We’re very excited about the upcoming conferences this year and hope you are too. To help you share your excitement or just general love of Star Island, we’ve drummed up a number of Facebook Timeline photos for you to use.

Click here for the gallery. Remember to ‘Like’ us on Facebook as well!

The Isles of Shoals’ spooky and macabre history slashed out by the brutal murders of two women in 1873 continues to fascinate and chill visitors today with reported ghost sightings and mystery surrounding just what exactly happened on that night nearly 140 years ago. The March/April issue of AAA’s Northern New England Journey magazine is all about mysteries of the region, and in an article titled “Scene of the Crime,” Mimi Bigelow Steadman tells of her own first-hand experience of heading to the Isles to seek out the Smuttynose specters.

Day-trippers can hike and picnic on this private 27-acre island, which offers unspoiled terrain crossed by a couple of trails. But I’d been drawn here by my fascination with a gruesome 19th- century murder mystery. Julie continued, pulling me further into her tale: “I told some other stewards we’d seen a ghost. They said, ‘So did we!’”

Read the rest of the article at AAA.com (the article appears after you enter your zip code, no registration or membership required).

If you want to dive deeper into the Isles of Shoals’ history, consider this year’s Historic Star and Literary Festival conferences! Anita Shreve, author of book The Weight of Water that spins a tale of the Smuttynose murders and which was later adapted to the silver screen starring Sean Penn, will speak during the Literary Festival. The theme for this year’s Historic Star Conference is Mystery and Mayhem on the Isles of Shoals, which is, you know, right up that alley.

In her “Earth Matters” column Monday, Feb. 20, Portsmouth Herald reporter Deborah McDermott talks about the solar initiatives that Star Island is currently exploring thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Barbara K. and Cyrus B. Sweet III Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.

Servicing an island community inherently brings much different challenges than for a community on the mainland, requiring innovative thinking to meet and exceed the level of comfort our guests desire. In addition, Star Island Corp. stays very mindful of its environmental impact and is always looking for ways to improve our facilities without compromising the island’s beautiful natural environment. Solar power makes a lot of sense for us as a renewable energy source both environmentally and financially, and McDermott explains how:

Despite energy-saving measures that include switching to fluorescent lights, no television, highly efficient washing machines and limited showers for as many as 300 people on island at a time in peak season, the island still spends $100,000 every summer on power — from three 5,000-gallon diesel tanks.

During that same tour, (Facilities Superintendent Jack Farrell) took me to a little-used, south-facing ledge on the island, now covered with poison ivy but the perfect place for a passel of solar panels. There, he said, is the future.

Read more at Seacoastonline.com.

Learn more about Star Island’s green initiatives.

The International Affairs Conference has launched the first issue of their new online newsletter, featuring information about the speakers, theme and a chance to win $250 towards your room and board bill.

Click here to read the newsletter and subscribe if you’d like to.

The third annual Gosport Regatta will set sail from the start line in the Piscataqua River basin on Saturday, June 9, at 11:00 a.m. Race classes include cruising, racing, and J-24, as well as a team cup for yacht clubs entering three or more boats. In 2010, Portsmouth Yacht Club took home the Oceanic Cup with the winning team of Veladare, Phat Tail, and K2. Kittery Yacht brought the cup home in 2011 under the sails of Breakaway, Brew Ha Ha, and Kuivato. 2011 individual first place honors went to Breakaway in Racing Class, Whomper in Cruising Class, and Brew Ha Ha in J24 Class.
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It seems that everyone has been buzzing about Star Island in the past week. In addition to all of the positive remarks we’ve heard from our Shoaler community as copies of the Blue Book began to arrive in mailboxes across the globe, a handful of local newspapers have shared our excitement over the launch of the 2012 conference season.

Thursday’s Spotlight section of the Portsmouth Herald included information about the upcoming conference season, and if you didn’t snag a paper that day then you can still check out their coverage at SeacoastOnline.com. Over at SeacoastNH.com you can find even more information about upcoming conferences, including highlights of featured speakers and themes.

Conference registration has begun for this season. Some conferences offer discounts to those who register early, so don’t delay; browse the conferences and register today!

The Star Island Corp. is excited to announce the launch of its 2012 conference season with themes ranging from the Arab Spring to the secret lives of birds and turtles — among 40 events with speakers as diverse as best-selling authors to lighthouse historians.

Star Island welcomes such notable speakers as Al-Arabiya Washington Bureau Chief Hisham Melhem, best-selling author Anita Shreve, Director of Green Mountain College’s Farm and Food Project Philip Ackerman-Leist, Margaret Fuller biographer Megan Marshall, lighthouse historian Jeremy D’Entremont, and many other guests to this season’s calendar of events.
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