American Tarantula Society 2014

[Anansis]

We are pleased to announce the 16th Annual Conference of the ATS July 24th to 27th in Tucson Arizona.

Go to our webpage at http://atshq.org/conference1/ to register and get the special conference room rates at the Hilton. Pre-registration is open until June 30th and after that at the event.





Schedule of Activities (this is a preliminary schedule, times and events subject to change)

Thursday, July 24

3:00 PM-4:00 PM: Check-in and Registration: Advance registrants can pick up their name badges and welcome packets; or you can register in person. For those who miss the check-in, you can register at the ATS table anytime during the conference.

6:00-7:00 PM: Keynote Speaker: Dr. Brent Hendrixson - Aphonopelma Taxonomy

7:00 PM - 7:30 PM: Sheri Monk - Safety in the Desert

7:30 PM: ATS Mixer The traditional Conference kick-off! Featuring food provided by the ATS.

8:15 PM: The World Famous ATS Cockroach Races! There will be medals and trophies awarded, and you can buy or rent your own cockroach to enter. Do you think you’re above shouting at a bunch of bugs running on the floor? Think again! All cockroach rentals and purchases benefit the ATS.



Friday, July 25

8:00 AM: Field trip. TBA

1:00 PM to 5 PM The Spider Mall: Our popular vendor area will be open for business! Come browse an awesome selection of live arthropods, art, crafts, books and supplies! Look for the following and more in the spider mall:

Arthropod Art and Photography Show: Once again, we’ll have a selection of artwork from attendees and members on display whenever the Spider Mall is open! Come see the talent the ATS membership has to offer.

Kid’s Table: Kids twelve and under can make bug-themed crafts and enter them in the kid’s art contest!

Educational Exhibits: Check out our special educational exhibits about tarantulas and other arthropods!

Vendors: An assortment of venders selling everything from live tarantulas and other arthropods to artwork and supplies!

ATS Raffle: Check out the amazing prizes donated to our annual raffle. Tickets available anytime the spider mall is open. Prizes will be drawn at the Pizza Party on Saturday night.

6:00 PM Picnic and night field trip at Catalina State Park. Join us for an evening of food (provided by the ATS) and scorpion black lighting! Following the picnic, we will hunt scorpions, tarantulas and other invertebrates and explore Catalina State Park at night.




Saturday, July 26

9 AM to 5 PM The Spider Mall Our popular vendor area will be open for business! Come browse an awesome selection of live arthropods, art, crafts, books and supplies! Open to the public on Saturday only

10 AM to 5 PM Lecture Series:
Note: Speakers and sequence subject to change.


9:00 am Martin Gamache & Amanda Gollaway, Tarantula Canda - Thersaphosids of French Guiana

10:30 am Jen Newman - Toxicology of Tarantulas

11:30 am TBA

12:00 Lunch Break

1:00 pm Michael Jacobi - Merian’s Avicularia and other Tarantulas of Suriname

2:30 pm Dr. Fred Sherberger - TBA

3:00 pm TBA

6:00 PM Pizza Party and Raffle drawing: The last social event of the ATS conference! Join us as we feast on pizza before settling in for the fun and excitement that is the ATS Raffle!

Sunday, July 27

All Day Field Trip! TBA


More pictures for last years conference to follow a little later. If anyone else has pictures from last year, feel free to post them.


Ollie Meidinger
Public Relations Officer

 

[advan]

I can't wait to get out there again, this year is going to be a blast!

Pictures from last year >>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/76845739@N03/sets/72157634897872316/

Sunset from "Sunset Point" on the hotel grounds.

 

[Anansis]

Thanks for the pictures Chad. Here's a few other inverts from Tucson. Like you I can't wait until July!

 

[Anansis]

A few more pictures from the area of the conference. Remember to take advantage of the early registration rate, you have to register before the end of June. After that registration will only be accepted at the door on July 24th.

http://atshq.org/conference1/

 

[Anansis]

I neglected to mention previously that the spider mall is open to the public on Saturday. Admittance is free but donations are gratefully accepted.
Also if someone local wants to attend the lectures on Saturday and the pizza party on Saturday evening they can do so via a $30 per person fee.

Early registration ends in about 11 days so if you're sitting on the fence, time is running out.

 

[Michael Jacobi]

Only a couple of days left to save with Advance Registration at http://atshq.org/conference1/. Wouldn't you like to be at a gorgeous resort in the desert mountains of Tucson, Arizona in less than four weeks? Don't you want to hang with kindred spirits, see amazing creatures in nature, and learn from a stellar lineup of presentations? It's not too late to bite the bullet and take a vacation to remember. See y'all there..

 

[z32upgrader]

I just registered! I'm so excited to be going for the third year in a row! I can't wait!!!
Catalina State Park
View attachment 127967

 

[Anansis]

2014 ATS Conference Announcement!

For those of you who might not have booked your hotel room yet, the Hilton has graciously offered an extension on the conference rate until July 8th.
Conference room rates at the resort are a very reasonable $79 per night plus applicable taxes. To ensure you get this rate, please call 520-544-5000 and ask for the ATS room rate.
Early registration for the conference has closed, but we will still have registrations available at the door.

 

[Michael Jacobi]

Two weeks y'all. Start packing.

 

[Anansis]

Hey Michael. I've been packed for weeks!

I've attached the latest updated schedule for the conference. A couple of field trip locations still need to be confirmed but they are dependant on what we can find the week prior to the conference. I see the monsoons have arrived in Tucson so lots of critters should be out and about by the time we get there.

Also note that the Photography Display is now a contest with small awards to the top three pictures as chosen by the conference attendees. Limit of three pictures per person and the subject matter must be invertebrates.

You can still register at the door and I expect the Hilton will honour our special room rate for another day or so. See you all there.

 

[Anansis]

I was just speaking to one of our speakers, Dr. Fred Sherberger and he told me that if any of the people coming to the conference have molts that they need sexed, he'll be happy to do it. Just bring the molt to the conference and he'll take it back to Atlanta, put it under the microscope and send you the results. This will be ideal for those of you who have molts that are difficult to sex.