All Star 2
Family Conference

All Star 2 Family Conference: Sunday, July 11 - Saturday, July 17, 2021 **REGISTRATION CLOSED**

All Star II is a family-friendly, creative, and diverse week that can be as active or relaxing as you’d like it to be. Opportunities abound for both adults and children to make or enjoy music and art; dive into a game of baseball, volleyball, or tennis; explore the harbor by rowboat; investigate the island’s history or marine and bird life; play games; join together in chapel services; take a morning polar bear dip or a yoga break; watch the sunset at a marshmallow roast; engage in the morning lecture series or afternoon talks on the rocks; partake in the many All Star II traditions; or just settle into a porch rocker to talk with friends new and old or read a good book. There are few demands but many temptations, and even more opportunities to create the kind of lasting friendships that continually delight new Shoalers and keep old Shoalers coming back for years.

Read more about Star Island in the March-April 2017 issue of Harvard Magazine or in this 2012 article from the Boston Globe!

Logo by Bill Cryer

Message from our Chairs, Alison Barrows Ronn and Matt Ronn

We are happy to announce that Star Island will open for conferences this year! The Island Leadership has been hard at work planning for appropriate health, safety, staffing, and conferee capacities. Star Island keeps their COVID information and FAQ pages up to date on their web site. (Updated June 25) Here you will find information regarding vaccinations, testing, boats, housing, dining, and more. We are coming back!

*NEW All Star 2 Handbook (aka The Boat Letter)

Fondly,

Alison & Matt

Your 2021 Conference Chairs:

We have been enjoying All Star 2 for many years. (Matt will always be considered the new shoaler!). We are usually accompanied by our three sons, Parker, Mason, and Evan, and often by extended family, too. Alison is a technical writer and homeschooling parent. Matt is an IT Director at Harvard University and Deputy Fire Chief in Boylston, MA.

On the island we have done a variety of volunteer jobs over the years, from Ding-a-ling to Beer Coordinator to Children's Program Coordinator. We have organized Musicale and Stunt Night, sung in the choir, and played in the band.

All Star 2 provides us with wonderful vacations and good friends. We enjoy our week on the island, the music, the food, the views, social hour, and most importantly, a time of reflection and the conversations we have with our island community.

We hope you will join us at All Star 2 in July 2021!

See you on the dock! – Alison and Matt as2chairs2021@allstar2.org

Theme of the Week

“Ocean Exploration: Our complex history and uncertain future with some of the most remote places on

Earth”

As the U.N. begins its Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, Dr. Erik Cordes will be speaking about some of the pressing issues in our oceans. How much is left to be explored? What does "Sustainable Development” of the ocean really mean? Considering that most of the human population that relies on the oceans is in less-well developed nations, how can we ensure that their voices are heard?

Dr. Erik Cordes has worked on the ecology of the deep sea for over 25 years, and spent a year-and-a-half on over 30 research cruises and has made 46 dives in manned submersibles. He is a self-described oceanexplorer whose research is focused on deep-sea coral reefs, natural hydrocarbon seeps, and hydrothermal vents and has led expeditions to the east coast of the U.S., the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, and the Phoenix Islands Protected Area in the central Pacific. Dr. Cordes worked on the damage assessment after the Deepwater Horizon, advises multiple U.S. Fishery Management Councils, is among the Pool of Experts for the U.N. World Ocean Assessment, an Expert Reviewer for the IPCC Report, the Chair of the Offshore Energy Working Group of the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative, and recently completed nine years on the Board of Directors of the Star Island Corporation.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Erik Cordes is a Full Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Biology at Temple University. He received his M.S. from Moss Landing Marine Labs, his Ph.D. from Penn State University and was a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University. Further information on his recent work can be found at the Cordes Laboratory web site.

Minister of the Week: Reverend Anne Mason, Senior Minister, First Parish UU in Lexington, MA

Anne brings a deep passion for ministry to her position as Senior Minister at First Parish. Her journey through life has taken her to unexpected places, but she has always maintained her spiritual connection as a foundational core of who she is. Becoming a Unitarian Universalist Minister has been a journey of joy and discovery, and she is excited to walk with this congregation on their path of religious quest. How we show up in the world is connected to the faith we discover along the way. Our purpose is to be true to our deepest selves while we work to make this world a better place. Anne finds deep meaning in the weekly affirmation of faith - that our covenant exists "to the end that all souls shall grow into harmony with the divine."

2021 Acceptance Letters: Acceptance letters for All Star 2 2021 have been sent. Everyone who registered prior to May 1 has been accepted. Please email the All Star 2 Chairs at as2chairs2021@allstar2.org if you did not get an acceptance email. (Check your Spam filter.)

Financial aid: Financial aid assistance is available to individuals with need through the The Ginny Levine Shoalership Fund.

All inquiries and awards are kept confidential.

Information for shoalers (conference attendees)

Notifications: All letters, (acceptance, wait list, volunteer job, boat letter, etc), have been sent via email, so don't forget to include your email address in your registration information.

REGISTRATION IS CLOSED - Registration, fees and information - REGISTRATION IS CLOSED

To register for All Star 2 visit the Star Island program web page and click the Register button. The room & board deposit and conference fee are refundable up to the day before the conference starts. All letters, (acceptance, wait list, volunteer job, boat letter, etc), will be sent via email, so please remember to include your email address when registering.

Registrar contact information:

Brooke Cordes

registrar@allstar2.org

Behind the scenes