CAMWS CONVENTION INFORMATION

The Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS) will hold its 107th Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids, beginning on the evening of Wednesday, April 6, 2011, and ending on the afternoon of Saturday, April 9, at the invitation of Calvin College and Grand Valley State University. All sessions will be held in the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel except those on Friday afternoon, which will take place on the Calvin College campus. Temperatures in Grand Rapids in early April range from 35° to 55° F.

MEETING REGISTRATION

You may register online (and pay via credit card) through the CAMWS website (http://www.camws.org/membership/meetingform.php), or you may mail a paper copy of the registration form, along with a check, to the CAMWS Office at St. Olaf College; all registration fees go up after midnight on March 7, 2011.

MEETING SCHEDULE

The Preliminary meeting schedule may be viewed online at http://camws.org/meeting/2011/program/. Please note that this is a work in progress and will be updated as we approach the meeting.

HOTEL INFORMATION

The Amway Grand Plaza is located at 187 Monroe, NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503-2666. With 682 rooms, this elegant four-diamond, preferred hotel takes up a whole block! Its east section, built in 1913 as the Pantlind Hotel, was restored in 1978. The 29-story west tower, completed in 1982, offers “grand” views of the Grand River. Each guest room is equipped with an iron, ironing board, and hair dryer. The common areas and all guest rooms have free wireless internet access. No pets are permitted. The hotel is smoke-free. Self-parking for registered guests costs $16 per night, valet parking $25 per night.

The hotel's fitness center ($5 charge per room per day, up to four guests per room) features an indoor swimming pool with two hot tubs, lighted tennis courts, a racquetball court, nautilus machines, a wide selection of advanced cardio equipment, and a tanning bed. Copiers, work stations, laser printers, and fax service are available in the hotel's business center. Also located in the hotel are Vasaio Spa and Salon, several shops, and a range of dining establishments (e.g., the Grill at 1913, Bentham's family restaurant, Starbucks, Cornucopia delicatessen, GP Sports Bar).

For CAMWS meeting attendees the special room rate is $145 (plus 14% tax) per night for a single, double, triple, or quad room. Reservation requests received after 9:00 a.m. (local time) on Monday, March 7, 2011 will be accepted on a space- and rate-available basis. To make a reservation, call 800-253-3590 or 616-776-6450; to get the convention rate, mention that you will be attending the Annual Meeting of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. To make an online reservation, use this URL:
https://gc.synxis.com/rez.aspx?Hotel=26804&Chain=10237&template=GRRAM&shell=GRRAM&arrive=4/6/2011&depart=4/10/2011&adult=1&child=0&group=10010K
Type 10010K in the group code box (under “Click here to enter special codes”) if the number does not already appear there.

Need A Ride or Roomate?

If you are looking for a ride to/from Grand Rapids, or if you need a roommate, please visit the Graduate Student Forums. The GSIC Forums may be used by anyone planning to attend the meeting, not just by graduate students.

TRAVELING TO GRAND RAPIDS

By Car

Grand Rapids is at the junction of the I-96 and I-196, west of the I-69 and north of the I-94.

Miles (unless otherwise noted) /Driving time from Grand Rapids for Major Midwestern Cities

• Chicago 177 / 3 hrs
• Cincinnati 378 / 6 hrs
• Cleveland 300 / 5 hrs
• Columbus 318 / 5.5 hrs
• Detroit 160 / 2.5 hrs
• Indianapolis 296 / 5 hrs
• Milwaukee 271 / 4.5 hrs
• Minneapolis 590 / 9 hrs
• Pittsburgh 417 / 6.5 hrs
• Toledo 185 / 3 hrs
• Toronto 583 km / 6 hrs

By Bus

Bus service to Grand Rapids is provided by Greyhound (http://www.greyhound.com/home). Greyhound Buses arrive and depart from Central Station, on the corner of Grandville and Cherry (250 Grandville Ave. SW). Central Station is just under 1 mile from the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.

