The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s 39th annual convention will be held Oct. 7-9 in Pittsburgh, one of the top-rated cities in the country.
The national convention will be held at the Wyndham Grand hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. See the bottom of this page for more information and registration form. More speakers will be announced as they confirm.
Speakers
(These speakers also will be signing copies of their books during the convention.)
Susan Jacoby is the author of 11 books, most recently, Strange Gods: A Secular History of Conversion, which will come out in March. Her articles have appeared frequently in the op-ed pages of The New York Times, including one in February, “Sick and Tired of ‘God Bless America,'” (which can be read on Page 3 of this issue).
Jerry A. Coyne, professor emeritus in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago, has written 119 scientific papers and 150 popular articles, book reviews, and columns, and his new book Faith vs. Fact: Why Science and Religion Are Incompatible. Coyne plans to speak on the topic of “Evolution and Atheism: Best Friends Forever.” He previously was honored with FFRF’s Emperor Has No Clothes Award.
Lawrence Krauss is an internationally known theoretical physicist and author and is director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University. He is the author of nine books, including bestsellers The Physics of Star Trek and A Universe from Nothing. He recently wrote an op-ed for The New Yorker, “Put an atheist on the Supreme Court,” (which can be read on Page 5).
Lauri Lebo is an author, radio station owner and former reporter from Harrisburg, Pa., where she was the principal local reporter covering the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial in 2004-05 while working for the York Daily Record. After more than 20 years as a journalist, she left reporting to write The Devil in Dover, a book about the Kitzmiller trial over so-called “Intelligent Design.” She will be named FFRF’s Freethought Heroine.
Join FFRF on Fallingwater tour
On Friday, Oct. 7, prior to the start of the convention, FFRF will be hosting a group tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Fallingwater, the elegant and awe-inspiring home ingeniously built over Bear Run waterfall.
The $40 ticket includes admission to Fallingwater and round-trip coach bus transportation. There is also an optional, although highly recommended, box lunch available for $12. (The cafeteria is expected to be too busy to accommodate FFRF on this tight schedule.) The 43-mile route to the captivating Fallingwater is through scenic Pennsylvania countryside during the most beautiful time of the year.
Extra rooms have been set aside at the Wyndham Grand for FFRF members for Thursday night for those interested in the tour. The buses leave every half hour beginning at 7:50 a.m.
Note: The tour can be a challenging walk for some. There is a ¼-mile walk to and from the home on uneven gravel paths, a one-hour walking tour, and more than 100 steps. If the walk to or from the house would be difficult for you, please let us know so that we can make arrangements. There is no wheelchair access. Also, no children under the age of 6 are allowed.
