Step away from the busy world and join others who love the nativity at Mary & Joseph Retreat Center. Mary & Joseph overlooks the city of Los Angeles on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, 17 miles from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and 18 miles from Long Beach Airport (LGB). Car rentals as well as Uber/Lyft service are available at each airport. The estimated cost is $50 depending upon time of day. The annual meeting and presentations will be held on Saturday, November 2. Arrive on Friday, November 1 for dinner and an evening of seeing friends and making new ones as we begin to celebrate the culture of the West. Make your reservations by clicking on the "Register Now" tab on this site. Overnight accommodations at Mary & Joseph is limited to 39 bedrooms; 30 shared bedrooms with 2 twin beds and a private bath and 9 bedrooms with 1 twin bed. Find a roommate and make your reservation as soon as possible. If you choose to stay at your local home or another location and commute to the center on a daily basis (aka "Commuter), you can join us each day for meals and presentations.
Annual Meeting General Information
Mary & Joseph Retreat Center is on 8 1/2 acres on the top of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Mid-century architecture will greet you as you check in for your bedroom and the start of your nativity weekend. Your overnight registration includes annual meeting weekend events as well as 2 nights of lodging, 4 meals - dinner on Friday through dinner on Saturday. Optional breakfast is available on Sunday.
*Registration fees and shared overnight bedroom (2 people per bedroom) and meals: $380 per person.
*Registration fees and single bedroom (1 person per bedroom) and meals: $465 per person.
*Commuter Registration includes annual meeting events on Friday and Saturday and 4 meals - dinner on Friday through dinner on Saturday. Commuter Registration is $180 per person.
*Optional breakfast on Sunday for all types of registration is $15 per person. For those who can stay, buffet breakfast will be served in the dining room at 8:30 am. If you have an early flight, we can have a to-go meal ready for your trip home.
Mary and Joseph's buffet meals are planned using what is current in the market as well as any dietary restriction that guests may have. Be sure to share any dietary restrictions you might have on the registration form.
Annual Meeting General Information
Mary & Joseph Retreat Center is on 8 1/2 acres on the top of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Mid-century architecture will greet you as you check in for your bedroom and the start of your nativity weekend. Your overnight registration includes annual meeting weekend events as well as 2 nights of lodging, 4 meals - dinner on Friday through dinner on Saturday. Optional breakfast is available on Sunday.
*Registration fees and shared overnight bedroom (2 people per bedroom) and meals: $380 per person.
*Registration fees and single bedroom (1 person per bedroom) and meals: $465 per person.
*Commuter Registration includes annual meeting events on Friday and Saturday and 4 meals - dinner on Friday through dinner on Saturday. Commuter Registration is $180 per person.
*Optional breakfast on Sunday for all types of registration is $15 per person. For those who can stay, buffet breakfast will be served in the dining room at 8:30 am. If you have an early flight, we can have a to-go meal ready for your trip home.
Mary and Joseph's buffet meals are planned using what is current in the market as well as any dietary restriction that guests may have. Be sure to share any dietary restrictions you might have on the registration form.
Location
Mary & Joseph Retreat Center
5300 Crest Rd. Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. 90275
5300 Crest Rd. Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. 90275
Date & Time
November 1, 2024, 4:00 PM - November 3, 2024 - 10:00 AM
SCHEDULE
Friday, November 1
4:00-5:30 pM
Check-In and Registration
Bedrooms will be available at 4:00 pm. If you arrive earlier, we will make sure you have a place to sit and relax before checking in.
5:30-6:30 pM
Buffet Dinner
7:00-9:00 pM
Meet and Greet and Tamale Making
Tamales are an important Christmas family tradition in Hispanic homes. We will work together on Friday night with our nativity family, to make tamales that we will all enjoy at lunch on Saturday afternoon! Bring your own family traditions and memories to share with friends.
