Traveling
Eating
Sleeping
Playing
Bulletin Board
This page will be updated continuously by local arrangements co-ordinator David Latané prior to the conference. dlatane@vcu.edu
Where's Registration?
Friday morning come to the
http://www.vcu.edu/scotthouse/contact/c-directions.html
The BOARD MEETING is at the ALUMNI HOUSE, across the street from Scott at 924 West Franklin. http://www.vcu.edu/maps/acmap/alumnihouse/alumnihouse.htm
Traveling
Richmond is serviced by Richmond International Airport (RIC). The RIC website has complete information, including a list of airlines. The cheapest flights come in from NY ($119 rt on 16 June), Newark, Atlanta, Boston,and Cincinnati. Richmond can be expensive to fly into depending on the point of departure.
Here are some other options: Southwest flies into Norfolk (75 miles away), and a SW flight plus car rental may be less expensive (and you'd have a car for exploring Richmond, or potentially stopping by Williamsburg or Jamestown en route.
Baltimore-Washington Airport (BWI) is quite a distance away (about 120 miles), but it is serviced by Southwest, as well as incoming flights from abroad. You can rent a car there and drive (I'd recommend driving South on Md 3, then US 301, crossing the Potomac River Bridge, and picking up I-95 well South of DC). BWI also has an AMTRAK stop, and one can check the AMTRAK schedules and pick up a train directly into Richmond. AMTRAK's fare will probably be a little under $100 round-trip--not counting AAA discounts, etc.
Washington National--oops "Ronald Reagan" Airport-- is another option. One can take the Metro to the King Street Station (Yellow or Blue Line) which is very close by to the Alexandria AMTRAK Station where one can take the train to Richmond.
AMTRAK services Richmond on a regular basis from both North and South. There are two Richmond stations. The trains that pass through en route to points South (NC, Florida) only stop at the Staples Mill Road Station. There's a bus in, or taxis--but it's in the 'burbs. Trains running South from NY and ending up in Norfolk also stop at the restored Main Street Station, a Victorian pile smack downtown. (The magnificent Broad Street station, designed by John Russell Pope, is now a Science Museum.)
Buses--remember them? Richmond is serviced by Greyhound, and also by a couple of "Chinatown" bus companies like Apex or Today's Bus which will take you roundtrip from NYC to Richmond for as little as $40 (plus your valuable time). They also go to DC, Boston, etc. Recommended for creative writers looking for material. VCU art students use them all the time for gallery trips to NYC.
Getting around town. Both conference hotels are within a reasonable walking distance (10 to 20 mins depending on your clip). I'm working on arrangements for a shuttle bus or van as well. Fairly frequent city buses run East - West on Broad street, and pass right thru VCU's Monroe Park Campus.
Lunch options close to VCU (pdf format).
A few dinner choices (pdf format).
Here are a few restaurants with web links. A popular place in Carytown is CanCan, a fairly sizeable, not ridiculously expensive French joint (that also does brunch). There is no embarrasing dancing on display. A Richmond tradition is Mamma Zu's -- excellent food, attitudinous. It's in Oregon Hill (just South of Campus--like Rome, we've got seven of them), and is the antiCanCan. Zu's has two sisters -- 8 1/2 a little take out joint (think calzone) on Strawberry Street in the Fan (about a half mile from campus) and Edo's Squid, practically on campus at 411 Harrison (upstairs). Edo's is where we always take our job candidates for lunch.
A limited number of rooms have been reserved for conference participants at Linden Row Inn (100 East Franklin) and the DoubleTree Hotel (301 West Franklin). (The Scott House where the conference will begin is at 909 West Franklin).
Linden Row, an independent Inn, is more Victorian -- it dates from the 1840s, and has an association with Poe. The DoubleTree, a subsidiary of Hilton, is a 200 room hotel in a highrise. It was formerly a Radisson and has just been remodeled.
FREE SHUTTLE VANS from HOTELS -- both hotels operate a free shuttle. If you want a ride in the morning to campus or a ride back, ask to book the shuttle when you check in.
