Banquet Sign-Up - 2026 JASNA AGM: Jane Austen's Bath Novels: Northanger Abbey and Persuasion

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The Saturday night Banquet is included with Attendee and Companion registration, at no additional charge. Each person attending the Banquet needs to select a table (or have one selected for them).

Please take a minute to read the directions, look at the banquet room diagram, and add your name to a table on the table plan. The link to the table plan (a shared Excel file) was emailed to all registered Attendees and Companions in the August AGM Update. If you don't have it, contact jasna2026agm@gmail.com.

Advance table selection ends October 7; anyone who has not selected a table by that date must choose one on-site at the AGM.

In choosing your table, you are free to select any table with open seats.
Table selections govern tables only. You will choose your actual chair at your table when you arrive at the banquet.
The only programming at the banquet is a brief toast. The banquet is followed by the Promenade, at which costumed attendees are invited to walk across the stage and parade out of the room. If you are not promenading, you are free to move up to one of the vacated seats for a better view if desired.

Please read the instructions below the diagram.

Consider whether you want to sit at one of these designated tables:
- First-timers and those attending the AGM solo may, but do not have to, sit at first-timers’ tables (31, 41, 42, 43).
- People with mobility challenges may, but do not have to, sit at the Easy Access tables (45, 46, 61, 62).
- Breakout and special session speakers may, but do not have to, sit at tables 8, 9, 10, 11.

At all of the designated tables, if you have a Companion or want to be with another Attendee, they are welcome to join the designated table with you regardless of whether they also meet that table’s definition.

Once you are ready to select a table, Have a look at the table plan: a very simple Excel chart with spaces for each table. The link to the file will be emailed to all registered Attendees and Companions. The table plan is a SHARED file residing “in the cloud.” We all add our names to the same file, so that it's clear who has signed up and what tables are still available. Once you have added your name, there’s no need to download or email the file; just close it, and your addition/edit will be saved. If you have questions or need help, feel free to email the seating coordinator at lmerickson57@gmail.com.
You can return to the table plan and move yourself to a different table. If on your AGM registration form you gave us permission to assign you to a table but you don’t like where we have placed you, feel free to select another table by deleting your name and entering it elsewhere.
We will FREEZE the table plan on October 7. Anyone who has not chosen a table by that date may do so on-site at the AGM.

We want everyone to feel welcome and enjoy the pleasure of being in the company of "clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation." Please help by observing these few important rules.

You are welcome to sign up your Companion, friend, Region members—but only after you have coordinated with them and gotten their consent. Do not put your name on more than one seat or type in "HOLD" or similar. We will remove any holds or duplicates.
If there are not enough seats at a table for you and your friends, split up and meet new friends. If there is an issue, please contact the seating coordinator. You may not cross out or move another person’s name to make room for someone else.
You can only add yourself to a table where there is an empty seat. Do not add extra blank lines -- each table seats 10 and only 10. Only one person’s name can be in each blank.
At the banquet, sit at the table you are signed up for: please don't give another Janeite the unpleasant surprise of finding their seat occupied.

Most participants wear Regency costume or cocktail attire on Saturday evening, but you are welcome to wear whatever is comfortable for you.
If you have food allergies or religious dietary restrictions, accommodations can be made. Please read the dietary section on this page.
The Promenade following the banquet is an opportunity for costumed participants to show off their attire and admire that of others. Everyone is welcome to participate: simply join the line when the signal is given.
The Regency Ball is great fun and an amazing spectacle. English Country Dance callers Tom and Toni Tumbusch oversee a "shame-free dancefloor," welcoming dancers at all levels of experience (including none at all). Feel free to follow Jane Austen’s advice –“I do not think it worth while to wait for enjoyment”– and invite another person to dance!