2015 Surratt Conference

[L Verge]

Time for an update because our Surratt conference is proving even more popular than usual. We are approaching 100 registrants just three weeks after the packets went in the mail on November 3. More importantly, both the Friday bus tour to the Smithsonian and a matinee at Ford's Theatre as well as the Sunday Booth Tour with guest narrator James Swanson are filled and have waiting lists.

Fear not, however, we try our best to please our customers. We are back in contact with The Ford's Theatre Society to see if we can get permission to run a second bus on the Sunday tour. Besides the narration of Mr. Swanson, the Sunday tour is unique in that our group will be allowed to see the special exhibit of Lincoln-assassination memorabilia before it opens to the general public. We had already agreed to pay for extra security since we are getting in before hours, and may have to pay more for the extra bus.

The second bus on Sunday is totally contingent upon gaining Ford's permission. We have our wonderful, regular tour narrators who will be contacted once that permission is secured. Since we already have twenty people on the waiting list for that second tour, I hope that the authorities will agree that the public needs to be served.

If permission is given, we will need thirty participants in order to afford the bus and the admission price at the Mudd House. They refuse to offer any of our buses a discount on the tours that we bring to them each year (even though such discounts are standard in the travel industry -- and we generally bring them about 500 visitors each year via our bus tours). We also plan on Bus #2 following about a half-hour behind Bus #1 so that, at various stops, both narrators can mingle with the people and (perhaps) present different viewpoints, handle questions, etc.

Since moving/herding 75-100 people on tour will require a tad more time, we will be bypassing the regular, one-hour tour at Surratt House with both buses. Conference registrants will have ample time on Friday evening to get a relaxed, standard tour of the museum and visitors' center from 5:30 to 7:30 pm in conjunction with the opening reception.

So keep your fingers crossed for us getting permission from The Ford's Theatre Society to proceed with accommodating an additional 30-50 people on our Sunday tour. I'll post as soon as we know one way or the other.