Sunday, 2020-05-31

Dear Conference Supporters,

We have decided to cancel our conference this year. Your tickets will be refunded, and we will let you know as soon as next year’s dates are set.

Even though there is a remote possibility that the Boulder Theater will be allowed to host a full conference by August 1st, we must acknowledge the overwhelming drawbacks to going forward now.

A third of our presenters reside outside the U.S. and may not be allowed to travel, or could face difficulties returning home.

Many among us are battling chronic conditions that increase vulnerability to COVID-19. A great number of tickets have already been refunded, some explicitly for this reason. Several people have contacted me to tell me they love CarnivoryCon, but simply cannot put themselves at increased risk right now. Nor would we want them to. While there are many good reasons to question social distancing policies, it is quite possible that holding the event at this time could endanger lives.

Wherever you stand on the state of evidence about the potential risk of large gatherings, the financial risk of hosting a poorly attended conference jeopardises the future of the event.

Some people have expressed desire for an online version. We are considering hosting an innovative, online carnivore event, but it would not be, and could not be, a replacement for CarnivoryCon. The Carnivore Conference prides itself not just on cutting edge presentations, but on an exceptionally high-caliber food experience, and an incomparable in-person social vibe. It is a disappointment not to be able to offer that this year, but we would rather invest our energies in next year’s meeting, than sink them into an event for which circumstances are so heavily stacked against it living up to its aims.

Sincerely,
L. Amber O’Hearn

Please click here to be taken to the Carnivore Conference website.

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Thursday, 2020-03-19

Dear Carnivores and Carnivore Supporters,

I’m sorry to bring you this news.

We have been working behind the scenes for several days, trying to figure out the best course of action in response to COVID-19. Colorado currently has public gathering and venue bans that extend just short of our date, but it could easily be extended. Similarly we have many international speakers and guests who may be denied entry or return. Even if all restrictions cleared in time, many attendees are refunding due to work travel restrictions, their own safety, or to protect others. If attendance were not filled it would create a heavy financial loss for me personally. Finally, we feel we need to be socially responsible and take a conservative approach.

The Boulder Theater and Blackbelly have graciously offered to forward our reservation and deposits to a later date, but available dates were quickly evaporating. So we made the decision to act now, and have secured a reschedule to Saturday and Sunday, August 1-2.

I’m very sorry for the inconvenience of all this, and I hope you will all be able to make the new dates.

I am currently trying to see if Eventbrite will allow date changes or transfers to make ticket changes easy. So if you know you can come for the new date, hang in, and we will let you know what process we come up with. If you know you can’t make the new dates, please request a refund through Eventbrite and we will process them as quickly as we can.

Yours Sincerely,
Amber O’Hearn

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2020-03-13

Dear Carnivores and Carnivore Supporters,

Over the last couple of days, I have had to reassess my initial rather cavalier evaluation of the risk of holding this large event, based on looking at the worldwide data.

It is very difficult to predict at this stage exactly what the situation will be in two months. However, it has become less and less plausible to me that the situation will be sufficiently contained that holding large gatherings will be advisable. They may even be illegal.

Right now, many think we are past the point of possible containment and that we are in mitigation phase. For mitigation, the most important measure for reducing the health burden is to “flatten the curve”. That is, we need to slow down the speed of spread of the disease in order to keep hospitalisation rates manageable. This is achievable by minimising close contact between people, particularly by avoiding large gatherings, but also other kinds of “social distancing”.

This article makes a strong case for immediate social distancing measures: https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca I think it’s persuasive.

The CarnivoryCon organisers are committed to taking a socially responsible stance, but the potential personal cost we are facing is enormous. We are not cancelling today, but if and when that seems like the best course, we will honour ticket refunds as late as possible. We will also offer an option to donate part or all of the ticket price to offset the substantial losses for non-refundable arrangements such as venue bookings, and service deposits.

Right now we are actively exploring alternatives for an online event, or for rescheduling at a more favourable time. We will keep you informed as events unfold, and we will also be asking for your opinions!

In health,

Amber O’Hearn
CarnivoryCon Founder and Co-Organiser