Paranormal Information Association Conference

Poster for the 2014 P.I.A Conference

I just got home from about an hour drive from Sebring Florida where I attended the Paranormal Information Association Conference (or P.I.A for short), for my fourth year now. It was another great weekend accompanying the team I work with. Each year the P.I.A Conference is a chance for Florida Paranormal Investigative teams to mingle with each other, go over ideas and theories, and have a little fun while we are at it. This is the fourth year that it has been held at the Kenilworth Lodge an old historic hotel in central Florida.

The hotel itself has its own sort of glamor as an historic location. You can tell by the exposed pipes with sprinkler heads, the old slow moving elevator, and the decor that the Kenilworth has attempted to keep as much of its historical charm as possible with still moving forward into the new age of hotels that we seem to be entering. The place isn't for everyone, but if you are looking for a comfortable place to stay the night the rates and staff at the Lodge are very welcoming. The P.I.A. has been very blessed to have worked with the hotel four years now in holding their event, and each time the staff is more than happy to help. Anyway...before I go of on too much of a tangent here about the location let me get back to the point which is the P.I.A. itself.

The P.I.A. started out several years ago and was called the Florida Ghost Gathering, at that point it was simply a chance for other Paranormal Teams to meet with each other and get to know who's who so to speak. Once they found their success in that they wanted to be able to expand it a bit and, from what I have come to understand the P.I.A. was born. At the core of this conference is a group of administration teams, that from the beginning have seen to every aspect of the gathering itself. The main goal for this conference is to bring the Paranormal Investigative Community together and give them a place where they can learn, talk , and teach others as they go along.

Each year there are different classes, seminars and workshops that you can attend to either learn more about something that you are not familiar with, or delve deeper into something that you are. Different social events as well as dinners are scheduled throughout the gathering; and there are vendors where you can purchase anything from the newest up and coming equipment, to nic-nacks such as jewelry or candles. Some years as well have seen some very popular and well known special guests from within the Paranormal Community that have given their time to be there and speak, and learn alongside the many other groups. Now before I go too far and you start signing up you do need to know that at the present time the conference is not open to the public. In the future we will have to see if this changes but in the meantime there are rules regarding registration of the event that can be found at their site.

The people of the conference have always been great. I personally have always found it to be so awesome to be able to speak with different groups and talk about investigations, or theories, or even about their evidence or personal experiences. Its refreshing in a way to be able to speak freely among your peers especially about something that you know everyone there is passionate about in the first place. Though the conference started out focusing more on the Paranormal or "ghost" investigative side of things it has expended over the years to include other facets of the Paranormal Community as well. Groups such as MUFON are often there, as well as others that focus on more spiritual aspects and more still that work with Mythology, or even Cryptozoology. 

Now no conference of any scale big or small is without a few snafu's now and again. Schedule changes sometimes occur and you may not get to attend everything that you want to within the weekend format, but the P.I.A. itself is still very new and each year they look for ways to improve upon the last and make the event something that is as best suited to the attendees and members as possible.

I always have a great time away, beside a lovely hotel its great to be able to reconnect with people that I have met there in previous years. I look forward as well to attending next year, and seeing what the P.I.A. has in store as it changes again and works toward the future.