Educational Opportunities - Conferences

 In my last post, we discussed  educational opportunities that started and finished in the same day. 

Today, let talk about educational opportunities that are available  but they occur across days.  

Conferences are typically 3 days long. These events are fun to attend. Many are still in person, while others can be attended virtually. 

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These do have a cost associated with them. There are a vast array of presentations to choose from. Attending every presentation is next to impossible due to the number of presentations happening simultaneously. 

Most conferences offer an early bird discount, so you can save money on registration.  If the event is in person, the conference committee will arrange for discounted rooms at the conference hotel. You will need to reserve your room early as the rooms do go fast. 

There may be planned luncheons, excursions, and even workshops offered, but they will cost extra, and are not part of the conference registration.  

Meals and round trip travel to the conference is another expense that will need to be considered.

If the conference offers a virtual option, you can stay home in your pj's and bunny slippers, which saves the costs of travel and the hotel, but you also miss out on the networking, excursions and workshops.  It is a great option if you are on a budget.

Take RootsTech for example. It is one of the biggest genealogy conferences held every year. If you go in person, there is registration, hotel, travel and food costs. But you can do research at the Salt Lake City Family Search Library, network, go to the vendor hall, and see presentations only offered to in person attendees. 

If you opt to attend RootsTech virtually, it is free, but you miss out on the excitement, many presentations, the vendor hall and the amazing deals and door prizes.

Upcoming Conferences for 2026 

This list is not inclusive, there may be other conferences out there, that are not listed

Ohio Genealogical Society is holding their in person conference Apr 29 - May 2, 2026

National Genealogical Society is having their conference at the end of May 2026, with a virtual option.

The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania hosts PaGE, a virtual conference with a twist.  You get all the recordings two weeks in advance of the conference date. During the dates of the conference Aug 6-9, 2026, you can attend 30 minute live Q&A sessions with all the speakers. There will be scheduled topic discussions where attendees can join in. Vendors will have scheduled time to discuss their products and answer questions.  

East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference will be in person with a virtual option. Aug 21-23, 2026. 

Utah Genealogical Association holds their conference called The Summit of Excellence on Sep 10-12 2026. This is a virtual conference with access to all conference recordings until Dec 31, 2026.

North Carolina Genealogical Society has 2 conferences, a Spring one that happened in March 2026, and a fall conference that occurs on Sep 18-19, 2026.

New York Genealogical & Biographical Society (NYG&B) is holding a hybrid Conference on Sep 18-19 2026.

Minnesota Genealogical Society's conference called North Star is being held on Oct 30-31, 2026.  This is in person only. 

Texas Genealogical Society holds their conference on Nov 6-7 2026. It is in-person with a virtual option. 

Scottish Indexes - is a conference that occurs virtually every few months with a focus on Scottish Research. Held on a Saturday, sponsored by Graham and Emma Maxwell.

Webinars, Conferences, and Institutes are listed on the free genealogy calendar at thesleeplessgenealogist.com/calendar

Our next post will discuss Institutes which can last anywhere from 5 days to once a week for several weeks.

 Linda