ATCA-SF17 Newsletter 3/19/17

ATCA-SF17 Newsletter 3/19/17

The Early Bird Man of Alcatraz…

This year’s ATCA conference will be a groovy happening in San Francisco from June 15-18, 2017! You can save yourself half a C-note if you register by April 15, after which the Early Bird Man of Alcatraz jumps The Rock and registration fees go up to $245 for both members and guests.

Click here for the registration link.

If you are bringing a guest, please process your own registration first and then that of your guest. PLEASE NOTE: There will be NO refunds on registration fees.

If you are a “new” member of ATCA – meaning you joined since roughly the time of the conference in Philadelphia last April – Foundation ATCA will underwrite your San Francisco conference registration. If you wish to apply for this sponsorship, please send an email to atca-sf17@americantheatrecritics.org and request confirmation of your eligibility.

If you know someone who is considering joining, please tell them the membership application submission deadline for processing in time for consideration for this benefit for the San Francisco conference is May 1.

The Conference Commune

Thanks to a great connection with one of our Bay Area Travel Writers colleagues ATCA has secured an amazing rate at a hotel that could only be more centrally located if it existed inside a theatre! The Hilton San Francisco Union Square, the largest non-gaming hotel on the West Coast, is in the heart of the theater district and within walking distance of shopping, restaurants, cable cars and much more.

Click here to reserve your rooms!
Hilton San Francisco Union Square, 333 O’Farrell Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

The base room rate is $179 per night plus a 16.5% occupancy tax, so your cost for a three-night stay is $625.34 including taxes. Various upgrades are available including four-person occupancy, view rooms, and junior suites. All ATCA participants will receive complimentary guestroom internet, complimentary fitness center access, and waived check-in/check-out porterage charges. ATCA has reserved a block of thirty rooms for the conference. Additional rooms are subject to availability and rates may increase, so book early to ensure your accommodations.

For members who want to arrive early or stay late, the ATCA rate can be booked as early as Friday, June 9 for check in and extended through a Wednesday, June 21 check out, subject to availability, of course.

The hotel has a pool, restaurant on premises serving breakfast and dinner, food service from 6:00 a.m. to midnight, oh… and a cozy little bar called Cityscape… covering the whole 46th floor! 

Click here to reserve your rooms!

Scaling The Rock and Other Tales of the City

There’s been an exceptional amount of interest from conference attendees in being able to plan an excursion to Alcatraz. You can do so before or after ATCA-SF17 as a guest of Alcatraz as long as you have a solid assignment for writing a travel piece on San Francisco from your publisher. If you fit the bill, please email  with the following information to atca-sf17@americnatheatrecritics.org (copy and paste of the fields below into your email is encouraged):

1. Name:
2. Media Outlet(s):
3. Email Address:
4. Requested Alcatraz Visit Date:
5. Requested Alcatraz Visit Time:
6. Guests (if any):
7. Mobility Assistance Needed (Y/N):

IMPORTANT NOTES:

1. All bookings subject to availability.
2. Deadline for reservations is May 1.
3. ONE pass per journalist with writing assignment per media outlet.
4. Guest tickets will be approximately $37.00 per person.
5. Night Tour, Behind the Scenes and Alcatraz & Angel Island Tour options are NOT available.
6. Also, requested times may need to shift slightly subject to availability.

Here is the schedule that will be in effect in June. Just like theatre, once confirmed, tickets will be held at Will Call at the pier. You must bring a picture ID and you will be asked to pay for your guest tickets (if any) at that time. That’s all the carrier pigeon  wrote. These requirements are from the venue.

In other travel writing news, conference attendees arriving early or staying later who have confirmed assignments to write stories 
about San Francisco as a travel destination should contact Laurie Armstrong at San Francisco Travel, for assistance with their local pre- or post-conference itinerary. larmstrong@sanfrancisco.travel