Florida Estos

Dear KLENK 2011 Registrants,

Happy New Year! Head uut aastat!

The KLENK 2011 Planning Committee and program presenters are looking forward to your arrival at the Magnuson Hotel Marina Cove, St. Petersburg, Florida, this week. Here is some information you may find helpful.

1. Some of you will be checking into the hotel Thursday afternoon, January 5, 2012. The KLENK 2011 Planning Committee would like you to know about the following two opportunities on Thursday evening.

a. The Salvador Dali Museum, located in downtown St. Petersburg, is open late on Thursday evenings and offers a reduced admission ($10) after 5:00 pm. That is quite a good deal.

b. Some of us will be having dinner at The Hangar Restaurant and Flight Lounge at 5:00 pm on Thursday. The restaurant, with free and ample parking, is located across the street from the Dali. The menu is varied and reasonably priced, so it would be easy for you to have a quick dinner before going to the museum if you decide you would like to do so. Please send us an email–KLENKFlorida@gmail.com–to let us know if you would like us to keep an eye out for you in the restaurant.

2. The KLENK 2011 Planning Committee will look forward to welcoming you after 3:00 pm, Friday, January 6, 2012, in the Nautilus Room in the Conference Center, Magnuson Hotel Marina Cove. We will have name tags and songbooks/lauliks with the KLENK program/kava. Our program will start promptly at 5:00 pm in the Sand and Sun Rooms next to the Nautilus Room.

3. If you are bringing something for the loterii table–such as a book, CD, DVD, chocolate, eesti pärase asi, easily packable item, etc/jne–please pass it on to Ms. Ingrid Shipotofsky or Ms. Monika Orumaa when you arrive in the Conference Center Friday or Saturday. We are grateful for every donation to the loterii table; we will conduct the loterii on Saturday night.

4. If you are arriving on Saturday, please pick up your materials after 8:15 am in the lobby of the Conference Center. We will start the program promptly at 9:00 am. If you are arriving for the Saturday evening dinner program as your first event, please arrive at 6:00 pm.

5. If you are still in the hotel on Sunday morning, we hope you will join us for the KLENK annual business meeting. Plans for KLENK 2012 and future KLENKs will be discussed and your input will be valuable.

6. Weather: Well, the northerners sent a frigid jet stream down our way for the first time this winter so this week is off to a windy and chilly start. Weather forecasters are telling us in the 7-day forecast that we will have sunny days and be warming up 64 degrees on Friday and 69 degrees on Saturday. You can stay tuned to our extended weather forecast through this link: National Weather Service.

7. Clothing: Please feel free to wear business casual attire. That means men’s suits and ties are optional. Because of air conditioning and the cooler weather, men’s sports coats and ladies’ sweaters will be comfortable in the hotel. When the sun goes down, an overcoat will serve you well. Some KLENK members like to get dressed up on Saturday night, so feel free to follow that tradition if you like.

8. Photographs: We will be taking photographs throughout the conference and posting them on the web and sending them to Vaba Eesti Sõna afterwards. If you do not want to be included in any photos, please be sure to let us know.

9. For your convenience, the KLENK 2011 Program/Kava, updated January 3, 2012, is available here: KLENK 2011 Program/Kava, updated January 3, 2012. While nearly all Saturday lecture sessions are in English, Estonian may be spoken in Prof. Ain Haas’s lecture and the theatrical skit.

You may be breaking a record in attendance at KLENK: Over 140 individuals–from across the US and Canada–are pre-registered! Thank you so much for your overwhelming positive response to the KLENK 2011 program and location. We hope you enjoy the conference as much as we have enjoyed making the preparations.

Please feel free to send an email to KLENKFlorida@gmail.com with any questions you may have.

Safe travels! See you soon! Nägemiseni!

KLENK 2011 Planning Committee