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When will the Convention be held?
August 15-16, 2014
Where will the Convention be held?
Crowne Plaza, 5700 East 28th Street SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Parking lot is off Foremost Drive SE, east of I-96 at Exit 43B.
GPS - Lat 42.911706 Long -85.527322
Call 616-957-1770 to make room reservations - mention Michigan Council of Square and
Round Dance Clubs to get group rate. Trying to book online or by the 800 number may cause
problems getting the group rate. The group rate is available to Hotel guests for three (3) days
before and three (3) days after our Convention.
What is the parking situation?
There are ample parking spaces around the Convention Hotel.
Parking is free. No passes will be needed.
Shuttle service is available from and to the airport and other locations within two (2) miles of the
Hotel.
Getting there - TRAINS, PLANES & BUSES
Gerald R. Ford International Airport, 5500 44th Street SE
The following bus and train stations are all on the west side of town (near US-131)
and at least 15 minutes from the Hotel.
Greyhound Lines bus station, 250 Grandville Ave SW
The Rapid bus station, 300 Ellsworth Ave SW - Grand Rapids public transportation
Amtrak, 431 Wealthy St SW
How much will it cost to register?
For adults over 18, for the full weekend (Fri & Sat) if registered before July 1, 2014, the cost is
$18.00 per person. For youth (18 & under) registered by July 1, the cost is $9.00 each. Partial
weekend prices and those for after June 30 are shown on the Registration form.
Where can I get a Registration form?
Click here for the front of the Registration form in PDF format
or here for the back of the Registration form, also as PDF.
However, for up-to-date camping information, see below. Changes have been made.
When will we be dancing?
Thursday -- Trail End Dance - 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (casual attire acceptable)
Friday -- 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (casual until 6:00 p.m.)
Saturday -- 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (proper square dance attire all day, please)
No After Parties
Note: Some times on the back of the Registration form were wrong! Sorry.
What is "proper square dance attire"?
Long sleeve shirts for men.
Traditional full skirts with petticoats and pettipants or prairie skirts for women.
Will there be After Parties?
There will be no After Parties this year due to poor attendance over the past few years.
Will Hotel guests have a free breakfast available?
Sorry, no. But a hot breakfast buffet will be available in the on-site restaurant for $10.95
or see the list of other restaurants below.
Will I be able to find food nearby?
There is a restaurant inside the Hotel with reasonable prices.
Next closest restaurants are Bagger Dave's (.2 mi) (see ice cream notes below) and Brann's
(.3 mi) (wear your ribbon to receive 15% off food but not alcohol), both sit-down, on
same side of street and within walking distance.
Qdoba, Burger King, Jimmy John's, and Tim Horton's are within 1/2 mile but across a 5 lane
street (not recommended for walking).
Further away but still on 28th Street and within 2 miles ... Bob Evans, McDonald's, Arby's,
IHOP, Quaker Steak & Lube, Long Horn Steakhouse, Steak 'n Shake, Chili's, Chuck E.
Cheese, Macaroni Grill, Red Lobster, Denny's and more.
Maps of restaurant locations within two (2) miles of the Hotel will be provided by Experience
Grand Rapids. A large copy will be on display in the Information Center at the Convention
for your convenience.
I want ice cream!
Bagger Dave's will be providing our ice cream treats ... Sundaes with a choice of toppings ...
for $3.00. Wear your ribbon to receive your discount. They will be open until
Where can we shop nearby?
For groceries and other non-specific needs ...
Meijer grocery store is just west but across the street from the Crowne Plaza - open 24/7.
GFS is directly across 28th St.
Walmart is just east and across the street. It is being remodeled and should be open 24/7
by the time of our Convention.
Target is on the south side of 28th Street just west I-96.
Sam's Club is less than 2 miles west on the south side of 28th Street..
For the serious crafters ...
Hobby Lobby is next to Sam's Club.
Jo-Ann is about 1/2 mile further west on the north side of 28th Street.
Michael's is just past Hobby Lobby on same side.
Field's Fabrics has several locations.
Gardeners ...
Flowerland is on the north side of 28th Street less than 2 miles west of the Hotel.
Horrock's is located at 4455 Breton Rd SE, Kentwood, just off 44th Street.
There is lots of other shopping as well. We can't begin to name them all.
What other entertainment might be found?
Gerald Ford Presidential Library & Museum, 303 Pearl Street NW
Fred Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, 1000 East Beltline NE
White Caps Baseball (minor league affiliate of the Detroit Tigers)
According to their 2014 Schedule the only home game during our Convention is
Thursday evening. Home games are played at Fifth Third Ballpark.
John Ball Zoo, 1300 W. Fulton
Grand Rapids Public Museum and Van Andel Museum Center, 272 Pearl Street NW
Grand Rapids Art Museum, 101 Monroe Center NW
Grand Rapids Public Library, several branches
The AQS quilt show is the week after our Convention - August 20-23.
Can you give me more information about the campgrounds?
Our Camping Advisors Erv & Pat Naber have been working with Grand Rogue Campground to make arrangements for all campers to spend their extra-curricular time together as well as on the dance floor.
Grand Rogue Campground is located at the junction of the Rogue River and the Grand River and is just a stone's throw from the White Pine Rails to Trails State Park (so bring your bikes). See the list immediately above for other wonderful things to do in the area.
It is a family run campground that has been in business for 39 years. The campground sits on about 75 acres. It has nice grassy, shady sites with access to the lake and the river. Dancers will have a section of the campground for just us so it should be a lot of fun! There will be one other group in the campground. They may be a group of canoers.
Price during 2013 was $36 for water and 30 amp electric hookups. There is a bath house. There are no full hookups, but there is a dump station.
They would like to have at least 15 units for a minimum of 2 nights. With all the things to do in Grand Rapids, we are hoping that dancers will come a few days ahead of the convention and stay a few days after the convention.
You can (and should as soon as possible) contact the campground:
email: grandrogue@yahoo.com
phone: 616-942-1071
(leave a message with your phone number and Tom Briggs will call you back). This is the home phone rather than the campground phone number that was given earlier. Tom has been unable to check the other number regularly this winter.
mail: 6400 West River Drive, Belmont, MI 49306
website: www.grandrogue.com
Info they will need will be type and size of your camping unit, dates of arrival and departure, your contact information and your credit card information. (All the typical stuff for making a reservation.)
If you want a flyer, contact Erv & Pat with your address and one will be mailed to you.
Erv & Pat 616-791-7897 or
email: patandervnab@att.net
What is the situation about the Basket Raffle?
The Basket Raffle will be held again this year. Baskets with a value of $25 to $50 may be brought to the Crowne Plaza at any time during our Convention. They may be assembled by clubs or individuals or accepted as donations from businesses. We’d like as many baskets as possible so if your club receives items with a total value of more than $50, please make 2 or more smaller baskets instead of one really big one. The proceeds have been earmarked to pay for the laying of the plastic floor tiles by a professional team. As has been said, “we’re just getting too old to be doing it ourselves.”
I would like to place an ad in the Program book. Who should I contact?
Advertising Chair - Rich and Marie Kolbe
e-mail - rmkolbe@hotmail.com
or call 231-873-3524
Who should I contact if my question is not here or if I need a better answer?
General Chair - Joe & Suellen Walker
e-mail - squaredance@netonecom.net
or call 231-946-7197
Additional information may also be found in The Michigander.
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