FAR-West Logo
Home | About | News | Events | Conference | Awards | Email List | Board | Contact | Links

FAR-WEST ANNUAL CONFERENCE

conference photo 05This year's FAR-West Annual Conference will be held October 24-26, 2008 at the Phoenix Marriott Mesa Hotel & Convention Center in Phoenix, AZ.

With four very successful annual conferences behind us, we're looking forward to keeping the momentum going. Please join us for our fifth annual conference! You will discover a wealth of music, networking and fun!

Registration and Showcase
information coming soon!

Please check back here in late April.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND? WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?

jam sessionJoin the best of the west at the 5th Annual Folk Alliance Western Regional Conference. Meet the people who are making things happen in folk music from all over the West. The FAR-West Annual conference is ideal for Performing Artists, Presenters, Record Industry, Agents & Managers, Media, Arts Administrators, Folk Societies/Clubs, Folklorists, and DJs. Help build a stronger folk music community on the west coast while advancing your career and gaining valuable contacts at the same time!

Registration fee includes all Workshops, Panels, Seminars, Exhibit Hall Entrance, Showcases, Jamming Sessions, and Saturday's Awards Luncheon. Learn how to build your community, career and contacts while making and listening to music with your peers. It's about networking and building relationships that will advance your music career. Showcase opportunities abound and it's very affordable.

See who attended the 2007 Conference
Click on the link above for a list of who pre-registered for last year's conference.
This year's list will be posted later this summer and updated weekly until the conference.

2007 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Click on the link above for last year's schedule of events.
This year's schedule will be posted as soon as available.

2007 Conference Panels & Workshops
Click on the link above for a PDF File of the schedule for last year's Panels & Workshops.
This year's schedule will be posted as soon as available.

FAR-West Conference First Timers' Handbook
Recommended for anyone trying to make the most of the conference. To download the handbook (in ".PDF" format) click on the link above. (PC users right click on link and select "Save Link As"; Mac users click and hold.) Note: This file is 244K.

BOOKING YOUR HOTEL ROOM

jam session
Phoenix Marriott Mesa Hotel
& Convention Center

in Phoenix, Arizona.
FAR-West Conference Room Rates
$?? + tax for a single or double room

Cutoff date for this discounted rate is
September 30, 2008.

For Hotel Reservations: call 1-888-236-2427 and mention code: "Far-West Folk"
OR BOOK YOUR ROOM HERE
and enter "fwffwfa" as the group code to make reservations.

For "Music Rooms," to host private "guerrilla" showcases, do not book your room with the hotel. For insurance reasons, Private "Guerrilla" Showcase rooms must be booked through FAR-West rather than the hotel. The procedures to do so this year will be announced shortly.

If you have any problems or questions about booking your rooms, please contact our conference coordinator Reneé Bodie.

REGISTERING FOR THE CONFERENCE

Information on registering for the 2008 conference is coming soon!


Registration and Showcase
information coming soon!

Please check back here in late April.

FAR-West is run entirely by volunteers. We are always in need of volunteers to help out at this year's conference. Volunteers will get a discount on their registration fees. Details for the 2008 conference coming soon.

Howard Larman FAR-West Howard Larman Memorial Scholarship Fund
Due to the generosity of an anonymous donor, FAR-West has set up an annual fund to help someone with financial need attend the FAR-West conference. This fund continues to be added to by others wishing to honor Howard's memory. FAR-West is proud to have this ongoing fund in Howard Larman's name. Howard, who with his wife Roz, co-founded the long running FolkScene radio program, died in April 2007. Howard and Roz were on the founding committee of FAR-West. They have truly been pillars of the accoustic music scene for more than 35 years.

The Howard Larman Memorial Scholarship Fund is a financial assistance program administered by FAR-West. Each year, one or more grants will be awarded.

The size of the grant will be based on the cost for an individual artist to attend the conference, and grants can only be awarded to individuals. If a duo or larger group is interested in applying for the scholarship, please note that the application must be made on behalf of an individual or individuals.

The grant will pay for the conference registration and hotel room for two nights. The money will go directly from The Fund to the conference and the hotel. Awardees will be responsible for their own transportation and food, other than meals which are specifically included in the conference fees.

Applicants should send a short biography and a brief explanation as to why they want to attend the FAR-West Conference. This should be emailed to: larmanfund@far-west.org no later than Friday, October 12th. The grant will be awarded by a committee of three FAR-West Board Members no later than one week after the submission deadline.


SHOWCASE APPLICATIONS

Details to be announced soon.

EXHIBIT HALL

Details to be announced soon.

PROGRAM ADS

Details to be announced soon.

TOTE BAGS

Details to be announced soon.


2007 Conference Contact Information:
Conference Coordinator Renée Bodie
Sponsorships Caroline Aiken
Showcase Committee Wendy Waldman
Venue Outreach Bruce Hayden
Panels & Workshops Bev Barnett
Marketing & Publicity Freda Danzig
Registration Michele Dulson
Program Book / Ads Julie Paris
Exhibit Hall Kim McKee
Hotel Liaison Dev Singh
Best of the West Dan McILhenny
Website Russ Paris
Budget Committee Steve Dulson
Volunteers Rick Ahern
Youth Outreach Sara Sanders
Tote Bags Michele Dulson

PAST CONFERENCES:

November 2-4, 2007 - Fourth Annual FAR-West Conference
in Vancouver, WA / Portland, OR - See Photos

November 17-19, 2006 - Third Annual FAR-West Conference
in Sacramento (Rancho Cordova), CA - See Photos

October 28-30, 2005 - Second Annual FAR-West Conference
in Los Angeles (Woodland Hills), CA - See Photos

October 29-31, 2004 - First Annual FAR-West Conference
in Los Angeles (Woodland Hills), CA - See Photos