Cowlitz County Conference Center
Longview, Washington
August 18-20, 2011
Come to the 11th in '11!
Come to Longview, Washington, in August of 2011 for the 11th USAWest
Square Dance Convention!
USAWest is a square dance convention in the western United States,
organized to provide an intermediate experience somewhere between local
state festivals and the National Square Dance Convention®.
It encompasses 13 western states. USAWest conventions are not held in
years when the NSDC is in the west. For more information about the
USAWest concept and past conventions, please see the official web site
of the USAWest Policy Board,
www.usawest.net.
We are proud to be hosting the 2011 USAWest convention in Longview,
Washington, a port city on the Columbia River about an hour north of
Portland.
We will have dancing at all levels, with square dancing from mainstream
to A1, rounds from phases I to VI, contra, and clogging. We are
pleased to announce that the Ghost Riders Square Dance Band (that's them
to the right) will be on
hand to provide live music in the evenings. There will also be a
program of seminars to fulfill your educational
needs, and a number of exhibition groups
to entertain you. Details about these activities will be made available as
our plans firm up.
All done!
Our convention is now finished. We want to give a big thanks to the
669 dancers who joined us in Longview for three days of all kinds of dancing
and fun. There is no USAWest next year because the Nationsl Convention
is in Spokane, but we'll be back in Boise in 2013.
After Parties
Many people look forward to the after parties as the highlight of their
attendance at a convention. We will have after parties each evening.
Thursday night's afterparty will be sponsored by the Lou-Mac Record
Company. Friday night's afterparty will be a "hot hash" session,
sponsored by your 2011 USAWest Convention Committee. Saturday's
afterparty will be sposored by the 2013 USAWest Square Dance Convention
in Boise, ID.
Registration
You can view our current registration totals by
clicking here.
You may download our full registration form now by
clicking here!
Or, if you prefer, you may register online using our
online registration
process. After taking your registration information, you will be
forwarded to PayPal to arrange for payment by credit card or bank
transfer.
Convention Committee
Meet the group of hard-working volunteers who are putting on
this convention at our committee page.
Callers and Cuers
We will have a full complement of callers from all over the western
United States. Browse through some pictures
of our talented callers and cuers here.
Take a peek here to see how
many of your favorites callers will be on the program, and
check here to see about your favorite cuers.
Take a look at some of the highlights features in our
round dance program.
Longview
Longview is a port city on the Columbia River just north of Portland,
Oregon. It has an industrial base, as do many port cities, and shipping
is a big part of the infrastructure.
The Cowlitz Regional Conference Center is a modern convention facility with
several large exhibition floors and a number of smaller rooms. The
center is surrounded by acres of free parking, so there will be plenty
of room for you when you come.
Address:
Cowlitz Regional Conference Center
1900 7th Ave
Longview, WA 98632
Here is a Google map to show you the way.
Here is a Mapquest map showing you the way.
Getting There
The Cowlitz Conference Center is located on 7th Avenue in Longview. Take
exit 36 from Interstate 5 onto WA Hwy 432. Turn right on 7th Ave, and the
Center is about half a mile ahead on the right.
We expect most people will be arriving at the convention by car.
Convention Outfit
Our convention outfit uses a blue and white fabric with a mountain
theme. You can order kits or fabric
yourself.
Housing
You will need to make your own housing arrangements.
Here is a list of some of the hotels in the area. The first half are in
Kelso, about 1/2 mile from the Conference Center. The rest are in Longview,
about 1 mile from the Conference Center.
Red Lion Hotel (headquarters hotel) |
360-636-4400 |
Best Western Aladdin | 360-425-9660 |
Budget Inn | 360-636-4610 |
Comfort Inn | 360-425-4600 |
Guest House Inn | 360-414-5953 |
Motel 6 | 360-425-3229 |
Super 8 | 360-423-8880 |
Budget Inn | 360-423-6980 |
Hudson Manor Motel | 360-425-1100 |
Monticello Hotel | 360-425-9900 |
Ramada Inn | 360-414-1000 |
Town Chalet Motel | 360-423-2020 |
Town House Motel | 360-423-7200 |
Travelodge | 360-423-6460 |
The Red Lion is a full-service hotel with an outdoor pool and whirlpool,
free internet access, and a free full breakfast every morning in their
dining room. Identify yourself with USAWest and get a rate
of $93 for a deluxe king suite.
The Best Western Aladdin is less than a mile from the event center, and
offers a waffle breakfast and free Internet.
The Comfort Inn and Guest House Inn are inside the Three Rivers Mall, so
you can walk to restaurants and shopping. Rates are $80 to $90 and include
free breakfast.
RV Parking
The Cowlitz Conference Center offers dry RV parking with electricity
for convention attendees at $15 per night in a shaded, grassy area directly
behind the dancing. Please call
Don Sims
at 360-423-3369 for information on RV parking.
In addition, the following RV parks are nearby.
Brook Hollow RV Park is an RV park in a quiet country area of
Kelso about 3 miles from the convention center. Plenty of spaces on
cement pads with full hook-ups. 800-867-0453.
Fisher Island RV Park is a full-service RV park on the Columbia River in
Longview, about 6 miles from the convention center. The park is quiet
and has full hook-ups, although space may be at a premium.
360-425-9198.
Camp Kalama RV Park and Campground is about 6 miles south of Kelso
on I-5. This park is known as the "Home of the Steelhead". There are nice,
grassy spots under trees, bordered by the beautiful Kalama River.
Full hook-up and tent sites are available.
You are visitor number
since April, 2009.
|