Although the 2011 National Preservation Conference to be hosted in Buffalo is still more than a year away, ideas for a headline speaker and visits to historical sites are already being tossed around.

Officials from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and area tourism and preservation figures kicked the planning process off Wednesday with an advisory meeting that attracted nearly 300 people to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

Among suggestions for the gathering are a visit to General Mills’ Buffalo plant and recruiting Western New York native Wolf Blitzer of CNN to speak.

The preservation conference, which showcases regional prowess in architecture and historical sites, is scheduled for Oct. 18-22, 2011. More than 2,000 people are expected to come from across the country.

“I’m going to just put it out there and say I expect close to 2,200 people here, which would be pretty close to a record for us,” said Lori Feinman, associate director for conferences and training for the National Trust’s Center for Preservation Leadership.

“There’s already a buzz about Buffalo. So we hope to grab that and keep it going.”

The preservation conference is held annually, with recent hosts including Tulsa, Okla., St. Paul, Minn., and Pittsburgh. Austin, Texas, will host the conference this fall.

The Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau began to explore bringing the conference to Western New York in 2005. Edward J. Healy, the bureau’s vice president for marketing, recalled what prompted Buffalo’s bid to host the showcase event.

“We felt if Buffalo wanted to be taken seriously as a culture-tourism destination, in particularly as an architecture destination, that we needed to bring the National Trust to town,” said Healy, who views the National Trust’s decision as “a seal of approval.”

Valecia Crisafulli, the National Trust’s acting vice president for programs, called Buffalo a city with one of the “richest [architectural] accents in the country.”

“If we can use the National Preservation Conference in any way to help the rest of the people in the country to realize that,” she said, “that’s one of our goals in being here.”

Backing for the 2011 conference will come from the John R. Oishei, Margaret L. Wendt and Baird foundations. It will include sessions on subjects such as neighborhood conservations and heritage, field trips to historical sites, speakers and other entertainment.

Feinman said conferences held in the Northeast can draw more people because of the number of preservation groups in the region. And much of the planning for the gatherings is primarily from residents of the host city.

A theme for the event will be chosen later this month. A request for proposals for sites and other ideas will be published at

www.preservationnation.org

in October, and another advisory meeting will be held in January. The deadline for education and historic field session submissions is March 1.

Regarding the National Trust’s 2011 conference here, Healy said, “Their members are expecting to have their socks knocked off.”