Schedule

National Conference Schedule
Mills + Schnoering Architects
Official Education Sponsor

Registration opens Mon. afternoon, May 18th!

Click on event & session titles in schedule below for more details. All times are Eastern Daylight time.

Questions? Please email us at info@LHAT.org.

All events, days, and times listed below are tentative and subject to change.

Download printable schedule (PDF)

Updated 05.17.2026

National Conference Sponsors
Sunday, July 12, 2026

7:00 am - 7:45 am
Pre-Conference Theatre Ramble Registration & Breakfast

8:00 am - 5:30 pm

Pre-Conference Theatre Ramble  

Please note: The Ramble usually sells out in the first few days!

Buses load at 7:45 am; depart at 8:00 am 
First come, first served; space is limited.

Optional Event - Requires Additional Fee

Tours will include:

Additional venues will be announced when they are confirmed.

11:00 am - 6:00 pm

Conference Registration

1:35 pm

Optional Early Bird Baseball Game

The LHAT conference is during MLB All-Star week this year, so we won't be able to honor the long-standing tradition of attending a baseball game during the main part of the LHAT Conference. However, if enough attendees, who are not participating in the pre-conference Ramble or Early Bird session, are interested in attending a Minor League baseball game on Sunday afternoon, LHAT will purchase a block of tickets, if possible, so our group can sit together. If you're traveling alone to LHAT, don't be shy about saying you would like to go. You will not have to sit alone. When you register, indicate your interest in attending the game (and how many tickets) where requested.

9:00 pm

Evening on Your Own
  (Suggested: Cocktails & Networking in the Hyatt's Lobby Bar, Level One) 
Monday, July 13, 2026

7:30 am - 3:15 pm

Registration

9:00 am - 10:30 am

Facilitated Networking Breakouts

We'll kick off the first full day of the conference by doing what LHAT does best: sharing best practices from around the nation. We'll begin the first discussion as one large group, then divide into 4-5 smaller groups so you can take a deep dive into any topic desired. Share things you have learned since the Pittsburgh conference or ask questions about topics that are most important to your theatre's future success. Think of it as an in-person LHAT-CHAT Network! Breakout group demographics will be announced when we get closer to the conference.

10:45 am - 12:00 pm
Tools & Techniques Segment 1
  • ADA Planning for your Historic Theater
  • Adventures in Premium Experiences
  • Stewardship in Action: Navigating Dual Missions in Historic Theatres
  • The Perfect Ask: Uniting Board and Staff for Major Gifts Success
  • Whose Show is it Anyway? A Panel Discussion on Venue Rentals
  • An additional session will be added soon.

12:00 pm - 1:45 pm

Lunch on Your Own

12:00 pm

Exhibitor Setup Begins

2:00 pm - 3:15 pm

Tools & Techniques Segment 2

  • Nonprofit Board Governance Best Practices
  • How Film Exhibition is Evolving from Simple Screenings into Experiential Cultural Events that Combine Community, Education and Analog Authenticity
  • Print is Dead! Is Print Dead? Considering the Role of Paper and Ink in the Digital World
  • The Diversified Development Program: Contributed Revenue Strategies for Every Size Theatre
  • Using Organic Growth and Community Connections to Build an Education and Engagement Program
  • An additional session may be added.

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Exhibitor Teardown

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Evening On Your Own
Tuesday, July 14, 2026

7:45 am - 3:30 pm

Registration

9:15 am - 10:25 am

Theatre Tour 

Walk four blocks from the hotel

10:45 am - 12:00 pm

Tools & Techniques Segment 3

  • Forecasting vs. Budgeting: Building Stronger Financial Planning Foundations
  • Small Theater, Big Results: A Practical Annual Fundraising Plan for Lean Teams
  • Speak Up! - The Economic Impact of Your Theatre on the Community
  • That Anniversary is More Than a Number: Case Study in Leveraging the Centennial of the Strand Theatre to Build Awareness, Audience, Engagement AND Raise Money
  • Theater Technology Life Cycle Planning

12:00 pm - 1:45 pm

Lunch on Your Own

2:00 pm - 3:15 pm

Tools & Techniques Segment 4

  • Audience Engagement During a Renovation: How to Keep the Public Interested When There are No Shows
  • Avoiding the Dark, a Landmark in Progress: How the Paramount Theatre Oakland Systematically Modernized While Staying True to Its Character
  • Designing for Everyone: Applying Universal Design in Historic Theatres to Build Community, Drive Revenue, and Enrich Lives
  • From Annual Giving to Major Gifts: Reimagining Donor Pathways for Historic Theaters
  • Navigating the Segregated Balcony: How Theatres are Balancing History, Operations and Cost in Approaching Segregated Space

3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Facilitated Networking Breakouts

We will divide into five rooms with LHAT Board Members and other volunteers to facilitate each group for a lively, anything goes conversation based on topics that you will be asked to suggest! Look for a survey from LHAT in late June. 

5:00 pm - 5:45 pm

LHAT 2026 Annual Membership Meeting

LHAT Annual Membership Meeting Sponsor - OTJ Architects
Annual Meeting Sponso:r
OTJ Architects

5:15 pm - 6:15 pm

A Toast to LHAT's 50th Anniversary

Immediately following this year's Annual Membership Meeting, let's all raise a glass together to celebrate LHAT's 50th Anniversary, You will have just learned about LHAT's present and its future during the meeting. Now let's take a look back at the memories and milestones from the League's first 50 years and say "Cheers" to 50 more!

6:15 pm

Evening on Your Own
Wednesday, July 15, 2026

8:00 am - 9:15 am

Registration

8:15 am - 9:30 am

Get-Away Day: Networking Coffee Klatch

9:45 am - 11:00 am

Tools & Techniques Segment 5

  • Facilities Management 101 for Historic Theatres
  • Multiplication, Not Addition: What to Expect Before, During and After Adding a Screening Room
  • Show of Hands: Using Audience Data to Drive Smarter Theater Decisions
  • The New Atmospheric Theater: New Ways to Excite and Engage Audiences
  • Unlocking Historic Tax Credits

11:00 am - 11:30 am

Check out of Hotel

Store Bags in Ballroom (if possible)

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Theatre Tour

Walk two blocks from the hotel

12:30 pm

Return to Hotel - Conference Ends

Afternoon & Evening on Your Own