AGSSSC Members,
The 2025 convention is scheduled for May 21st – 23rd at the DoubleTree Hotel in Harrisonburg, VA (1400 East Market Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22801) in conjunction with the Jeffrey S. Evans auction of shakers from the Dick Harris collection. The group rate for the hotel is $124/day, breakfast included, with other meals on your own. These rates are good for the nights of Tuesday 5/20 through Friday the 5/23 with checkout on Saturday 5/24. (See below for the details on how to make your reservations.)
The auction will be held on Thursday May 22nd at 9 am at the Jeffrey S. Evans Auction facility which is less than 10 miles from Harrisonburg. Being able to attend an auction featuring shakers and other glass from the Dick Harris collection should be a strong incentive to attend the convention. Jeffrey and Beverly Evans have offered to give a tour of their historic home and provide some of the history of the Shenandoah Valley where they are located. The tour is tentatively planned for Wednesday May 21st. We are planning on having pizza and drinks for dinner at their home. The preview for the auction will be on Tuesday and Wednesday. The auction will start at 9 am on Thursday, starting with the Harris shaker collection, followed by their figural milk glass and other glass.
We will be holding our meetings on Friday May 23rd at the hotel. We have reserved a meeting room for the day and will have light snacks and beverages available. This year, due to our reduced attendance size, we will not set up displays or conduct our own auction, although attendees are encouraged to bring shakers for sales from rooms and the meeting room. We also would like attendees to bring shakers for show and tell. There will be plenty of time to socialize, share our findings and explore the area. There are several antique stores and malls in the area, plenty of restaurants as well as beautiful scenic drives. All meals (except breakfast which is included with the room rate) are on your own, although we might go to dinner as a group. Note that the final schedule is under development and will be sent later in a separate email.
We are pleased to announce that there is no registration fee for this year’s convention. However, we would like you to complete and return the registration form (see below) so that we know how many members will be attending. Please complete the registration form below and email it back NO later than May 1, 2025.
Room reservations should be made directly with the DoubleTree by Hilton Harrisonburg utilizing the booking link below. When you click on the link, it will show the four nights (5/20 – 5/23). If you need to adjust the dates or number of guests simply click on the “Edit Stay” section on the website and make the adjustments. There is also a place to request connecting rooms. You can add special requests after you add your credit card information to reserve the room.
Please note that the amount shown on the link ($133) is not what we will be paying but an average for the room. After you reserve the room with your credit card, the reservation will show $124 per night for Tuesday through Thursday and $159 for Friday night. The AGSSSC will be picking up the difference ($35) for Friday night so the actual amount you pay will be $124 per night for each night including Friday. When you check out of the hotel this will be reflected in your receipt with a note that the Friday rate was adjusted to reflect additional funding by the AGSSSC. Sorry for any confusion, but the hotel needed to set it up this way for their record keeping.
Booking link:
If you have any difficulties or questions with online booking, contact the front desk: 540.433.2521 and remain on the line (do NOT choose “new reservation”).
We hope that you consider coming to the convention. We would like to have good attendance this year. Come and visit with old friends and new and have the opportunity to acquire rare shakers for your collection! For questions and additional information contact Tom Foozer at tlfoozer@gmail.com.
Note. There is no convention fee for attending! Light snacks will be provided on Friday in the meeting room. Breakfast is included with the room rate of $124 per day. All other meals are on your own.