In between the two on Franklin Street is the Jefferson Hotel (101 West Franklin), which is a good bit more expensive. The Jefferson has an excellent French restaurant as well as a less pricy bar and restaurant and a grand 1890s lobby with giant faux marble pillars, statue of TJ, and Gone with the Wind staircase. They have a famous Sunday Brunch.
These three are the only hotels within an easy walk of campus. Others downtown, such as the attached to the Convention Center on Broad, are within a walk, but city buses might be a better option. Richmond has multiple clones of all the chain hotels. If you want to stay at Holiday Inn, the "Holiday Inn Central" (3207 N Boulevard, 804-359-9441) is closest to campus and just off an exit at I-95 near the baseball stadium.
The Richmond Symphony (quite good in my humble opinion) is in concert on Friday and Saturday (Sept. 14-15) at 8 p.m. While their home is being rennovated they play in local churches, and the Saturday concert is straight down Monument Avenue one mile from campus at the big and acoustically sound First Baptist. Here's the blurb: "Instruments of Gold, September 14, 15 & 17. The season opens in September with Instruments of Gold featuring the big brassy sounds of Don Juan by Strauss, Concerto for Trumpet by Alexander Arutiunian and Symphony No. 7 by Dvorak. Mark Russell Smith conducts with guest trumpeter David Bilger lending his skill to the concert."
The Richmond Ballet is another option. It's a professional company that has received good reviewes for recent gigs in NYC. They'll be performing downtown in their Studio Theatre home near the river:
*TERRA by Colin Connor
*OTHER PLACES by Stoner Winslett
*A WORLD PREMIERE by Jessica Lang
Thursday, September 13, 6:30pm
Friday, September 14, 6:30pm & 8:30pm
Saturday, September 15, 6:30pm & 8:30pm
Sunday, September 16, 2:00pm & 4:00pm
CARYTOWN. About a mile and a half West of campus is "Carytown," a strip of upscale boutiques, antique stores, delis, wine-shops, restaurants, etc. (with parking in decks between Cary Street (one way heading East) and Main/Ellwood (one way heading West). Plan 9 is a landmark independent record store; the Byrd Theatre is a 1920s movie palace, complete with mighty Wurlitzer, remote controlled piano in an alcove, and over-the-top decor. It features second run movies at $1.99.
Richmond has a number of clubs with live music -- The Canal Club promises an evening with a band called the "Perpetual Groove" on Thursday 13 Sept. "Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine has awarded Perpetual Groove with the honor of being named 'Best Green Band' for their annual outdoor Eco-Awards. The Eco Awards honor the organizations, movements, trends, products, and individuals in the Southeast making a positive impact on the health of the planet and its people." Groovy.
A Richmond oddity -- a 15th-century Tudor house brought over in pieces and reconstructed on the banks of the James, now a museum: Agecroft Hall.
BRENTANO STRING QUARTET -- Saturday, 15 September. 8:00 pm. VCU: Singleton Center for the Performing Arts (next to Hibbs Hall).
"Acclaimed around the world for its technical brilliance, musical insight and stylistic elegance, the Brentano String Quartet is one of the leading quartets of its generation. In addition to their stunning performances of standard repertoire, they are known for their enthusiastic support of the music of our time and have commissioned and premiered works by several leading contemporary composers. The members of the Brentano String Quartet maintain their strong commitment to education as resident ensemble at Princeton University."
Tickets are $10-$25 and may be purchased by calling the VCU Music Box Office at 804.828.6776.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has a spectacular British watercolor exhibit, and will be open at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday for those who will be around and taking the architectural walk with Charles Brownell. "Great British Watercolors from the Paul Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art" celebrates the 100 anniversary of the birth of longtime Virginia Museum Director Paul Mellon (the only other venue will be the Hermitage). Gainsborough, Sandby, Blake, Turner, Cozens, Constable, Hunt &c &c &c. Free.
Room Share -- e-mail dlatane@vcu.edu if you'd like to have your e-mail posted here for a possible room share.
The local paper has recently published a "Richmond in a Day" article.
Sarah McNeely is collecting names of graduate students at the conference who are interested in going out together on Friday (14 September). Contact her at smcneely@txstate.edu
