Based on comments from the attendees and their conference evaluations, the conference was a great success, affording historic theatre representatives, service providers, suppliers, government officials and individuals the chance to:

• Tour the area's landmark theatres
• Attend professional development sessions about rescue, restoration and operations topics given by some of the field's best practitioners
• Meet the professional providers and suppliers who service the field
• Network with their peers to share information, advice and experiences about the topics of most interest to them.

More about the 2005 conference:

• Attending were 205 delegates from 38 different states plus England and Canada. More than 80 different historic theatres were represented along with people from more than 40 different service providers and suppliers, not to mention individuals, nonprofit preservation associations and government agencies. For 49% of the attendees, this was their first time attending an LHAT Annual Conference. Fifteen percent of the attendees represented were new LHAT members.
• The Preconference Theatre Ramble took delegates to visit several theatres in Missouri and Kansas, including: the Granada Theatre in Kansas City, KS; the Rio Theatre in Overland Park, KS; the Missouri Theatre in St. Joseph, MO; the Farris Theatre in Richmond, MO; and the Leavenworth Performing Arts Center (Hollywood Theatre) in Leavenworth, KS.
• Tours during the main conference included: Kansas City, KS's own Midland Theatre, Folly Theater, Lyric Theatre, Madrid Theatre, Uptown Theater, and the Music Hall and Little Theatre at the Municipal Auditorium.
• We offered 20 professional development workshops covering issues related to rescue and restoration or historic theatre operation and sustainability.
• Our keynote address was delivered by the dynamic Ben Cameron, Executive Director of Theatre Communications Group.
• We hosted another successful Meet the LHAT Service Providers reception (the fifth annual!) on the opening afternoon of the conference with more than 25 service providers and suppliers acting as hosts.
• We enjoyed a fun, laid-back Opening Night at the American Jazz Museum and Negro Leagues Baseball Museum with a tour and talk about the 18th & Vine Jazz District's own Gem Theatre. Accompanied by live, homegrown jazz music, conference-goers feasted on real Kansas City cuisine!
• Many delegates took advantage of our optional pre-conference tour of Kansas City to see the local sights and sounds, including a tour of the fascinating Arabia Steamboat Museum.
• We ended the event with the traditional Closing Night Reception and 2004 Annual Awards Banquet. Click here to read more about the 2005 winners!