Thanks for the nudge. Miss Nudgy.

How are the city proposals coming along?

The Durham Marriott has rooms for both April 6-8 (bonus - big-ass Christian fundie group meeting in the hotel!) and March 31-April 2, but no space available for Prom. We could consider renting out a space or taking over a restaurant - there are a number of possibilities; I know nothing about price. Group room rate $109 for the hotel only. They do have suites.

Other Durham hotels are either not very well located, kinda chintzy, or very expensive. I am a little discouraged on that front - any volunteer want to look here (http://www.durham-nc.com/lodging/) and try to come up with other possibilities?

Do you all think a proposal with a separate prom location is worth pursuing?

Prom in a restaurant, for example Parizade: [link]

or Tyler's Taproom: [link]

Are those restaurants within walking distance of the hotel?

Oh, and thanks for finding the info!

One of them is, sort of - but it's not the kind of walk I'd like to make alone, at night, really. This is part of the problem - most things in Durham are either really expensive or in a strip mall, and nothing is very walkable. If it's downtown, it doesn't feel safe, and if it's not downtown, you need a car.

(I know, I would never make a good PR person!)

We haven't done a whole lot of pimping for this location as of yet, but here goes.

After getting no bites from the convention planning sites, I put in a call to a hotel in Atlanta that I remember from when I lived there. If we seem to be considering this, it would be great if Ginger could go scope out the facilities in person, since it's been several years since I lived around there.

But, this would be the deal:

The Highland Inn (http://www.thehighlandinn.com/) in Virginia Highlands. It's not the *nicest* place in the world, but it's not bad either - not unlike the hotel in NOLA, I'd say. Located well - near shops, restaurants, bars, buses, not far from the metro. Convenient to downtown. Easy walk to Little Five Points, Carter Center, Midtown.

Rates:

Prom: Ballroom rental on a Saturday is typically $1000 plus deposit, knocked down to $900 if you also book a room block. Post prom clean-up is available for $175, otherwise you do it yourself - I believe you have until 11 the next morning.

They do not have food or drink service - you can do caterered, or you have kitchen access to do it yourself. Similarly, you can bring your own liquor, but you need a licensed bartender. (I can probably scare one up without too much trouble from my days of yore bartending at a place down the street, but it would be a consideration).

Rooms: Room rates are discounted with the ballroom rental -

Single (1 Full size bed) $62.95
Queen (1 Queen size bed) $77.35
Double (2 Full size beds) $86.35
Suite (1 Queen size bed with a sitting area) $95.35 Atlanta is an interesting place with lots to see and do, fairly easy to get to from most US areas, and has some discount airlines. If it seems like there's interest, I can throw together some more detailed city info.

Brenda, that sounds really awesome.

Just for what its worth... The Prom doesn't have to be exactly the same thing its always been. It could be a boat thing or a barbecue joint thing or a big picnic thing or any number of things.