*checks calendar*
Today is Monday, July 20, 2009. Three weeks and two days from now, fifteen hundred Kossacks, bloggers, activists and other assorted riffraff folks will descend upon the David L. Lawrence Convention Center for Netroots Nation 2009. That means it's time to get organized.
Inspired by the lovely and talented Land of Enchantment, below you will find hotel info, ground transportation info and other assorted goodness, as well as an opportunity to arrange ride shares, hotel room shares, registration swaps, hotel swaps, etc. Between myself, LoE and any other intrepid volunteers we will be bringing you this diary at least once or twice a day between now and NN09.
*jump*
HOTEL INFO:
The official conference hotels are the Westin, which is attached to the conference center via a skybridge, and the Omni William Penn Hotel, which is a couple blocks away. Unfortunately the Westin is completely booked, but rooms may still be available at the Omni.
Book at the Omni William Penn hotel located at 530 William Penn Place through this special link or call 412-281-7100 and mention the Netroots Nation convention when booking your room. The Omni is located a short walking distance from the convention center.
GROUND TRANSPORTATION:
Via donnamarie in a previous diary, the Westin does *not* have a complimentary shuttle from Pittsburgh Airport to the hotel. The best deal appears to be $19 each way with SuperShuttle, or you can take a cab for approximately $40 each way (info via Adam B).
Public transporation info is here.
Pittsburgh taxi company numbers (Program them into your cell phone now in case you need them! This information turned out to be vital in Austin.):
Checker Cab (412) 664-5600
Yellow Cab Co. of Pittsburgh (412) 321-8100
If you're the driving sort, parking at the hotel is $20/day (via donnamarie).
OTHER ANCILLARY INFO:
Also via donnamarie, the wifi situation at the hotel is exactly the opposite of last year's in Austin: wifi in your room in the hotel is free, but wifi in common areas of the hotel is $11/day.
roses and Land of Enchantment may have cheaper registrations for sale. Contact them at the email addresses in their profile.
The Netroots Nation folks are working their collective butts off finalizing the schedule. You can watch the schedule magically appear before your eyes here. Expect a full schedule with times, room numbers, etc. to be handed out in your swag bag.
Speaking of swag bags, if you're a Netroots Nation newbie here's some advice: leave some room in your luggage for the infamous Netroots Nation swag bag. This will be my third convention, and I always come home with piles of free tee shirts, buttons, keychains, condoms, bottle openers, magazines, flyers, etc., and it's all handed out in the Official Orange Netroots Nation swag bag.
Also, dKos's Official Party Diva Scout Finch is in the process of planning the sequel to last year's rockin' dKos Party, set to take place on Saturday night. Look for info fairly soon, I would imagine.
FOOD INFO:
Two meals are included with your conference registration, lunch on Friday and Saturday. There are also "heavy appetizers" (swanky food) planned for the opening reception on Thursday night. The hotel also has three restaurants: The Original Fish Market, Pizza & Panini and Penn City Grille. Across the street from the hotel is a restaurant called Tonic.
Pittsburgh Kossacks have done something pretty awesome and set up a website with visitor information about their town, including dining options. Visit PGH Roots.
OBLIGATORY PLUG:
If you can't make it to Pittsburgh, you can still experience the panels and discussions via SecondLife. It's not geeky, it's not technical, it's not weird...I promise. Visit the NNSL website for more information (or ask me--I am co-director of communications for NNSL).
Any word on DFA Scholarship winners? The clock is tickin', yo.