Saturday, November 2
8:00-8:45 am
Buffet Breakfast
9:00am-9:00 pm
All Day Activities
* Members Museum - Our members museum, nativities from our own collectors, will feature nativities from the West Coast as well as other special treasures. This will also blend into the Nativities Plus presentation. If you have a nativity you would like to share, please bring it along to the meeting. Let Sydne know before the meeting what you are bringing and its story.
* White Elephant Sale - Do you have a nativity or pieces of a nativity set you no longer want but is still viable - and you really don't want to throw it out? Donate it to the White Elephant Sale at our meeting. Proceeds to support the FOTC - and bring a bit of joy to someone else's collection.
* White Elephant Sale - Do you have a nativity or pieces of a nativity set you no longer want but is still viable - and you really don't want to throw it out? Donate it to the White Elephant Sale at our meeting. Proceeds to support the FOTC - and bring a bit of joy to someone else's collection.
9:00-noon
Annual Meeting and Presentations
* Welcome to Mary & Joseph; Annual Meeting
* Nativities Plus with Ellen Mintz
* Members Museum
* Nativities Plus with Ellen Mintz
* Members Museum
12:00-12:45 pm
Buffet Lunch
Enjoy the fruits of our tamale making as well as other delectable tastes to complete our meal.
1:15-5:00 pm
Presentations
* Creative Displays with John Marin
* Panel Discussion with Audience - Sharing Ideas of Home Displays
* Nativity Journey in Place with Sue Ballotti
* Nacimientos
* Panel Discussion with Audience - Sharing Ideas of Home Displays
* Nativity Journey in Place with Sue Ballotti
* Nacimientos
5:00-6:00 pm
Social Hour
6:00-6:45 pm
Buffet Dinner
7:15-9:00 pm
PechaKucha with Brent Devitt and Members
Sunday, November 3
8:30-9:15 pm
Buffet Breakfast
Safe travels to all!
Speakers and Presentations
Ellen Mintz
CURATOR, MARY & JOSEPH RETREAT CENTER NATIVITY EXHIBIT
"NATIVITY PLus"
"NATIVITY PLus"
Everyone loves nativity exhibits. The MJRC exhibit, approaching its 18th year, has evolved to be a full program providing content for all ages and kinds of groups. Initially we offered docent-led tours but now we have a school field trip program, presentations for different adult groups, and even a festive holiday party venue. We will share how we developed our menu of program offerings, any discreet element would be an additional asset to your holiday exhibit.
Sue Ballotti
VERIDITAS LABYRINTH FACILITATOR
"NATIVITY JOURNEY IN PLACE"
"NATIVITY JOURNEY IN PLACE"
Sue is a Veriditas Labyrinth facilitator as well as a spiritual director. She has been a co-chair of the Mary & Joseph Retreat Center Nativity Exhibit for the past 10 years. Sue will be presenting "Nativity Journey in Place". When we cannot go to Bethlehem each year, we can bring the nativity into our homes, places of worship, gardens and art museums. The spirit of seeking, which has us looking for the next nativity, brings the Christmas story, the story of a family facing tough times like ours, into our culture and world. Collecting nativities and walking a labyrinth both attempt to bring a faraway place into our own reality.
John Marin
Nativity collector, friends of the creche
Creative displays
Creative displays
John Marin – John joined Friends of the Creche in 2017, but has been a collector of nativity scenes since the early 90’s. His first convention was in Santa Fe in 2019. He then attended the annual meeting in Saint Simons Island, Georgia in 2022, the International Congress in Seville, Spain as well as the convention in Washington D.C. in 2023. John’s collection is still growing. He is fond of saying “there is always room for one more!” While an exact count is elusive, (because they keep appearing in the mail, gifts, and trips) at last count it was more than 1,200 sets from over 80 countries.
John hosts a series of open houses each December in Spring, Texas so, he has had to learn to become creative in how he displays his nativities sets due to space constraints. He was concerned they were too crowded, that they were blending together, and lacked definition. To make matters worse, he thought he was not a creative person and didn’t know how to resolve those issues. John began to pay close attention to how others displayed their collections, and received inspiration from them. He began to experiment with various solutions and will be sharing what has worked for him.
