2009 PA Convention Info

Parapsychological Association Convention 2009
52nd Annual Parapsychological Association Convention
Seattle, Washington
Thursday Aug 6, 2009 - Sunday Aug 9, 2009

[updated 20 Jul 2009

TENTATIVE DETAILS
Program Chair: Dr John Palmer

FINAL PROGRAM
Seattle Airport Transportation Options (PDF)

Location: University of Washington
Arrangements Chair: Dr Leila Kozak

ABOUT SEATTLE WA.: http://www.visitseattle.org/visitors/
CAMPUS MAP: http://www.washington.edu/home/maps/
VIRTUAL CAMPUS TOUR: http://admit.washington.edu/Visit/Virtual

INVITED SPEAKER:
Donald Hoffman, Professor of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, will be the banquet speaker at the Annual Meeting of the Parapsychological Association. Professor Hoffman's areas of expertise include Consciousness, Visual Perception, and the Mind-Body Problem. He is the author of the book Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See. His talk entitled "Consciousness and the interface theory of perception" will present a non-materialist solution to the
mind-body problem. (website)

DORMS: Dorm room housing is available at North Tower of McMahon Hall (http://hfs.washington.edu/student_housing/residence_halls.aspx?id=305) at the University of Washington. Single rooms contain one twin bed. Double occupancy rooms contain two twin beds. Rooms are arranged in clusters and bathrooms are communal (4-8 people per cluster). You may reserve your rooms when you pre-register for the convention at http://parapsych.clubexpress.com. The availability of dorm rooms cannot be guaranteed after July 22, 2009. Late registrants, please contact the PA office at business@parapsych.org to confirm room availability. The rates are as follows:

August 6th- 9th (3 night package rate): $132 single/ $207 double
August 4th, 5th, 10th, 11th (per night): $54 per person double/ $79 per person single

The check-in desk is located in the lobby of McMahon Hall and open until 11pm. A number will be posted at the desk, which late arrivals may call for check-in 24 hours a day. Parking passes can be purchased during check-in at $15 per day M-F, $6 on Saturday, and free on Sundays.

HOTELS: The Watertown Hotel block of rooms is not yet full. A few rooms that were released from the block at the cutoff date of July 6 may still be available at the ongoing rate of $169. The hotel is offering a complimentary welcoming bag and bottled water to our conference guests, besides their usual menu of complementary “carts” with various themes (don’t forget to book your cart in advance to your arrival). Sample Carts Include: spa cart, art cart, kids cart and the grumpy cart). Check the hotel’s website (www.watertownseattle.com) for more information.

The hotel is about 6 blocks from the convention. All rooms include a hot complimentary breakfast buffet, free local shuttle service (available by reservation), HBO, ESPN, and CNN, free parking, wireless internet, complimentary loaner bicycles and a fitness center.

Contact the Watertown directly to make your reservation via the following means:
Call toll-free (866) 944-4242
Direct or international at +1 (206) 826-4242
Fax to +1 (206) 315-4242
or e-mail: reservations@watertownseattle.com or visit www.watertownseattle.com and click on “Group Reservations”. Mention the “UW-52nd convention of the Parapsychology Association Room Block" when making reservations.

The Deca Hotel has still rooms available and is only a few blocks away from the Watertown. The hotel has agreed to accommodate guests who were not able to book the Watertown at the special rate of $139 - please note that this lower rate will apply to all PA guests, even if they have booked at the previous higher rate of $165. In addition, PA guests at the Deca Hotel will receive complimentary parking. Breakfast is not included in this rate.

Call the Hotel Deca directly at 1.800.899.0251 between the hours of 8a.m. – 7p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. – 4p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, or by faxing reservations to 1.206.545.2103, or emailing requests to reservations@hoteldeca.com. To get the reduced rate, please be sure to mention the Parapsychological Association Convention.

All group and individual reservations must be guaranteed. Individual reservations must be accompanied by a first night room deposit or guaranteed with a major credit card. All major credit cards, checks, cash and purchase order numbers (pending credit approval) are accepted as deposits.

Commuter Parking:

Parking is available at the Gatehouse, which is inside of the Central Parking Garage where you will need to park. Kane Hall is attached to the Central Parking Garage. Parking is $15 per day ($10 after 4pm), free Saturday after 12pm, and free all day Sunday.

Seattle is:

· No. 4 fittest city in America —Self magazine, Dec. 2007

· No. 1 for bicycling in North America among cities with a population greater than 500,000 —Bicycling magazine, Nov. 2001

• America’s Best City for Healthy Living —Cooking Light magazine, Dec. 2007

• Second-Cleanest U.S. City —Forbes magazine, March 2008

• No. 6 arts destination in the United States (in big city category) —American Style magazine, April 2008 [this is probably true in summer only, because the other 9 months it rains a lot! But we have the most amazing weather in summer!)

• Seattle is one of only a handful of U.S. cities that are home to a top-tier opera company, ballet and symphony

• Seattle Symphony is one of the world’s most recorded orchestras, represented on more than 100 recordings and recognized with 11 Grammy nominations

• Seattle Opera has the highest per capita attendance per opera of any major U.S. opera company

• The Seattle International Film Festival, held annually mid-May to mid-June, is the largest film festival in the nation

• The Seattle-Tacoma area has more arts related businesses and organizations per capita than any other U.S. metropolitan area. —2004 study by American for the

Arts, Washington, D.C.

• Seattle’s Pacific Northwest Ballet has the highest per capita dance attendance in the U.S.

• Art journalist Robin Updike states that most curators call Seattle the nation’s glass art capital and one of the world’s most important glass centers

—American Style magazine, Spring 2003