10th Puzzle Parley

Dates: 
August 13, 2010 - August 16, 2010
Location: 
Hawthorne Hotel, Salem, MA

A Puzzle Parley, endorsed by the AGPC* and devoted entirely to jigsaw puzzles, will be held at the Hawthorne Hotel, Salem, MA the weekend of August 13-16, 2010. This will be the tenth jigsaw puzzle parley since 1994 which Bob Armstrong and others have organized. The meeting will be an opportunity to bring together people interested in making, collecting, displaying, discussing, buying, selling and assembling puzzles. Anyone interested in jigsaw puzzles (whether members of the AGPC or not) is invited to attend and participate. While Saturday, August 14 will be the focus of the meeting, we have scheduled events on Friday, Sunday and Monday as well. For attendees who plan to stay an extra day (group rate applies at Hotel), we also recommend Salem for its history as a seaport and whaling town, its witch craze and Witch Museum, the very fine Peabody-Essex Museum, and Hawthorne's "House of Seven Gables".

Proposed Program for Puzzle Parley August 13-16, 2010

Friday p.m.

  • 2:00-5:00 Visit to Jim Ayer and his water-jet puzzle cutting operation in Marblehead. Meet in Hotel lobby at 2 p.m. to organize carpooling.
  • 5:30-7:00 Cocktails and registration in Hotel lounge
  • 7:00-9:00 Buffet dinner at Hotel (part of single registration fee). Puzzle Swap! Bring old or new hand cut puzzle to trade.
  • 9:00-12:00 Puzzling in downstairs library

Saturday a.m.

  • 8:00-9:00 Register, meet other attendees, set up your puzzles to be displayed or sold
  • 9:00-11:00. Introductions. Cutters' Conversation. Discussion of puzzle cutting issues led by Dee Rogers, John Stokes and Melinda Shebell, including discussion of laminating pictures, new cutting ideas and setting up a jigsaw puzzle “mega-website”.
  • 11:00-11:15 Break
  • 11:15-12:15 Author, historian, collector Anne Williams will talk on "Parker Brothers: How they made their legendary Pastime puzzles".

Saturday p.m.

  • 12:15-1:15 Buffet lunch (part of registration fee). Cutting demonstrations. Cut your own puzzle!
  • 1:15-2:15 Bob Armstrong ("oldpuzzles") will talk about puzzle artwork from a collector's perspective.
  • 2:15-2:45 Collectors' Corner. Dana Haviland will talk about getting started collecting and her collection.
  • 2:45-3:00 Break
  • 3:00-4:00 Show & Tell. Talk about your favorite puzzle, show us your new work.
  • 4:00-5:00 Table sales. Outside sellers and buyers welcome. Cutting demo continues.
  • 5:30-7:00 Cocktails in Hotel lounge
  • 7:00-9:00 Dinner at Hotel. John Stokes will talk about his "100 Puzzles Project".
  • 9:00-12:00 Puzzling in downstairs library

Sunday a.m.

  • 8:00-10:00 Continental Breakfast in downstairs library, including:
  • 9:00 Melinda and Bob will display and discuss different replacement piece techniques.
  • Final remarks, prizes, farewells, etc.

Monday day

  • 10:00-3:00 For those who are not rushing home on August 15, Anne Williams is hosting an Open House in Lewiston, Maine to see her world renowned collection. Lewiston is 150 miles north of Salem (about 2.5 hours driving time). Directions provided at Saturday's meeting.

Registration

Charge for Saturday's all-day meeting will be $50/person. This includes Saturday lunch and tables for displaying and/or selling puzzles. Saturday night's banquet is $45 extra. For those staying the weekend, we are offering a single registration fee of $135, which covers the above (including Saturday night's dinner) PLUS Friday's buffet dinner and Sunday's continental breakfast. There is also an option if you just want to come at 4 pm to buy or sell puzzles at Table Sales. To register, complete the Registration Form and mail with your check to address indicated on the form.

Room Reservations

As of now, the Hawthorne Hotel is sold out completely. Kelly Taylor has arranged for additional rooms at the Salem Inn right there in Salem at $139/night with a 2 night minimum, and at the Boston Marriott Peabody near I-95 and Rt 128 at $99/night (10 min. away). Please contact Kelly directly by phone (1-866-887-1017 or 1-919-306-5769) or by email (keljoy [dot] taylor [at] gmail [dot] com) and she will make reservations for you at either hotel.

For further information

*Association of Game & Puzzle Collectors.  For more information on AGPC or to become a member, visit: www.agpc.org

Event Series: