FUDCon:Bid for Washington DC 2014

Organizing Team

• Eric Christensen

Dates

TBD

Location

About Washington DC

From Wikipedia:

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the Residence Act approved the creation of a capital district located along the Potomac River on the country's East Coast. As permitted by the U.S. Constitution, the District is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States Congress and is therefore not a part of any U.S. state.

Washington, D.C., had an estimated population of 632,323 in 2012, the 25th most populous place in the United States. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city's population to more than one million during the workweek. The Washington Metropolitan Area, of which the District is a part, has a population of 5.7 million, the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the country.

Major Local Airports

Reagan National Airport

IATA: DCA

• Approximately 20 minutes to the convention center on the Yellow line (~$3.65 or less)
• Airlines: Air Canada, AirTran, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, Frontier, jetBlue, Southwest, Sun Country, United, US Airways, Virgin America, and general aviation

Baltimore-Washington Airport

IATA: BWI

• Approximately 60 minutes to the convention center on bus and rail (MARC)
  • MARC only runs Monday through Friday
• Airlines: Air Canada, AirTran, American Airlines, British Airways, Condor, Delta, E9, Frontier Airlines, Jet Blue, Southwest, Spirit, United, US Airways

Dulles International Airport

IATA: IAD

• Approximately 90 minutes to the convention center on bus and rail
• Airlines: Aeroflot, AeroMexico, Air France, ANA, American Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Cayman Airways, Copa Airlines, Delta, Emirates, Ethiopian, Etihad Airways, Icelandair, jetBlue, KLM, Korean Air, Lufthansa, porter, Qatar Airways, Saudia, South African Airways, Southwest, Sun Air, Taca, Turkish Airlines, United, US Airways, Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic, and general aviation

Local Train Station

Washington, DC - Union Station (WAS)

• Approximately 11 minutes to hotel via Red Line Metro
• Rail service for Amtrak, Virginia Railway Express, and MARC

Local Mass Transit

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

• Light rail and bus service throughout the Washington DC area.

Local Restaurants

In addition to the FUDPub options:

Fado Irish Pub

808 7th St NW

...and several other options. The hotel is near Chinatown.

Local Attractions

Lots of museums and activities including:

Smithsonian

• 19 museums and galleries
• National Zoological Park

International Spy Museum

National Cryptologic Museum

Newseum

National Archives

Hotels

Renaissance Washington DC Downtown Hotel (Marriott)

999 Ninth Street NW · Washington, District Of Columbia 20001 USA

• Three-minute walk to the convention center (0.2 miles)
• Advertising rooms at $119/night

Meeting venues

Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel (Marriott)

999 Ninth Street NW · Washington, District Of Columbia 20001 USA

• Meeting rooms available
• Food and beverage service
• Conveniently located near a Metro light-rail station (Yellow and Green lines)

Internet Connectivity

TBD

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Walter E Washington Convention Center

801 Mount Vernon Place NW, Washington, DC 20001

• Meeting rooms (40 capacity) $250
• Other rooms of various capacities available
• Internet connectivity and security extra
• Food and beverage service
• Conveniently located near a Metro light-rail station (Yellow and Green lines)

Internet Connectivity

SmartCity

• $2900 wireless (2.4GHz 802.11g/n and 5GHz 802.11a/n)
• $5900 3Mbit WAN (higher connectivity available)
• $795 per hardwire drop
• Local server connectivity is possible (repos, git, DNS, ?)
• IPv4 and IPv6 connectivity
• Contact is Marisa

FUDPub options

Ping Pong

Chinatown, 900 7th Street NW 20001

RFD Washington

810 7th St NW

Cuba Libre

801 9th St. NW, Ste A (Corner of 9th & H Streets)

Transportation to event

From everywhere to DCA

Flights

Some basic pricing of flights as of xxx. Round trip, Thu Jan 24 / Mon Jan 26, 1 person, prices in USD, 1-stop unless otherwise noted. Data from KAYAK (therefore does not include Southwest Airlines).

• RDU:
• BOS:
• SJC:
• PHX:
• IAD:
• ORD:
• LAX:
• PRG:
• VIE:

Amtrak

Some basic pricing of train tickets as of xxx. Round trip, Thu Jan 24 / Mon Jan 26, 1 person, prices in USD. Data from Amatrak's website.

• RGH -
• BOS -

From DCA to hotel

The Metro light rail train will take you from Reagan National Airport (DCA) to within a block of the hotel in approximately 20 minutes for a cost of $3.65 or less. Costs vary with time and if you use a SmarTrip card.

Local weather patterns

From Wikipedia:

Washington is in the humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen: Cfa) and exhibits four distinct seasons. Its climate is typical of Mid-Atlantic U.S. areas removed from bodies of water. The District is in plant hardiness zone 8a near downtown, and zone 7b elsewhere in the city, indicating a temperate climate.

Spring and fall are warm, while winter is cool with annual snowfall averaging 15.5 inches (39 cm). Winter temperatures average around 38 °F (3.3 °C) from mid-December to mid-February. Summers are hot and humid with a July daily average of 79.8 °F (26.6 °C) and average daily relative humidity around 66%, which can cause moderate personal discomfort. The combination of heat and humidity in the summer brings very frequent thunderstorms, some of which occasionally produce tornadoes in the area.

Blizzards affect Washington on average once every four to six years. The most violent storms are called "nor'easters", which often affect large sections of the U.S. East Coast. Hurricanes (or their remnants) occasionally track through the area in late summer and early fall, but are often weak by the time they reach Washington, partly due to the city's inland location. Flooding of the Potomac River, however, caused by a combination of high tide, storm surge, and runoff, has been known to cause extensive property damage in Georgetown.

The highest recorded temperature was 106 °F (41 °C) on July 20, 1930, and August 6, 1918, while the lowest recorded temperature was −15 °F (−26 °C) on February 11, 1899, during the Great Blizzard of 1899. During a typical year, the city averages about 37 days at or above 90 °F (32.2 °C) and 64 nights at or below freezing.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Transportation to and from the airports (and other attractions) is easy and relatively cheap.
• Many local airports and trains provide easy access to the city.
• Many restaurant/bar choices near the hotel.
• Many attractions for participants and their family.
• Scalable as the number of people increase or decrease.

Cons

• Cost. So far the quotes for the conference location and Internet connectivity have been high.