****Colon Palooza 8, Must registar now!****

*****MUST REGISTER AT THE HOTEL BY SEPTEMBER 13, 2010, MONDAY.******

If you are on the fence, go ahead and register, you can cancel 72 hours ahead. For special rates though, you must register now.

This email has been posted before, but I wanted to give information again and then we can finalize trip plans soon. Do let us know if there is anything that sounds like a "must do for you".

I know this is long, but I wanted to get all of the information in one place so that you could print this, if you needed to think it over. However, it is time to act!

Although everyone won't be able to make it to Colon Paloosa 8 it looks like we will have a good size group this year.

The hotel sent me a reminder that the cutoff date for reservations is 9/13/2010. After this date, any unused portion of the group room block will be released for general sale and room reservations will be accepted on a space and rate availability only. If you know of anyone who is thinking about attending please forward this message to them.



The following is the link where you can make reservations at the Worthington Renaissance Hotel in Fort Worth for Colon Paloosa 8, which will begin the evening of Oct. 13th and end on Sunday Oct. 17th.

https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=2505198

This is a dedicated booking website for Colon Paloosa 8 so you can make, modify and cancel hotel reservations online, as well as take advantage of any room upgrades, amenities or other services offered by the hotel. If you want to call the hotel to make your reservations, you can call 1-800-266-9432. Be sure and tell them you are attending Colon Palooka 8 so you will get the negotiated room rate. If you have any problems, email me or call me at 682-518-7986.
The negotiated room rate is $139 plus tax. The normal rate for this type of room is $249 and the size of the room is 414 square feet. You can go to the following hotel website to look at pictures of the hotel and rooms plus get more details on the room amenities. http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/dfwdt-the-worthington-renaissance-fort-worth-hotel/ The rooms do not have a fridge, however they will provide one for $15 the first night with subsequent nights charged at $10 per night. I know another group who recently negotiated with this hotel, and they are having to pay $196 for the same type of room.
I have blocked 15 rooms for the nights of Oct. 13th, 14th, 15, and 16th and guaranteed 10 rooms. However, if someone wants to come early or stay longer, you will be able to add the two nights prior to Oct. 13th and/or the two nights after Oct. 16th. for the $139 rate plus tax. To date I have 9 individuals or families who have indicated they are coming, plus one maybe. Reservations have to be made on or before Sept. 15 to ensure getting a room at the negotiated rate. I will monitor the reservations and if we need more than 15 rooms I will try and block additional rooms.
I was also able to negotiate a $139 rate for one Terrace Suite which will give us a place to gather as a group. The normal rate for this suite is $359. Sorry, but Jo Ann and I will be taking the suite which has two rooms, with 841 square feet plus a terrace with 249 square feet. It does have a fridge, but I am not sure it is a large one. Jo Ann and I plan to bring our ice chests where we can all store drinks, ice, etc. It should be a great place to get together, when we are not doing something fun outside the hotel.
I was not able to negotiate any type of discounted rate for upgrades for additional suites so if you want to upgrade you will have to do your own negotiating. They also have a balcony suite which is a little smaller than the terrace suite, and it's starting price is about $349, however you might be able to get them to come off of this price, but I don't know how much. You can look at the rooms alternatives on the hotel website.
I have attached another copy of possible events for Colon Paloosa 8. If anyone has any other ideas, let me know.
Please feel free to forward this email to anyone who you think might be interested in attending Colon Palooza 8.



Possible Events

(1) Possible place to meet for the Thursday evening get together. The bar on the roof is a great place to meet. http://www.reata.net/fort-worth-restaurant.html ; http://www.reata.net/reata-fort-worth-dining-rooms.html
(2) We have been to Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar in downtown Fort Worth and it was great fun. You can reserve a big table for a group and is walking distance from all the hotel’s http://www.petesduelingpianobar.com/ Next door is the Impov Comedy Club which is great fun for a group.
(3) The Stockyards Historical District is about 5 or 10 minutes taxi ride north of downtown. If everyone wanted to go we could get a small bus which would be cheaper. They have a rodeo every Friday and Saturday night. Billy Bob’s is the largest honky-tonk in the world. There are also several others things to do in the Stockyards District within easy walking distance. See the attractions directory on the website. http://www.fortworthstockyards.org/
(4) The White Elephant Saloon can be a fun place and is in the Stockyards Historical District. They have live music every night. http://www.myspace.com/whiteelephantsaloon
(5) Here is a Fort Worth site that lists several things people might be interested in doing. Base Performance Hall and three live theaters all downtown. Pub crawl and live music. All within walking distance of the hotels http://www.fortworth.com/weekend/
(6) If anyone is up for museums about 5 or 10 minutes taxi ride to the west of downtown are five museums all within walking distance of each other. They are all probably within three or four blocks of each other. http://www.fortworth.com/visitors/museums/
(7) If anyone wants to make the trip to Dallas which is 30 minutes by car or over an hour by train it can be great fun. If a lot of people wanted to make a day of it we could rent a van. You can also get to the Fair by train/light rail. Leaving the downtown Fort Worth Intermodal Center the Trinity Railway Express train takes about 50 minutes to get to Victory Station in Dallas. There you have to switch to the Dart green light rail line and proceed to the Fair Park Station where the State Fair is located which takes another 20 minutes. Probably an hour and ten minutes is the best you can do. I have attached the websites for the State Fair, Trinity Railway Express, and Dart light rail. The State Fair of Texas is very large and so this is certainly a whole day for anyone wanting to go. http://www.bigtex.com/ ; http://www.trinityrailwayexpress.org/ ; http://www.dart.org/riding/dartrail.asp
(8) Tour of Cowboy Stadium. http://stadium.dallascowboys.com/