General Info

This hub and this page are still growing, and will become more comprehensive as we get closer to the meeting. The Hub should help you find all the information you need to engage in the fully virtual and in-person parts of the 2023 Annual Meeting.

If you can’t find what you need here on the Hub, there’s more information about the 2023 AFS Annual Meeting on the main AFS website, where we round up all available, current meeting information, resources and announcements.

Accessibility

  • Guidelines for Accessible Presentations: AFS asks all presenters to read and follow these guidelines and to ask for assistance if needed.
  • Virtual sessions: This year, AFS is offering two days of dedicated virtual programming, October 11-12.
  • Hybrid sessions: A limited number of hybrid sessions are being offered at the Annual Meeting in Portland this year, November 1-4. “Join Session” links will be visible on session detail pages the day of the session, but not before. Can’t see them that day? Log in!
    • Since most virtual and hybrid sessions will be recorded and available for asynchronous access afterwards, our limited tech support staff will prioritize aiding virtual and hybrid presenters. If you are a viewer and cannot log in, we invite you to contact us, but we may not be able to assist you in time to attend the live session.
  • View Recordings: Recordings of some sessions and events will be added about a day after they occur. Go to the session details page to find the embedded video. Recordings will be available through January 2024.

Hub Log In

Anyone may view this entire program, including the Schedule and Showcase, but only registered, logged-in users are able to access contact information in the Presenter Index and live and recorded sessions during the meeting.

Your access to this platform is tied to your Annual Meeting registration; it is NOT the same login you use to access the AFS Member Portal. Look for an email from [email protected] with your Annual Meeting Hub login information, then log in here.

Register today to ensure you have access when the annual meeting begins! If you register after business hours, allow up to 1 business day between registering and gaining access to the platform.

Memorials

Tributes to the colleagues who we lost this year will be read during the Time of Remembrance. Only statements that are submitted to AFS by October 15 will be included in the ceremony.

In addition, a memorial board and table will be located in the Pavilion Foyer for other memorial tributes from Thursday, 8:00 am until Saturday noon. Paper, pens, and push pins will be provided for anyone who would like to post remembrances of any friends or colleagues. Mementos may also be displayed on the table, but food and live candles are not permitted. This is a public space, so please do not leave any mementos that would be painful to lose. You must reclaim displayed materials before noon on Saturday.

Policies

See AFS Meeting Policies, which includes information concerning appropriate behavior, audiovisual equipment, social media use, and last-minute cancellations or no-shows. 

Covid Updates

We ask all attendees to wear masks in meeting sessions and events to help protect our more vulnerable participants. For more about our Covid prevention measures, see our Annual Meeting Covid Updates.

Presenting

See Information for Presenters, including Guidelines for Accessible Presentations, tips for chairs, etc.

We urge all presenters to stay on schedule. Keeping to the published schedule makes it possible for audience members to find the presentations that interest them. 

Follow the schedule of presentations as it is published in program material, with adjustments only as noted on the program addendum when necessary.

Program and Events

The program consists largely of sessions and events submitted by participants and approved by the 2023 AFS Review Committee, except for those organized by AFS and the Local Planning Committee.

Almost all sessions, meetings, and special events are open to all meeting participants. Exceptions are noted in the schedule as “for invited participants only” or as requiring preregistration; preregistration for most events closes October 1.

  • Search the Hub to look for people and sessions and events using your own search terms.

Program Updates

Changes to the program inevitably arise at any moment before and during the conference.

Report Changes

It’s very important that you notify AFS staff as soon as possible with information about changes or cancellations, even during the meeting itself. AFS staff will attempt to share this information with attendees via the Addendum and the online program.

Inform Yourself

Use the Addendum, which is the best source of up-to-the minute schedule changes. We will promptly record all information there that we receive about changes to the program from October 1 through each day of the meeting.

The Hub schedule data will be updated roughly every week in September and October. A print addendum that contains all changes received between October 1-20 will be distributed with the print program book and available at the meeting registration desk. 

It is especially important to check the addendum each day of the conference for withdrawals: typically, when a paper is withdrawn, all subsequent presentations move up to fill the gap. The adjusted schedule will be noted on the addendum and the online program.

Social Media

Follow AFS on Facebook and Instagram @americanfolkloresociety. Track posts about the meeting with the hashtag #afsam23. 

Please review our policies on social media use.

Tours and Workshops

Sign up for conference workshops and a tour of Southeast Portland. Preregister by October 1.

Portland and Conference Venues

  • Hilton Portland Downtown
  • Local Information: including booking a guest room at the conference hotel, visitors’ information, maps, and the Portland Local Committee’s Guide to Portland.
  • Quiet Room: Cabinet Suite on the Hilton’s Third Floor is reserved for those who want to work or just enjoy some relative peace. Please remove yourself from this room for conversation, phone calls, or any other potentially disruptive activity. Hours of availability are posted to the schedule.

Questions?

Check our FAQs, or email us.