Wednesday Night - Donegal Square Ghostly Adventure

Donegal Square in downtown historic Bethlehem will be the site of our opening evening (Wednesday) special event. We're planning an exciting evening that you won't want to miss. The event includes a superb meal, soft drinks, and entertainment by some of the most interesting storytellers you've ever heard! It's an evening the whole family will enjoy.

After the opening reception at the hotel, we'll head across the street to Donegal Square and the McCarthy Great Room - Celtic Banquet Hall. There we'll partake of a spectacular meal.

There's one unique feature about Donegal Square that makes this a very unusual evening. The building is haunted! And Neville Gardner, owner of Donegal Square, has some very chilling stories to pass on to you about what goes on in this historic building. He has experienced firsthand the effects of the supernatural, and he has a way of sharing these stories that makes you feel like you're right there -- oh, that's right, you will be there!

But that's not all -- you'll have the pleasure of meeting and hearing from Juilene Osborne-McKnight. Juilene is a traditional storyteller, or seanchai, and a member of the National Storytelling Association. She has a spellbinding way of "skillfully interweaving documented history with Celtic myths and legends."

A writer and teacher for more than twenty-five years, Osborne-McKnight has taught Shakespearean drama, creative writing and Celtic and Native American literature and mythology. She has been a middle school and high school teacher and a college professor. Additionally, she has worked as a newspaper and magazine columnist and as a feature writer for such publications as Parabola, The Antioch Review, Dutchess, Highlights for Children, Hudson Valley and most recently the Journal of the British Association of Open Learning. Osborne-McKnight's first novel is I Am of Irelaunde. Her second is Daughter of Ireland.

Juilene will be spinning some tales for us that I'm sure will keep you spellbound.

Speaking of spellbound, here's something that will really top off your evening. We are thrilled to have well-known and respected author Katherine Ramsland with us to connect us with the spirits from the past right in historic Bethlehem.

Katherine is the author of nineteen books as well as numerous articles and short stories. She conducts writing and psychological seminars nationally and is a staff writer for the Court TV/Crime Library website. Her opinion pieces, which she writes regularly for the Philadelphia Inquirer, are syndicated to newspapers across the country.

Katherine has written the biographies of Dean Koontz and Anne Rice, along with books on psychology, forensic science, profiling, and writing. She is regularly featured on national media talking about such topics as forensic psychology, the criminal mind, and vampires. Katherine teaches philosophy and forensic psychology at DeSales University and is a self-confessed amateur ghost-hunter.

Since Katherine has researched and written books on ghosts and the supernatural, and is currently researching the ghosts of historic Bethlehem and the local cemeteries, she is uniquely qualified to share with us the information she has unearthed, so to speak. If the weather cooperates, we may even have the chance to go with her to a local cemetery to learn even more about the ghosts of Bethlehem.

You won't want to miss this exciting and unique adventure!

The Donegal Square Ghostly Adventure is not part of the conference registration fee. Price for the program includes appetizer, dinner, soft drinks, dessert, and entertainment. Advance ticket purchase is necessary so that Donegal Square can plan for the appropriate number of people, so be sure to request tickets for this event for yourself and guests when you complete your registration form.