Feast of Tabernacles 2011

Planning for the Feast of Tabernacles is well underway as sites are being considered around the world. One of our biggest challenges will be to locate facilities in the United States, where large conventions lasting over a week are normally booked years in advance.

To begin the search, members were asked for suggestions on where to hold the Feast in the United States. Over 50 U.S. locations were suggested and are being considered as possible 2011 sites. The Festival team greatly appreciates this input.

In addition to the suggestions from members, Mike Blackwell, David Treybig and Mark Winner attended the Religious Conference Management Association conference in Tampa, Florida, in January to meet representatives of convention bureaus and meeting facilities. After identifying potential sites, a number of “request for proposals” (RFPs) were sent to convention bureaus across the United States. Results from the RFPs are arriving, and these men are inspecting the potential locations and facilities. Several former Feast coordinators are also contacting convention bureaus for possible Feast sites.

The demographics of Church of God, a Worldwide Association, indicate the need for between six to eight Feast sites in the United States. Once the proposals from various convention facilities have been received and reviewed, the specific locations of Feast sites in this country will be finalized.

Plans are also underway for Festival site locations in South Africa, the Caribbean, the Philippines, New Zealand, Latin America and a number of other areas around the world. Once the specific sites around the world have been finalized, information from the local hotels, motels, rental properties, etc. will be collected by the Festival coordinators and communication with the local church Feast advisers will begin.

Thanks again for the suggestions sent to us and for your future help in making this year’s Feast of Tabernacles a truly joyous and rewarding Festival season!

Richard Thompson

Festival Coordination

Interim Leadership Team