So what was the story on the Thursday night party being in a parking lot? I’m looking at some uploaded photos in Flickr and it looks bizzare compared to previous years. Did the “American Road Trip” theme result in putting the party in a parking lot or did the theme come about because it was in a parking lot.
18 responses so far ↓
1
Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer
// Jun 22, 2007 at 10:29 am
I don’t know the reasoning behind the parking lot approach, but it wasn’t too bad compared to the previous years in the parks. There were a few bottlenecks in spots where there were too many people trying to get through a small narrow area.
2
J Wallis
// Jun 22, 2007 at 10:38 am
I wasnt there, but I did see them setting up earlier in the day. I have to say I think my PUG social had to have been better. smaller more focused crowds. The free for all party seems like the party to go to if you dont have an interest group.
3
KoS
// Jun 22, 2007 at 12:55 pm
So, was it a great trip?
KoS
4
adam
// Jun 22, 2007 at 1:59 pm
I think the food @ the PUG was way better as well. They had good deserts though.
5
FroodCNB
// Jun 22, 2007 at 3:51 pm
The rumor I heard was that the regular Thursday night party venue was snatched up by Verizon/Qualcomm/BREW for a Wednesday night party while ESRI and the city were working out the permitting process. My guess is that faced with a half-mile long asphalt strip to party on, the Road theme was an obvious choice.
I heard several fellow party-goers complain that the food was not what they had come to expect from previous parties. But, I thought it was fine. You can’t always be adventurous and exotic. Frankly, I’ll take BBQ ribs any day!
6
Canuck
// Jun 22, 2007 at 5:33 pm
I think the food was better this year than in previous years. There was a large party on Wednesday night, but it was all gone by Thursday morning. The ESRI party could have been set up overnight, and Thursday AM no problem. The setup was never that elaborate at Embarcadero. My info is that ESRI couldn’t get the park this year because it was left trashed last year. Took the city thousands of dollars to get it back in shape. The party wasn’t bad at all - seating was tight, and there were lots of bottlenecks of people.
7
Dave Smith
// Jun 22, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Yes, the layout was a little wierd…
8
Matt Cieri
// Jun 22, 2007 at 10:23 pm
There was a Nora Jones concert and if ESRI wanted the park they would have had to set up in less then 5 hours. Thats what I hear anyway.
9
J Alsup
// Jun 23, 2007 at 6:40 am
I heard teh Nora Jones concert was the problem as well as there was a Marine Gaduation ceremony held in one of the parks. Not sure what the true is. I thought the food was the best in sevral years. I love ribs and fried chicken and all the vigies.!!
10
KoS
// Jun 23, 2007 at 8:17 am
I know I”m out of it on somethings……who the hell is Nora Jones? Never heard of her.
KoS
11
Canuck
// Jun 23, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Nora Jones is pretty good actually. Soft-rock kind of female singer. Her concert was at the stage in the south Embarcadero park, the ESRI party is in the north park. @J - yeah, maybe I’m biased about the food, but I love ribs, and those were great!!!
12
Dave
// Jun 23, 2007 at 7:59 pm
I blew through the ESRI party pretty quick heading out to a seafood place up the boardwalk. A week of dinners mainly composed of mass produced appetizers and cheap beer called for a step up on the last night
13
Dave Smith
// Jun 24, 2007 at 4:22 am
You too, eh, Dave? I also bailed from the “Road Trip” early and sought a good dinner on the town, as did many of my other colleagues. At least they had Heineken at the .Net SIG, and some of the receptions I went to earlier in the week had some pretty good beer and wine, but the mass-catered finger foods (although tasty…) and Miller and other most basic beer selections for most of the venues got old.
14
J
// Jun 24, 2007 at 2:14 pm
I, along with many others, also bailed early. I wasn’t impressed although it was probably the best you could expect given the venue.
Since I’m on a 5-year schedule, I hope ESRI gets things squared away for the 2012 conference.
15
Canuck
// Jun 24, 2007 at 5:22 pm
I didn’t stick around too long either - I pretty much had dinner and a couple beers and left. Really wasn’t worth sticking around for. Finished the night at the BBQ place across the street - had to get up for a too-early flight Friday morning!
16
Cellulose
// Jun 25, 2007 at 8:07 am
Hey, Thursday night was better than the Federal reception on Tuesday. The sponsors ended up spending 90% of the money on booze for the disaffected federal employees–which perhaps is a sign of the times.
“Food” at the Federal ran out within 15 minutes, which was composed mainly of cheese, crackers, and some left-overs from the map gallery.
The Thursday night party seemed to have more seating–not sure if that’s because fewer people went or because there was more seating capacity.
17
glenn
// Jun 25, 2007 at 8:37 am
Apparently the park was booked this year by someone else.. sorry but I lefrt thursday and so didn’t see who was there. I do know that the Qualcomm BREW 200 conference took place Wed-Friday and qualcomm owns San Diego so that could have had something to do with it. Keep in mind also that the ususal August date for the ESRI UC was moved way up this year also due to booking issues. Next year’s ESRI UC takes place Aug 4-8, 2008 (see http://www.flickr.com/photos/gisuser/561644730/in/set-72157600391384807/) — see you there, hopefully not in the parking lot again though ; 0)
18
Kerry
// Jun 26, 2007 at 8:59 am
I attended the party for an hour or two. I thought the food was good, typical of a Marriot.
The ribs were good, and I’m from Kansas City! The party area around the pool was very nice if a bit crowded.
The BREW conference was in my hotel, the Hyatt. Too many suits in that place!
All in all I am very impressed with how well the ESRI conferences are organized and managed. I have very little to complain about. Only my 2nd conference though…
Kerry
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