Elderhostel for Faulkner Fans

“The Faulkner Elderhostel program was excellent!”

“Great week! Please reserve places for us to return next year!”

“I love Faulkner. There is no one to discuss him with at home in Boston. And now here I am dropped into a place where 300 people talk about Faulkner. For a week, I died and went to Heaven. Thanks for the experience of a lifetime.”

“I want to come back next summer!”

   Such evaluations by 28 older students registered through Elderhostel for the Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference in July 2000 were overwhelmingly positive, according to Carolyn Vance Smith of Natchez, president of Educational Travel Associates Inc.

   Smith, former Mississippi/Arkansas Regional Elderhostel director and a longtime college educator, coordinated the group’s activities during the Faulkner week at Ole Miss.

   “We had many people attending their very first Elderhostel program during the Faulkner Conference,” Smith said. “The experienced Elderhostelers told them, ‘This program is so special and wonderful. They’re not all like this!’”

   “Everyone praised Ole Miss, the speakers, the hospitality, the campus and especially the local people who were so kind to them.”

   With that success behind her, Smith is planning a second Elderhostel Faulkner program during the 28th annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference,  July 22-27, 2001.

   Again, the Elderhostel program will include all conference lectures, field trips, meals, and other activities and will also provide special Elderhostel‑only sessions with Faulkner experts.

   Anyone 55 or older (or accompanying someone 55 or older) is eligible to register for the Elderhostel program. Cost is $713, which includes the conference registration fee, lodging (double occupancy) at the Triplett Alumni Center Hotel on the Ole Miss campus, all meals from supper July 22 through lunch July 27, field trip transportation, handouts, and souvenirs. A limited number of single rooms are available at an extra charge.

   Program registration, which opens in February 2001, may be made by calling toll‑free, 1-877-426-8056, and using the program number, 24225-072201-01.

   Information about the program is available from Smith by telephone (601-446-1208) or by e-mail (carolyn.smith@colin.cc.ms.us).