diff --git a/symposion_project/apps/conference/models.py b/symposion_project/apps/conference/models.py
index b09c94bff2ff4d492bc43f26984597cf7548b855..bd792a10d41d01abd987e2b6a3e6752c5085f1c5 100644
--- a/symposion_project/apps/conference/models.py
+++ b/symposion_project/apps/conference/models.py
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@ from django.db import models
 from timezones.fields import TimeZoneField
 
 
+CONFERENCE_CACHE = {}
+
+
 class Conference(models.Model):
     """
     the full conference for a specific year, e.g. US PyCon 2012.
@@ -19,6 +22,19 @@ class Conference(models.Model):
     
     def __unicode__(self):
         return self.title
+    
+    def save(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        super(Conference, self).save(*args, **kwargs)
+        if self.id in CONFERENCE_CACHE:
+            del CONFERENCE_CACHE[self.id]
+    
+    def delete(self):
+        pk = self.pk
+        super(Conference, self).delete()
+        try:
+            del CONFERENCE_CACHE[pk]
+        except KeyError:
+            pass
 
 
 class Section(models.Model):
@@ -38,3 +54,18 @@ class Section(models.Model):
     
     def __unicode__(self):
         return self.name
+
+
+def current_conference():
+    from django.conf import settings
+    try:
+        conf_id = settings.CONFERENCE_ID
+    except AttributeError:
+        from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured
+        raise ImproperlyConfigured("You must set the CONFERENCE_ID setting.")
+    try:
+        current_conf = CONFERENCE_CACHE[conf_id]
+    except KeyError:
+        current_conf = Conference.objects.get(pk=conf_id)
+        CONFERENCE_CACHE[conf_id] = current_conf
+    return current_conf
diff --git a/symposion_project/settings.py b/symposion_project/settings.py
index bb2ffcc67d6d68b5f768d5eabc2ffc039edd45d1..ca21bcf49af6c04fc69f2bd133cd3bea2119f3c6 100644
--- a/symposion_project/settings.py
+++ b/symposion_project/settings.py
@@ -199,6 +199,8 @@ DEBUG_TOOLBAR_CONFIG = {
     "INTERCEPT_REDIRECTS": False,
 }
 
+CONFERENCE_ID = 1
+
 # local_settings.py can be used to override environment-specific settings
 # like database and email that differ between development and production.
 try: