Error during command authentication.

Error - unable to initiate communication with LISTSERV (errno=10061, phase=CONNECT, target=127.0.0.1:2306). The server is probably not started.

As we look forward to our next national conference, the venue for our lodging and meetings merits some excitement. 

Room rates negotiated by the Houston planning committee are in keeping with past conferences ($151 for singles & doubles, plus tax, which helps support the arts), but the quality and value we will enjoy by staying there may well be unsurpassed in recent memory.

The Hilton Americas Houston, in the middle of downtown, opened in late 2003.  The project is a joint venture between the Hilton corporation and the City of Houston—exactly the kind of partnership that the 2005 Conference takes as its sobriquet: “Collaborative and Explorative Ventures in Art Information.” 

The 24-story building is adorned with fine finishes, and modern and contemporary art, that could put it into the class of "boutique hotel."  Hilton’s press release describes its Italian red marble, mahogany from Honduras, flooring from China, granite from Africa, and hand-blown glass light fixtures from Venice.  Our colleagues in Texas have already been impressed with the array of work by local and regional artists—from the likes of Robert Rauschenberg, Joe Mancuso, Terrell James, and Paul Kittelson. 

Unlike some of our past venues, 91,000 square feet of meeting space in Houston are contiguous on one floor, and each room is wired to the latest technology, sound and projection needs—beginning with T-1 line service.  The 1,200 guest rooms may well be the most luxurious, sybaritic yet known by Society conference-goers, with marble baths, down duvets, top quality beds, and internet connections in every room. 

While Houston is well known for its diverse and reasonably-priced restaurants (subject of a forthcoming e-mail announcement), the hotel itself contains three. The Skyline Bar & Grill, on the 24^th floor, features “heart-healthy fare” with $10 to $12 entrées—to be enjoyed before a view of one of America’s most stunning urban skylines.  A garden patio will make a splendid setting for our planned receptions.  For more impromptu gatherings, Jon Evans notes reports good things about the hotel bar.  A top-floor swimming pool, and a health club will enable us to complete and balance the cycle of a well-spent day.

Thirty minutes from Houston’s two main airports, and steps from the downtown shopping & theatre area, the hotel’s location helps to tame this famously car-dependent metropolis into a walk-able town.  The Museum District and Rice University will be easily reachable, on the nearby light rail line. 

Join us at ARLIS/NA’s 33^rd annual conference, in Houston, and in this remarkable hotel! 

Ideas?  Questions?  Please contact Houston Local Arrangements chairs, Jon Evans [log in to unmask], or Mark Pompelia [log in to unmask].

Link to the 2005 conference page:  www.arlis-txmx.org/arlisna2005/.  

Link to the hotel page:  www.hilton.com/en/hi/hotels/index.jhtml;jsessionid=DC511XDRU4PCWCSGBIW2VCQKIYFCVUUC?moreDesc=true&ctyhocn=HOUCVHH

( First in a series of occasional postings from your Houston 2005 Conference Committee, in anticipation of our 33^rd annual conference. )   - John Hagood