, which will
introduce some major changes coming at that organization. Subsequent
evenings will feature the Pamela Weisberger Memorial Lecture, the ever
popular Jewpardy! game show night, and the Gala Banquet, featuring Michael
Krasny, well known to NPR and KQED-FM San Francisco listeners. Krasny, a
native Clevelander, will discuss the evolution of Jewish humor, the
subject of his most recent book "Let There Be Laughter."

During the daytime hours, there will be as many as nine sessions at any
one time >from which to choose. For most sessions, audio recordings
together with the speakers' slides will be available for purchase prior to
and during the Conference.

This year, there will be no video recording or streaming, so if you want
to enjoy the best talks, you need to come to Cleveland. See you there this
summer!

Jay Sage
Communications Chair