I am so glad to hear that Family History Expos is back online, and even better than ever. As you may know, recently FHExpo suffered a true business disaster when their web hosting provider suffered an accident which lost the FHExpo website and subscriber list. Holly Hansen, President of FHExpo, never lost a beat and kept the scheduled Expos running smoothly, and the new website is proof that "the show will go on."

Family History Expos is now rebuilding their subscription and participant database, and offering a FREE digital copy of their interviewing guide, "Life in Your Town." It's a nice perk for taking a few minutes to stay in the FHExpo loop, and I strongly urge you to join the mailing list and stay informed about Expos that may be scheduled near your hometown.

My participation as a Blogger of Honor at the St. George Expo in February convinced me that these regional conferences are a definite MUST when they are in your area, and a strong pull even when travel is necessary.

Upcoming Family History Expos are scheduled for -

Loveland, Colorado - June 25-26
Kansas City, Missouri - July 30-31
Salt Lake City, Utah - August 27-28
Pleasanton, California - October 8-9

In addition, two research retreats will be held at the Salt Lake City Family History Library, April 12-17 and October 25-30.

I have family roots in Colorado and Kansas City, and hope to be able to attend at least one of these events. Be sure to register for the mailing list to keep up on when a  Family History Expo event will be coming to a town near you!

What would you say to visiting a place where the average temperature in late February is 64 degrees F, with a record high of 84? A place where the average February rainfall is about one inch? A place where the temperate climate is filled with the electricity of genealogy and family history?

You can be there too! The Family Curator is giving away two tickets for full two-day admission (value $150) to the upcoming Family History Expo in St. George, Utah February 26-27, and it's easy to enter the contest.

To enter click this link to send an email or use the Contact the Curator link in the menu bar at the top of the page to send an email telling who you will bring with you to the Expo, and how they are part of your genealogical life. You might plan to attend with your spouse, parent, or sibling hoping to awaken their interest in family history, or you might bring your best genea-pal for your annual visit to St. George.

The contest opens today, and closes in one week, on Monday, Febraury 15, 2010  at 12 midnight PST. Winners will be chosen in a random drawing and notified by email on Tuesday, February 16, 2010.

I am looking forward to the sessions and great speakers and hope to meet up with you in St. George in only a few weeks.

Family History Expos has just announced the Bloggers of Honors for the 2010 St. George Family History Expo to be held February 25-26 at the Dixie Convention Center in St. George, Utah and I am honored to be honored.

The St. George Family History Expo has a reputation for outstanding speakers and friendly atmosphere, and I have wanted to attend for some time, especially after reading Dick Eastman’s remarks in Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter in 2008,

One of the largest genealogy fairs of the year will soon take place in the small city of St. George, Utah. This annual event is a "sleeper:" That is, the expo is not a national event and yet it attracts large crowds and a long list of presenters and exhibitors.

The St. George event is an "expo," not a conference. In short, it is an "open house" event aimed at novice to intermediate genealogists. While many presentations are offered at the Family History Expo, most of them are aimed at non-guru genealogists. In my mind, this is a good thing. While genealogists will always have a need for the advanced topics presented at some of the national conferences, the St. George Family History Expo is much more of a “grass roots” event. We need more of these, in my opinion.

This year, I planned to attend one of the southwest Family History Expos, and it was a tough choice between Mesa and St. George. In the end, I registered for Mesa, hoping to also visit my mom in Tucson. Alas, the week of torrential California rain washed out my plans, and I quickly marked my calendar for the February event in St. George.

As a Blogger of Honor, I am looking forward to getting the inside scoop on the Expo, as well as meeting other bloggers and spreading the word about using blogs to help research our ancestors.

Registration, program schedule, and more information are available at the St. George Family History Expo website. You can also keep up with the latest news at the Expo Blog or @FHExpo Twitter feed.

The Family Curator will also be running a contest to give away two free tickets to the Expo; more details to come!