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August 5 & 6, 2016 Crowne Plaza Austin, Texas
6121 North IH-35
NE Corner of IH-35N & US 290E
Once again it's time for fun in the sun in central Texas as we make the Capital City the place to be in the middle of the Texas summer. Come and enjoy old friends, the swapfest, and all the events at Austin Summerfest 2016, and the ARRL Texas State Convention. And as always, we also host the Summer Meeting of the Texas VHF-FM Society.
A meager $10 per-person admission fee at the door, or save $2 per person by registering online or mailing in an advanced registration gets you access to all the forums, exhibits, and indoor swapfest action. Registration opens at 5pm on Friday, and 7am on Saturday.
Dealers
There'll be our usual fine contingent of dealers, ready to help you with their knowledge of the latest products, and a great selection of them too. Think of those little odds and ends that you've been thinking of getting for the shack. Here's your chance to get them while they're on your mind.
Prizes
Prizes Galore! We are working on lining up a bunch of great prizes. Check back often as we will update here when we get more information.
With your registration you get one ticket good for Saturday's door prizes and the Major Prizes,
and you can buy more tickets at $1 each. Plus, if you rent a room at the Crowne Plaza, you'll
get five bonus tickets for each room-night, up to a total of ten tickets. (See the RULES page for prize rules.)
Swapfest
For lots of folks, our main event--wall-to-wall goodies of every description, brought to you in carpeted, air-conditioned comfort on Friday evening and Saturday.
Rules:
- Full-sized tables: 6 feet by 30 inches. $10 each, limit of 3 to a customer. First come, first served.
- AC power is available at an additional $5 per customer, through advance registration only.
- We'll attempt to honor requests from groups of sellers for adjacent tables, if we receive your registrations in the same envelope.
- If you advance register for swap tables, we'll attempt to notify you in advance if they are unavailable due to being sold out (a rare occurrence). Be sure to give us your email address so we can notify you that way.
- Your table(s) will be held for you until 10 AM Saturday.
- Swapfest hours are 6 to 9 pm Friday and 8 AM to 3:30 PM Saturday. Opening times are for both sellers (for setup) and shoppers.
- Buyers and sellers must be registered at the convention.
We'll be holding a Tailgate swapfest on the east side of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. You need not be registered at the Convention to sell at the tailgate, but of course you'll want to attend the indoor swapfest and sessions, so it would be a good idea to register. We allow one vehicle (car, truck, trailer, etc) per parking space inside the coned-off area. Stradling more than one space will not be allowed. This is for the benefit of all tailgaters.
Driving Directions
The Crowne Plaza is at 6121 IH-35 North at US 290, Austin, TX, 78752. Phone (512)323-5466. Talk-in is on 146.34/94. Tone: 107.2Hz
Northbound on IH-35: Take Exit 238-A (RM 2222). Continue on the frontage road over US 290. Turn right into the west entrance of the Crowne Plaza parking lot.
Southbound on IH-35: Take Exit 238 B-A, marked East 290 Houston West 2222. As you go up the ramp , it splits. Bear right at the fork, taking the West 2222 ramp. As you get back down to ground level, stay in the left lane and take the U-turn under IH-35 to the northbound frontage road of IH-35. Get to the right side of the northbound frontage road as soon as possible and take the first right turn into the west entrance of the Crowne Plaza parking lot. If you miss the first turn into the lot, take the second one into the northmost end of the hotel parking lot and work your way back to the front of the hotel.
Westbound on US 290: Take the IH-35 North (Waco) exit. Shortly after the exit ramp, bear to the right; turn right into the south entrance of the Crowne Plaza parking lot. This turn comes up quick; if you overshoot, just follow the turn lane to the right onto the northbound frontage road and turn right into the west entrance of the Crowne Plaza parking lot.
Summerfest will be held in the hotel’s convention center in the southeast side.
The tailgate swapfest area will be made available Saturday morning in the parking lot section in the southeast corner of the hotel property.
Talk-In on 146.94
Austin Summerfest will use the Austin Amateur Radio Club's 146.94Mhz (PL=107.2 Hz) repeater for Talk-in. Please follow the directions of the Talk-in Net Control operator.
Crowne Plaza Hotel Reservations & Directions
This year we are again at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, the same site where Austin Summerfest began 33 years ago back in 1983. Back then it was the Austin Marriott Hotel.
The address is; 6121 North IH 35 Austin, Texas 78752. Here is a Google map and if you use the "Get directions" button it will map your drive to the Crowne Plaza.
Please support Summerfest by staying at the Crowne Plaza and make sure you request the special Convention rate.. Showing support for our hotel helps to ensure that we can continue to stage our Convention in high-quality surroundings. This year we have a stiff penalty if we don't meet our room-night commitment.
The hotel cutoff date for guaranteed room availability has been extended to July 31st.
The hotel needs your reservation by July 31st to guarantee room availability at the convention rate of $107 per room night.
Phone the toll-free Crowne Plaza reservation center at 1 (800) 227-6963 to request rooms. Mention that you are requesting rooms in the Austin Summerfest block to get the Convention rate. If you have trouble making reservations through the reservation center at the Austin Summerfest convention rate, call Kees Talen K5BCQ (the Summerfest liaison to the hotel) at (512) 258-4282 and he will straighten things out.
For written directions try this link: Driving Directions.