ROOTS & BRANCHES

There are many opportunities for genealogists to get together either in person or virtually.

There’s mammoth RootsTech in Salt Lake City, the National Genealogical Society’s rotating annual conference, regional get-togethers such as the one sponsored by the Ohio Genealogical Society, and host of other smaller occasions.

But there have been precious few statewide Pennsylvania get-togethers in this space.

Until now.

That’s because Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania is sponsoring an all-virtual “Pennsylvania’s Genealogy Event”—PaGE, for short—a truly 21st century family history gathering from Aug. 5–12.  

While the COVID-19 pandemic led to an explosion of virtual genealogy conferences, PaGE will be special, according to Kathryn Donahue, PaGE chair and GSP vice president, who had been thrilled by the International German Genealogy Partnership conference on the highly interactive Whova event platform.

“When I logged into IGGP 2021, I knew right away that Pennsylvania needed an interactive conference on the Whova platform,” Donahue said. “There are so many avenues for networking before, during, and after the conference. And what I love, as a former educator, is that everyone can become a content contributor. So, in addition to our line-up of top-notch speakers, we’ll have Gatherings on niche topics and input from research-savvy attendees. PaGE 2023 will be a virtual fountain of people to meet and Pennsylvania-specific content.”

There will be dynamic keynote speakers about the past, present, and future of Pennsylvania family history on Aug. 5 and 12, including such luminaries as FamilySearch Chief Genealogical Officer David Rencher, DNA author Blaine Bettinger, Adrienne Whaley from the Museum of the American Revolution, and material culture expert Lisa Minardi.

Another keynoter will be Pennsylvania State Archivist David Carmicheal, who will give registrants the scoop on the new State Archives building, expected to open to the public shortly after PaGE.

There will also be a robust program of pre-recorded sessions—released through the event to watching at the registrants’ leisure—by a variety of speakers ranging from immigrant expert Rich Venezia and Judy Russell (the renowned Legal Genealogist) to Quaker researcher Annette Burke Lyttle and church records pro Michael Lacopo.

 In addition to the keynotes on the event’s opening and closing days, there will be the 30 pre-recorded presentations dropped in batches on the Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday of the event with opportunities to engage some of the speakers in live Q&As during the event.

There will also be Sponsors and Exhibitors offering deals and prizes for participation in the Expo Hall. During all six of the days in between the keynotes, there will be scheduled Gatherings available as well as the opportunity for impromptu Meetups and even one-on-one chats with other attendees.

Most features of the event will remain available for three months.

Registration options for PaGE are packages that include:

• Keystone Keynotes: Access to the two Saturday sessions plus the Expo Hall, Gathering sessions, and all the other Whova interactive features.
• Sessions-Plus: Access to 30 pre-recorded sessions to view during or after the evnt, plus Expo Hall, Gathering sessions, live speaker Q&As, and Whova interactive features.
• All-Access: Everything included in the previous two packages.

Registering by June 30 includes an early-bird discount, and GSP members receive an additional discount on top of that.

To register, go to the URL, https://genpa.org/programs-and-events/