Oh yah. Passover's not a problem for me but I can't go out of town on Easter.

It is? Ooops. OK, then it looks like that weekend's definitely out of the running. The weekend of the 31st seems like the best bet, then.

Durham can work for either March 31 or April 6 weekend.

The Passover/Easter weekend is also my kid's Spring Break which makes it a bad time for me. I didn't even look at those dates when I was clicking madly on the poll dates. Ooops.

Yeah, I didn't realize either until I was looking at the calendar before calling the hotel. Oops.

NYistas,

I will be back in your fair city late next week (December 20-22 to be exact). Anyone interested in getting together that Wednesday or Thursday night? I will be staying with friends in Cobble Hill, sort of between Scola and Jess, so Brooklyn or lower Manhattan might make the most sense for me.

Trying to get the city information organized, so people can look at it before voting. Am I missing anything here? (I tried bolding the important info.) If this looks OK, I'll set up a poll soon, with a link to this post.

Atlanta:

Brenda says: brenda m "F2F 4: Too Much Candy, Never Enough Mojitos." Dec 5, 2006 11:14:29 am PST

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.

Ginger says: [link]

I can check it out. It's certainly a great location. I've passed The Highland Inn a million times and eaten in the restaurant on the first floor, but I never really processed it as a place to stay. It would be about 3/4 mile to Little Five Points and an easy shot to Virginia Highlands. Both have good restaurants and clubs, although I prefer the Little Five Points vibe.

I could pitch Atlanta as a location at length. We have the world's largest indoor aquarium; a decent art museum designed by two major architects, which has an ongoing relationship with the Louvre; a zoo with pandas; the Carter Center, which has the museum of Carter's presidency, plus exhibits; the MLK Center; and the world's largest piece of exposed granite.

If people are interested, I can set up a web page with Atlanta information.

I like the idea of being able to do our own catering. I'm sure there must be several bartenders in my friend-of-a-friend circle. That circle includes a number of musicians, so I could probably scare up some equipment.

Durham:

flea says: flea "F2F 4: Too Much Candy, Never Enough Mojitos." Dec 5, 2006 9:51:08 am PST

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.

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