Come One, Come All
to the
First Ever
Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum
Members' Get-Together
Last updated on Monday, July 29, 2002
All Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum members are cordially invited to attend an informal Get-Together for us lovers of Martin Guitars! The setting will be both indoors and outdoors, definitely informal, and most of all there will be the opportunity to meet new friends, greet old ones, enjoy each other's company, and play the guitars which we have grown to love!
When: August 5, 2002, from approximately 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Where: Nazareth, Pennsylvania
Who: YOU and your guest!
What: A tour of the Factory, singing and playing, and lots of fun!
Here are the up-to-date details. Be sure to watch this page for any final updates.
The Location --
Sunday afternoon: Nazareth Borough Park - The "Log Cabin," up on the hill behind the concession stand, to the left as you enter the park.
Monday morning: C.F. Martin & Co.
Monday afternoon: Nazareth Borough Park - The "Small Pavilion," just past the tennis courts on your right as you enter the park.
The Events --
1. As indicated above, a preliminary get-together on Sunday afternoon is planned. I have reserved the "Log Cabin" from about 12:00 noon to around 8:00 p.m. or so. This will be a private spot just for us. Electricity is available.
2. On Monday, we will start our day with a private tour of the Martin Guitar Factory at about 9:00 a.m. This is a change from previous posts!! We will break into groups of about 15 or so and be given our private tour, starting in 10-minute intervals to space out the groups. NO tours will start after 10:00 due to other scheduling events at Martin, so please be there promptly! The option for those who cannot be there early is to go on the afternoon tour, which will not be private and which will only be given from about 12:30 until 1:00.
Martin has trained some new tour guides to insure that we can all be accommodated. Please be courteous and considerate of these folks - for some it will be the first tour they have ever given. There will also be some experienced tour guides on hand, although the possibility of Chris Martin or Dick Boak participating in this aspect of our weekend seems low due to all else that is going on. They will, however, make every effort to participate in our other activities.
Martin will provide a private room for us to store our guitars while we are on the tour.
3. After the tour, Chris Martin has gracefully invited us all to lunch! This will be a great opportunity for us to meet many of the Martin folks, from the CEO on down.
4. On Monday afternoon, we will adjourn to Nazareth Borough Park for an afternoon of sociality and music. As indicated, I have reserved the "Small Pavilion" for our group, and we will be the only ones using that facility. Electricity is also available there.
Other General Info --
We may have a special guest, guitarist Howard Emerson, joining us on Monday afternoon. Howard is an extraordinarily accomplished and talented musician who is willing to provide a short, 15 to 20 minute, concert of his acoustic music on Monday. Howard has also given many Martin Guitar Clinics and has indicated that he will be happy to provide an informal clinic for us as well. Also, time permitting, he is willing to give YOUR guitar a test drive -- sit back and listen to your Martin in the hands of a master! For more details, check out Howard's Web Site.
There is no entry fee at Nazareth Park, and there are restrooms, a concession stand, and other facilities available. We will not be providing any food or beverage, so please bring your own or use the concession stand. I have not been told that alcoholic beverages are prohibited, but if you bring beer or wine PLEASE be circumspect and responsible.
Most importantly, there is NO talent needed or required (other than a good sense of direction to Nazareth). We will try to arrange for an open mike, but both afternoons are really intended just for getting together, enjoying each other's company, perhaps sharing tips and tricks, and just plain old having fun!
You will be responsible for keeping watch over your own instruments and other possessions and for loss of or damage to the same. The parking lot at Martin & Co. is not secure (and also could get hot); however, as indicated above we have arranged for a room at Martin where we can store our instruments. Nazareth Park is a public facility, so even though we have private areas, there could be many other persons passing through.
Food and Beverage -- Since there is a concession stand at the Park, everyone is encouraged to bring his or her own other provisions or use the concession stand. The concession stand is 25 to 30 yards from either facility that we are using. It is not open, however, if it rains, but there is a pizzeria right up the road near Martin and other places available.
Directions --
From the East: Find your way to Interstate 78 in New Jersey. Follow I-78 into Pennsylvania (do NOT get off onto Route 22, Phillipsburg). About 6 miles into PA, take PA 33 North. Continue until you see Route 248 and a sign for Nazareth. Get off at this exit and bear right at the bottom of the ramp. Go a few miles, past the huge concrete plant on your right, and turn right at the light by the Nazareth Diner. Go through the town of Nazareth and past Nazareth Park on your left. You will then see a Moravian Church on your right, quickly followed by a Restaurant/Pizzeria. Turn right immediately onto Beil Avenue, and you will see C.F. Martin & Co. on your right at the next intersection. The parking lot is on your right.
