Association of the Friends of Persian Culture
Thirty-Fifth Annual Conference

Dear Friends,

We are happy to announce that the plans for the 35th annual conference of the Association of the Friends of Persian Culture are well underway. The conference will be held during Labor Day weekend, commencing on Thursday, August 28th, 2025, through the evening of Sunday, August 31st, 2025, at the Schaumburg Renaissance Hotel in the greater Chicago area. The Board of Directors of the Association is pleased to provide the following detailed information regarding conference registration and hotel reservation.

Conference registration opens on Monday, March 31st, 2025.

Priority room reservation at the Renaissance Hotel (conference venue)

As in previous years, three groups will be given priority in the room reservation process for Renaissance Hotel, with the required documentation listed below:

1. Individuals 80 years and above: Such individuals must submit a copy of their driver’s license, passport or other identification cards.
2. Individuals with disabilities: A valid certificate of disability, or a note from the individual’s personal physician affirming their disability must be submitted.
3. Families with children younger than 6 years of age: A copy of the birth certificate or other identification documents for the children are required.

These three groups must complete their conference registration and submit the required documentation to the Association’s office beginning Monday, March 31st, 2025, through Friday, April 25th, 2025. You may submit your documents via Association’s email address: friendsofpersianculture@fopca.com

Individuals who submit proper documentation will have their names passed on to the Renaissance Hotel for the reservation of one room. Please note that room reservations are non-transferable, and cancellation is subject to a one-night charge.

General room reservation at the Renaissance Hotel

General room reservation will begin at 9:00 a.m. Central Time on Thursday, May 1st, 2025. Please contact the Renaissance Hotel’s main reservation center at: (866) 204-0549. Please note that the entire block of available rooms has historically been reserved within 15 minutes of the opening of the reservation phone lines. The reason for this rapid process is that only a finite number of rooms are available following the priority registration period.

To give equal opportunity to callers to reserve rooms, reservations at the Renaissance Hotel are limited to one room per call. To reserve additional rooms, additional calls to the reservation line will be necessary. Please note that you will be charged for one night at the time of reservation and this charge is non-refundable upon cancellation.

There are no limits to the numbers of rooms that may be reserved at other hotels. Reduced room rates have been negotiated with the Renaissance and other hotels for the benefit of conference attendees. To take advantage of these discounts, attendees must use one of the hotels the Association has a contract with and must identify themselves as a participant in the Association’s conference. Hotel reservations commonly require a deposit equal to one night’s rate. Attendees should be aware that like Renaissance, other hotels may also charge a one-night rate for cancellations. A list of other hotels with special conference rates can be located under “Conference Accommodation” on our website.

For further assistance, you may reach us at:
Website: https://www.fopca.com/
Email: friendsofpersianculture@fopca.com
Phone: (847) 853-7896, Monday through Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Central Time

For updates on the conference, you may also go to the Association’s Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/associationofthefriendsofpersianculture

The main conference programs are presented in Persian. However, simultaneous translation in English will also be available. All other sessions, such as classes for children between the ages of 3-10 years and programs for junior youth and youth, are conducted in English. A few afternoon programs in English are also being considered. Details will be announced in the near future. Please note that the conference does not offer programs for children under 3 years of age.

We look forward to welcoming you at the 2025 conference.

With warmest regards,

Board of Directors,

Association of the Friends of Persian Culture