By Air

The Gerald R. Ford International Airport

• AirTran Airways (http://www.airtran.com)
• Air Canada (http://www.aircanada.com)
• Allegiant Air (http://www.allegiantair.com)
• American/American Eagle (http://www.aa.com)
• Continental (http://www.continental.com)
• Delta (http://www.delta.com)
• Frontier (http://www.flyfrontier.com)
• MidWest (http://www.midwestairlines.com)
• United/United Express (http://www.united.com)

Daily Nonstop service is offered to Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Chicago-O'Hare, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York-La Guardia, New York-Newark, Orlando Int’l, Toronto and Washington, DC

Transportation from the Airport

Car Rental

Rental car agencies' counters are located on the first level of the parking garage. Look for the rental car return lane as you approach the parking garage.

By Train

Grand Rapids is served by AMTRAK's Michigan Services trains on the Père Marquette Line, with daily service between Grand Rapids and Chicago, IL. The Grand Rapids Station is conveniently located downtown, less than a mile from the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. Please note that there is no ticket office and no checked baggage help at this station (there is a QuikTrak kiosk). Daily departure from Chicago north bound to Grand Rapids and points between (370) is at 5:20PM Central Time, arrival in Grand Rapids approximately 10:20PM. Daily departure from Grand Rapids south bound to Chicago and points between (371) is at 7:35AM, arrival in Chicago approximately 10:30 AM Central Time. For more information please visit www.amtrak.com. Since arrival in Grand Rapids will be quite late, a taxi ride to the Amway Grand is recommended.

LOCAL ATTRACTIONS

For comprehensive information on attractions, shopping and tourist activities and the websites listed below.

Downtown Grand Rapids

A full listing of restaurants and shops in the downtown area, within easy walking distance of the hotels. (www.downtowngr.com)

Eastown Shopping District (including restaurants)

Shops, restaurants, wine-bars, and breweries about 2 miles east of downtown. www.eastowngr.com

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum

https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov

Grand Rapids Ballet Company

www.artmuseumgr.org

Grand Rapids Art Museum

www.artmuseumgr.org

Grand Rapids Public Museum

www.grmuseum.org

Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra

www.grsymphony.org

John Ball Zoological Garden

www.johnballzoosociety.org

Opera Grand Rapids

www.operagr.com

Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts

www.uica.org

Heritage Hill Historic District

www.heritagehillweb.org

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Parks

The most comprehensive outdoor sculpture collection in the Midwest, with indoor and outdoor gardens. Special exhibits. www.meijergardens.org Close to Calvin College, transportation from downtown will be required.

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS

Teachers who would like to earn 3.3 Continuing Education Unites (CEUs) for attending the CAMWS Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids do not have to do anything in advance. When they arrive at the meeting, they should simply ask at the CAMWS registration desk for a CEU application form. Before they leave the meeting, they should return the completed form to the CAMWS registration desk, along with a check for $7.50, payable to “UW-Madison Extension.”

PRE-CONVENTION WORKSHOP FOR STUDENTS

For the fourth year the Graduate Student Issues Committee (GSIC) will sponsor a pre-convention workshop, "CreatingYour Own Syllabus", Wednesday, April 6, 6:00-8:00 p.m., in the Amway Grand Plaza. The workshop is free, but please sign up for it on the registration form if you plan to attend.

MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

After the pre-convention workshop, sponsored by GSIC, a reception hosted by the former presidents of CAMWS will officially open the meeting, 8:00-10:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 6, in the Anway Grand Plaza. Between Thursday morning and Saturday afternoon there will be 70 paper sessions (including two undergraduate student panels) on a variety of pedagogical and scholarly topics, plus a happy hour for graduate students and special events sponsored by the Vergilian Society, the Women's Classical Caucus, and the Committee for the Promotion of Latin. Free transportation will be provided on Thursday for anyone wishing to attend a 7:30 p.m. performance of Plautus' Braggart Soldier on the GVSU campus in Allendale ($12; sign up on the registration form but pay for your ticket at the door: http://www.gvsu.edu/theatre/index.cfm?id=434E456F-AFD2-DBAA-3E9C331ADC5B994A). Friday afternoon's sessions will be held in the Prince Conference Center on the Calvin College campus, followed by a reception in the Eberhard Center on the GVSU downtown campus, within walking distance of the Amway Grand Plaza. The CAMWS banquet on Friday evening will feature President David Tandy's address and the ovationes for 2010-11, presented in Latin by Jim May. More awards will be announced at the Annual Business Meeting on Saturday morning.