Oct. 28-31, 2004, Seven Springs Resort
Champion, PA
Our Eastern Conference is on the horizon and promises to be the best ever!
Join us at the
Seven Springs Mountain Resort
in Champion, Pennsylvania, October 28-31, 2004.
Highlighting the program will be the first International Timber Frame Workshop. We are inviting timber framers from Germany, France and Japan to lead a special event where they will design, plan and execute a small timber framing project. Crew leaders include Boris Noël from France, Kojiro Sugimura from Japan, and Filippo Campagna from Germany.
Pre-Conference Workshops
Those attending the Pre-Conference portion of the workshop will hear the international crews share with each other the methods they use to approach the project, and will then have the opportunity to work alongside the crews as they demonstrate their techniques during the main body of the Conference.
The main Conference begins with breakfast on Friday morning and runs until noon on Sunday, with many wonderful featured presentations. In the Basic Timber Framing Track, topics include site safety, sharpening saws, wood behavior, and beam sizing. In the Natural Building Track, topics include straw/clay and other natural wall enclosure systems. Click here to see a full schedule of presenters and their topics.
We will also get outside for walks in the woods with Penn State University foresters and offer historical topics on preservation techniques and how to think "outside the box" when designing projects. The Timber Frame Business Council will offer business seminars.
We are also planning a first-ever "CAD Challenge" for those who want to see a variety of CAD programs for timber framing go at the same design problem.
Other regular events include the Hundegger User's Group Meeting, Real Time Problem Solving, Membership Meeting and Board of Director's election. Kimberley Reagan and friends will bring back the Children's Discovery Workshop, which was such an inspiring event at the Montebello Conference last year.
Special Friday Night Banquet
Timber framers are always fascinated by all the natural forces, techniques and craftsmanship that hold together a strong and beautiful building. But have you ever wondered about the underpinnings of a great meal? Is food something you just take for granted, without understanding the care, hard work, skill and whims of nature that put that food on your plate? Is there a bond between those who work to make awesome structures with wood and those who do the same with their hands in the soil?
For this Conference, the TFG has teamed up with the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA), an organization with which we share several members, to bring you a sampling of the bounty of our host state. We were excited to hear, for example, that some of the most renowned lamb in the world is produced just down the road from Seven Springs, and that another nearby farmers' co-op supplies the best restaurants in Washington, DC!
Join us at this year's Friday night banquet, where we will enjoy some of the most delectable delights of the season, but also meet some of the highly skilled farmers responsible for this celebration. We promise...you'll never take food for granted again! -- Brian Snyder, PASA Executive Director and TFG member
Other Attractions
Throughout the Conference will be our usual attractions, including:
- Trade Fair: Featuring suppliers for the timber frame industry who will display their products and services and explain in detail how they're used. Meet those who support our craft in the field, including panel suppliers, tool vendors and wood brokers. Don't miss the Mixer Friday at 5:00 PM in the Trade Fair area. The Timber Frame Business Council (TFBC) organizes the Trade Fair. If you wish to exhibit, contact TFBC Executive Director Scout Wilkins at 888-560-9251, or info@timberframe.org.
- Slide Show: Bring ten of your favorite slides (or better yet, send a CD in advance with electronic images) related to your work in timber framing to share on Friday night. Everyone's work is welcome at this Conference highlight. Please put your name on each slide and be prepared to give a brief narrative to accompany their showing. Further details will be included in your Registration Confirmation package. Joel McCarty, 603-835-2077, joel@tfguild.org, coordinates the Show.
- Bookstore: Charlotte Cooper will once again bring her Summer Beam Books for one-stop shopping and browsing for all those hard-to-find titles on woodworking and timber framing. Open all weekend.
- Benefit Auction : The TFG Benefit Auction is a major fund-raiser for the year and made successful through our members' generous and creative contributions of goods and services. The Auction will be a three-tiered event: the Live Auction will take place on Saturday night, while a Silent Auction and a Bag Auction will take place throughout the Conference. Plan to have a good time participating in the opportunities our Auction threesome provides! Bring a costume! Your happy bidding is a wonderful contribution to your Guild. Questions may be directed to Susan Norlander (susan@tfguild.org or 603-835-2077). Don't forget to bring a costume for our Halloween auction on Saturday night! Let your hair down, put on the dog, let your alter ego show...
- Project Expo: The Conference Project Expo offers timber framers the opportunity to show a recent project of which he/she is proud. Projects will be displayed in a central location for viewing by Conference attendees. People are encouraged to vote for a favorite project, which will receive the Peoples' Choice Award. Entries are usually presented on display boards, but other forms of display are welcome. Watch for the Project Expo entry form included with your Conference confirmation packet. This will include information on how to reserve a piece of foamcore so that you are not juggling that with your airline luggage. Questions may be directed to Susan Norlander (susan@tfguild.org or 603-835-2077).
Registration Information
Main Conference fees include all seminars Friday through Sunday and meals and breaks from lunch on Friday through dinner on Saturday, but no lodging. A full breakfast buffet is included with your lodging package if you're staying at the hotel. Commuter rates include breaks, lunch and dinner on the day attending (no breakfast). Those attending the Pre-Conference Workshops pay a separate fee. The $50 early registration discount does not apply to commuters or the Pre-Conference Workshops. Rates include gratuity and tax.
For hotel reservations, call 800-452-2223 or 814-352-7777, ext. 7009. Be sure to mention you're with the Timber Framers Guild to get the special rate. Register online or via the Registration Form.
Our Venue
The Seven Springs Mountain Resort is located in the Laurel Highlands of southwestern Pennsylvania.
There's plenty for kids big and small to do at Seven Springs; this is probably the most kid-friendly venue we've ever had. There are two huge game rooms at the sprawling resort, plus an indoor pool, bowling alleys, indoor miniature golf, health spa, and outdoor mountain slide.
We'll be a bit early for snow here at Pennsylvania's largest ski resort, but the state's best white-water rafting and fly fishing will still be in full-swing in the immediate area. Perhaps the best attraction in the area is Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous house, Fallingwater, located just 19 miles away and available for touring daily. Tour information is available here: www.wpconline.org/fallingwater/visitors/tour_types.htm.
Seven Springs is located about 1.5 hours southeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania outside the small town of Champion (address: 777 Waterwheel Drive). Room rates are $101 per person, per night, single occupancy, $75 per person, per night, double occupancy, and $65 per person, per night, triple/quad occupancy. This rate includes lodging, full buffet breakfast, and all taxes and gratuities. Please make your reservations early to be sure of getting a room; call 800-452-2223 or 814-352-7777, ext. 7009. For a look at Seven Springs, go to the web at www.7springs.com.
For those looking to share rides to the Conference, please visit our newest feature: the Rideboard.