John hosts a series of open houses each December in Spring, Texas so, he has had to learn to become creative in how he displays his nativities sets due to space constraints. He was concerned they were too crowded, that they were blending together, and lacked definition. To make matters worse, he thought he was not a creative person and didn’t know how to resolve those issues. John began to pay close attention to how others displayed their collections, and received inspiration from them. He began to experiment with various solutions and will be sharing what has worked for him.
Brent Devitt
HOLY CARD COLLECTOR AND CRECHE ADVOCATE
PECHAKUCHA
PECHAKUCHA
Back by popular demand, PechaKucha, a Japanese storytelling format, will be our own virtual creche exhibit.
With members participation, we will have this exhibit in a slideshow format. We would like 12-15 members to share some of their nativities with us. We would need 20 pictures from your creche collection. The pictures will be put into a slide presentation which will be shown in 5 minutes (yes, all 20 pictures), with each slide timed to change after 15 seconds. We ask that you prepare a description about each of the nativities in your pictures that you can read or talk about as each nativity is shown on the screen.
You can choose 20 of your most original or handmade or a theme or material or from a trip or country or one you love the best or the start of your collection…the choice is yours. We did this presentation at the 2018 annual meeting in Dayton and in 2020 in our zoom meeting and both times it was wonderful.
If you would like to participate, please let Brent Devitt know. You will need you to take a picture of each nativity and send them via email to [email protected] by September 1. Brent Devitt has graciously agreed to prepare the slide show.
With members participation, we will have this exhibit in a slideshow format. We would like 12-15 members to share some of their nativities with us. We would need 20 pictures from your creche collection. The pictures will be put into a slide presentation which will be shown in 5 minutes (yes, all 20 pictures), with each slide timed to change after 15 seconds. We ask that you prepare a description about each of the nativities in your pictures that you can read or talk about as each nativity is shown on the screen.
You can choose 20 of your most original or handmade or a theme or material or from a trip or country or one you love the best or the start of your collection…the choice is yours. We did this presentation at the 2018 annual meeting in Dayton and in 2020 in our zoom meeting and both times it was wonderful.
If you would like to participate, please let Brent Devitt know. You will need you to take a picture of each nativity and send them via email to [email protected] by September 1. Brent Devitt has graciously agreed to prepare the slide show.
Additional Lodging
RAMADA INN (3.8 miles/8 minutes). 2888 Pacific Coast Hwy, Torrance, CA 90505; 310-997-0303
BEST WESTERN PLUS (6.2 miles/14 minutes) 1850 Pacific Coast Hwy, Redondo Beach, CA; 310-326-7530
DOUBLETREE BY HILTON (6.5 miles/17 minutes) 21333 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA. 90503; 310-540-0500
MOTEL 6 (4.4 miles/10 minutes)2237 Pacific Coast Hwy, Lomita, CA 90717; 310-326-7530
TERRANEA RES0RT (5.6 miles/13 minutes) 100 Terranea Way, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275; 310-494-7891
BEST WESTERN PLUS (6.2 miles/14 minutes) 1850 Pacific Coast Hwy, Redondo Beach, CA; 310-326-7530
DOUBLETREE BY HILTON (6.5 miles/17 minutes) 21333 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA. 90503; 310-540-0500
MOTEL 6 (4.4 miles/10 minutes)2237 Pacific Coast Hwy, Lomita, CA 90717; 310-326-7530
TERRANEA RES0RT (5.6 miles/13 minutes) 100 Terranea Way, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275; 310-494-7891
Contact Us
Questions about the conference and registration should be directed to Sydne Yanko-Jongbloed at [email protected], or by calling her at 310-493-3380.
Who's Coming
Location
Mary & Joseph Retreat Center
5300 Crest Rd. Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. 90275
5300 Crest Rd. Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. 90275