Pi Beta Phi’s first convention took place in Oquawka, Illinois* at the home of Fannie Thomson in August of 1868. The organization was founded on April 28, 1867 at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. The convention was a three-day affair, with talk of expanding to other campuses, a wide awake night, a boat ride on the Mississippi and many, many hours of fun and sisterhood. The second Pi Phi Convention I attended, the organization’s 58th, took place in St. Louis in 1991. It was a few days longer than the first convention, but it, too, had the hallmarks of that first one. We even took a boat ride on the Mississippi!
The convention season has started for National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) organizations. Tri Sigma kicked off its convention on Friday and they have been having fun this past weekend as evidenced by the twitter feed (#ThisIBelieve13). As I write this I am getting ready for Pi Beta Phi’s 69th Biennial Convention in San Diego.
The 2013 convention schedule for NPC organizations includes:
Sigma Sigma Sigma, June 21-24, 2013, Buena Vista Palace Hotel & Spa, Orlando, FL
Alpha Epsilon Phi, June 26-30, Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix, AZ
Alpha Omicron Pi, June 26-30, Chicago Marriott Magnificent Mile, Chicago, IL
Alpha Delta Pi, June 27-30, Sheraton Dallas Hotel, Dallas, TX
Kappa Delta, June 27 – July 1, Sheraton Boston Hotel, Boston, MA
Alpha Xi Delta, June 28 – July 4, Hilton Union Square, San Francisco, CA
Pi Beta Phi, June 28 – July 1, Sheraton San Diego, San Diego, CA
Phi Sigma Sigma, July 10-14, Crowne Plaza Times Square, New York, NY
Pi Beta Phi’s 1989 convention took place in San Diego, the same locale as the upcoming 2013 convention
*Oquawka is a small town (population < 1,400) on the banks of the Mississippi River. The home where the first Pi Phi convention took place is still standing. In the 1970s, another tourist attraction joined it. It is a memorial and grave marker to a circus elephant named Norma Jean. She was struck by lightning on July 17, 1972. Some Kappa Kappa Gammas and Pi Beta Phis who make the pilgrimage to Monmouth, Illinois, founding site of both organizations, also tack on a side trip to Oquawka to see the Norma Jean memorial.
The Norma Jean Memorial in Oquawka (photo courtesy of Kylie Towers Smith, KKG)
Convention junkies might enjoy a prior post about the New Ocean Inn in Swampscott, MA, the site of many conventions http://wp.me/p20I1i-xN
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2013. All rights reserved.