From the West: Find I-78 East and get off onto Route 33, then follow the above directions.
From the South: Take the PA Turnpike Extension up to I-78 East, then follow the above.
From the North: Follow the directions on the Martin web site
The Cost -- I have advanced about $150.00 so far to cover the rental of the two facilities. Since there are about 100 people coming at this point, this amounts to $1.50 each. As far as I know, there are no other costs involved.
Lodging -- There are many places to stay in the Nazareth/Bethlehem area. I have arranged a group booking at the Bethlehem Comfort Inn, 3191 Highfield Drive, Bethlehem, PA 18020, 610-865-6300, 800-732-2500. The name of the group is (surprisingly) "Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum." There are 15 rooms reserved for Saturday, August 3, and 35 for Sunday, August 4 and Monday, August 5. Most of these are nonsmoking, although some smoking rooms are available. Each room has a refrigerator, phone with dataport, desk, etc. and is very nice.
The rate is $57.00 per night for single and $66.00 a night for double. This is a special rate for us (it's the same as the Martin Co. rate) and does not include the sales tax (9 1/2% - welcome to Pennsylvania!). This is much lower than other discounted rates such as AAA and AARP, so there will be no extra discount for members of these organizations. Pets are even welcome for an additional $10.00!
The cutoff date for this rate is July 15, 2002. The group booking has been confirmed, and folks are registering. Please be sure to use the "Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum" as your group and NOT "Martin" or "Martin Guitar" or similar name because the group bookings are alphabetical and they will most likely not find you!
There is an in-house lounge, "Cheers," which serves bar food type of stuff as well as a full Continental breakfast. There are tons of other places around, including McDonalds, Burger King, Ground Round and a Chinese restaurant and a Pizza parlor all right across the street. There is also a Perkins Family Restaurant out the back door and upscale restaurants nearby.
Cheers is not open Sunday night, but we can use the lounge for ourselves if we want to do some picking after hours. Alcoholic beverages should stay in your rooms. On Monday night, they would love to have some of us bring our guitars and sing, and they are willing to set up a mike etc. for us.
Here are some other suggestions found at the Nazareth Chamber of Commerce:
Bed and Breakfast:
Classic Victorian Bed and Breakfast, 35 North New Street, Nazareth, PA 18064, 610-759-8276. I believe that Allen has negotiated a discounted price at this B&B.
Inn at Heyer's Hill, 568 Heyer Mill Road, Nazareth, PA 18064, 610-759-6226
Hotels/Motels (all in Bethlehem with in-house restaurants and lounges):
Comfort Suites, 120 West Third Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015, 610-882-9700
Courtyard by Marriott, 2160 Motel Drive, Bethlehem, PA 18018 610-317-6200
Holiday Inn at the Gateway, Rtes 512 and 22, Bethlehem, PA 18017, 800-360-5050
Local sights and activities:
The annual "Musikfest" is ongoing in nearby Bethlehem, PA from August 2 to August 11. Many well known performers generally attend this event. Roger McGuinn will be performing Saturday, August 3 at Musikfest!!
The annual Appalachian Fiddle and Bluegrass Association Festival will be held August 2, 3 and 4 in Wind Gap, Pennsylvania, 15 miles or so from Nazareth. Lots of old Martins should be in attendance!
The 11th annual Pocono Blues Festival will be held on August 3 and 4 at Big Boulder Ski area in the Pocono Mountains. More Martins! This area is probably closer to an hour or so from Nazareth.
Winery tour - Slate Quarry Winery offers tours and wine tasting. The winery is located just outside of Nazareth.
Crayola Crayons - For the kids (including us grownup kids), the Crayola Factory offers tours every day of the week in nearby Easton, PA
There are also walking tours of historic Nazareth and many other activities available.
Registration -- Registration is now closed, as we are over 100 folks. A list of registrants is available HERE. If you are on this list, you are going on the tour, so long as you get there by 9:00 or so on Monday morning! If you are not, you are still welcome and encouraged to join us at the Sunday or Monday afternoon events, since space there is not so limited.
Photos -- Here are some pictures of the Log Cabin, the Pavilion (actually, this is the large one, but the small one looks like this), the old Martin Factory, the old Martin Residence, and the Nazareth Music Center.
Your Organizers -- Allen Pulis (Allen28) and Mac Carter (mac1588). Either of us will be happy to try to any questions that you may have or respond to any suggestions.
Mac Carter, Webmaster