A few years ago I attended a local writer's conference on Whidbey Island, and I absolutely loved it. For three days I was surrounded by tons and tons of writers, and was able to sit in on classes and lectures, or just sit and write if I wanted to.
(In fact, I skipped a few classes in order to write, because I was Inspired, and here's the result).
Anyways, ever since I was part of this, I've been receiving updates through emails and occasional mail. It hasn't been annoying at all, and I like to hear what's happening with the conference, run by the Whidbey Island Writers Association (WIWA) which is a program of Northwest Institute of Literary Arts (NILA).