All Star II - 2013

Be sure to get the latest updates and information by joining our ALL STAR 2 page on Facebook including the the BOAT LETTER with everything you could possibly need to know about getting to STAR ISLAND


Dates: July 6-13, 2013
Chairs: Chuck & Suzy Binzel Photo Credit: Tim Barmann


Renewal on the rocks...

Discover the magic as we gather with family and friends on an Island ten miles out to relax, reflect and renew. During All Star II, young and old will awake to the sounds of ocean and gulls, marvel at the diversity of flora and fellow Shoalers, and close each day with an inspirational candlelight service in Star's historic stone chapel. Hours in between are filled with sports, art, music, rowing, theatre, dancing, reading, friendship, and a thought-provoking lecture series, or simply relaxing in a porch rocker at the Oceanic Hotel, communing with one's self, one's family, and old and new friends. Morning and afternoon children's programs led by our wonderful and expert staff offer creative fun for the kids. Gather with us in 2013 for laughter, friendship and spiritual renewal.

Enjoy talks on the rocks and walks on the rocks; painting and dancing; kids and games and classes and stories, choirs and colors of evening. Tennis and softball and Frisbees and kites; speakers and singers, pickers and players and sitting and knitting. Brains and brawn, exhilaration and meditation; swimming and volleyball, expectation, exhaustion, and showering. The sun, the gulls, the moon, the stars; candles and sandals, soothing and singing, and the grass and the flowers; the ocean, the sails, the masts and the waves, and the porch and the friends, oh the friends. Rocking and reading and listening. Join us!

2013 conference theme and guest speaker: "Connections" with speaker Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web. Photo credit: Tony Scarpetta

Tim Berners-Lee designed the World Wide Web so anyone can post information, but has it really democratized information? He will talk about the Webs history and future, along with trade-offs between anonymity and accountability, individual rights and cyber-security. The Web is about connections -- not so much between computers or web pages but between people.

A graduate of Oxford University, England, in 1989, Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, an Internet-based hypermedia initiative for global information sharing while at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory. He wrote the first Web client and server in 1990. His specifications of URIs, HTTP and HTML were refined as Web technology spread.

Tim is the Founding Director of the World Wide Web Foundation and the Director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). He is the 3COM Founders Professor of Engineering in the School of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with a joint appointment at MIT’s Laboratory for Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (CSAIL) . He heads the Decentralized Information Group (DIG) research group at CSAIL. He is also a Professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of Southampton, UK. Tim has promoted open government data globally and is a member of the UK's Transparency Board. He is the President of the UK's Open Data Institute (ODI).

In 2001 he became a fellow of the Royal Society. He has been the recipient of several international awards including the Japan Prize, the Prince of Asturias Foundation Prize, the Millennium Technology Prize and Germany’s Die Quadriga award. In 2004 he was knighted by H.M. Queen Elizabeth and in 2007 he was awarded the Order of Merit. He is the author of “Weaving the Web” on the the past present and future of the Web.

Tims thoughts on Unitarian Universalism and the world wide web can be found at http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/UU.html


All Star II 2013 Minister of the Week: our very own Megan Kelly

We are delighted to announce our 2013 Minister of the Week: long-time All Star II shoaler Megan Kelly. A lifelong Unitarian Universalist, Megan graduated with a degree in Religious Studies from Connecticut College followed by a Master's in Divinity from Harvard Divinity School. Her participation in All Star II since the age of six played an integral role in Megan's decision to pursue ministry. She furthered her training by completing a yearlong residency in clinical pastoral education at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. In 2006 Megan was ordained by her home congregation in Paramus, NJ. For several years Megan served as a chaplain specializing in pediatrics, oncology and end-of-life care. Currently Megan works in healthcare and has begun work in addictions ministry. Megan continues to be inspired by the spirit embodied in the beloved community of Star Island. She is honored to serve as Minister of the Week and looks forward to being with friends, old and new.



Throughout the week—in evening candle light chapels, or just rocking on the porch—shoalers as well as our minister of the week will also lead discussions on personal transitions and personal resilience. And, as always, our children will enjoy our fabulous children’s program, complete with art and music instruction, visits to the marine lab and nearby Smuttynose Island, and plenty of time for a variety of fun activities, such as the Children’s Stunt Show and the Great People Hunt. We hope you and your family will join us for an unforgettable week.


Registration, fees and information

Online registration will start on March 1, 2013.

A room & board deposit of $200 for each adult or child who will be 6 years of age or over as of July 6, 2013 is due with registration. Also, a conference fee of $100 per adult (age 18 as of July 6, 2013) and $85 per child (age 0 to 18), up to $370 per family, is due with registration. $10 of each individual's conference fee will be donated to the Ginny Levine Shoalership Fund (up to $40 per family). Additional donations to this financial aid fund are welcome.

Each 18+ child out of high school must register separately. Registrations received on or before March 10, 2013 will be given priority. Registrations received after March 10 will be accepted, space available. The room & board deposit and conference fee are refundable until June 8th, 2013. All letters, (acceptance, waitlist, volunteer job, boat letter, etc), will be sent via email, so please remember to include your email address when registering.


Registrar contact information: Ron Cordes, 3 Jeffrey Circle, Bedford, MA 01730, 781-275-6181 registrar@allstar2.org.

Notifications: All letters, (acceptance, waitlist, volunteer job, boat letter, etc), will be sent via email, so don't forget to include your email address on your blue registration form. If you do not have an email address, please include a self addressed stamped envelope with your registration and we will snail mail the letters to you.

Financial aid: Financial aid assistance is available to individuals with need through the The Ginny Levine Shoalership Fund. For information and an application, click on The Ginny Levine Shoalership Fund or contact Mary Ellen Mellen, 81 Grouse Lane, Perkinsville, VT 05151. Phone: 802-795-0033 financial.aid@allstar2.org. All inquiries and awards are kept confidential.

Boat schedule: Depart Portsmouth, N.H. aboard the Thomas Laighton on Saturday, July 6 at 2:25 p.m. Depart Star on Saturday, July 13, at 8:45 am. (Times subject to change.)