Notes from Local Arrangements

The OLA Local Arrangements Committee is pleased that the 2006 Conference will be held at the “New” Crowne Plaza Hotel in Tulsa. The Crowne Plaza was formerly the Adams Mark Hotel and is under new management.

Updates and improvements to the hotel include the addition of a day Spa and Starbucks Coffee Shop in the upper lobby area. All guest sleeping rooms have new beds and CD players with CD packets of restful music.

The Deco Restaurant located in the upper lobby offers American Continental artistically presented fine cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They offer a breakfast buffet daily and a lunch buffet Monday through Friday.

The Tiffany Rose, also located in the upper lobby, provides an elegant, relaxing lobby lounge offering light menu items and beverages. They also offer a lunch pasta bar.

There are 300 spaces available in the parking garage that is attached to the hotel. There is additional parking located in a garage one block away. The hotel provides regular shuttle service from the additional parking to the hotel. Parking in the attached garage is complimentary for conference attendees.

Please join in the fun from 7:00 – 9:00 P.M. Thursday evening at the All Conference Event. Everyone registered for the conference is invited to attend. Food, entertainment, the opportunity to visit with your colleagues, and other surprises await you. The theme is “Alice in Wonderland”. Please feel free to dress as your favorite Alice character if you wish.

For those who will be arriving for the pre-conference on Wednesday, a unique evening is planned for you. You will not want to miss the riverfront dining experience at the River Walk Crossing in Jenks America from 5:00 - 9:00 P.M.  Transportation will be arranged and provided from the hotel to Jenks by the Local Arrangements Committee. Note: Check out the Wednesday section of this preview for more information on the Pre-Conferences.

As a special treat, participants might want to stay one more night to hear Sue Monk Kidd speak. Ms. Kidd, bestselling author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair, will be at the Tulsa City-County Library (4th and Denver) on Saturday, April 1, at 2:00 to speak, answer questions and sign books. Barnes & Noble will sell books at the event. It’s the perfect way to wrap up your OLA Conference experience! Reservations are not necessary and there is no charge.

We hope that this Conference will be wonderful for you. Please don’t hesitate to locate one of the Local Arrangements Committee members to ask for help or information. (They will be easy to identify when you get to Conference.)

Rita Howell and Carol Fox, Co-Chairs
Local Arrangements