Minnesota Area Tarot Symposium

Corrine Kenner and Katrina Wynne both suggested that I write about MATS. First of all, you can get all the juicy details here.

Also, there are lots of other gatherings that I should at least mention, because not everyone wants to come visit Minnesota, although I don’t know why (because it is quite fabulous here AND you’d be here for the State Fair, which don’t tell anyone, but I love almost more than anything).

Bay Area Tarot Symposium

Readers Studio (this link is to the 2010 conference; the info for 2011 will be up soon!)

Tarot Association of the British Isles (at which yours truly will be teaching two workshops)

Tarot Professionals Conference (Tarosophy)

I am sure I missed some…please correct my errors in the comments and I’ll amend this post.

MATS is a local conference (this will be its second year) that provides a forum for established and rising Midwest Tarot Talent. We seek to develop this talent and nurture interest in all things tarot (and tarot-related subjects).

After Corrine, Melanie, Nancy, and I got back from RS 2008, we shared our experiences with our Tarot Meet Up group. Afterwards, a few of us stuck around and while we were still high on Tarot Tribe Fumes, we decided to do a local conference. And we did.

Planning a small conference (50 – 100) takes work, investment of resources, and a little faith, but if you have a great team (and I think we do), it can be pretty easy on everyone with no one person taking on too much or feeling overwhelmed. Back in the day (in the late 1990s-early 2000s), the American Tarot Association ran a bunch of smaller regional conferences. These were nice for several reasons. First, not everyone can afford to travel across the country. Second, it provides opportunities for up and coming teachers to reach a larger audience. Third, it helps solidify local tarot connections.

Maybe your local Tarot Meet Up will start a local conference. If you don’t have a local Meet Up, start one! Who knows what great things will come of it.