By Eric Jayne

Save the date! Minnesota Atheists is co-hosting an all-day, regional atheist conference on Saturday, August 11. The conference will be held at the Double Tree Hotel (formerly the Hilton) in downtown St. Paul. We’re still getting speakers lined up, but we have some already scheduled that includee PZ Myers, Hector Avalos, Teresa MacBain, and Robert Price. American Atheists president, David Silverman will also be a contributor.

For an added bonus, the conference will be preceded by the first ever atheist-sponsored professional baseball game! On Friday, August 10, Minnesota Atheists and American Atheists are co-sponsoring the St. Paul Saints game at Midway Stadium for what has been billed as “A Night of Unbelievable Fun.”

The stadium will be adorned with banners promoting both Minnesota Atheists and American Atheists. We will have a table with free swag (stickers, pamphlets) hosted by MN Atheists members at the front entrance gate to greet fans. To enhance the evening even more, every mention of the word “Saint(s)” will either be covered or changed to “Aint,” and David Silverman will toss out the first ceremonial pitch. You also might want to stick around for the fireworks display following the game.

The team will be renamed the “Mr. Paul Aints” and players will wear special game jerseys with the new name. The player-worn game jerseys will be auctioned during the game and there will also be an option to order your own custom-made jersey. Proceeds from the jersey sales will benefit Minnesota Atheists.

If you’re interested in going to the game you will be thrilled to know that there will be a special game ticket rate (TBD as of this writing) for members. It’s less than a 10 minute drive (or $10 cab ride) to and from the Double Tree hotel. The price of the hotel rooms will be at a special group rate of $99 on both Friday and Saturday night whether you choose one night or both nights. The ticket price for the all-day Saturday conference is TBD as of now, but will be ready by for purchase before Memorial Day (May 28). The special rate for the rooms is limited so you can take care of that now if you want by clicking HERE.

Keep checking MinnesotaAtheists.org or our Facebook page for the most up-to-date information and details for an unbelievably fun weekend in August!