Spring 2011 PNCUP

March 18-20 in Edmonton.

Dear PNCUP,

I want to pitch you a conference. A conference where all your dreams come true and Four Loko springs forth from fountains made from ivory. This is the world of EDCUP 2011.

Well, except for the Four Loko. And the dream thing. But it's going to be pretty awesome. I've attached a proposed budget, but I'm going to outline why you should give us $700 worth of CUP subsidy money. So far, we've already gone pretty damn far in organizing this bad boy. We already have conference space set aside for our Friday night keynote and our Saturday sessions. We've also got some ideas about where to host the Sunday event.

We have a list as long as your arm of speakers already lined up, from Max Fawcett (Managing Editor of Alberta Venture) to Ben Gelinas (Crime reporter at the Edmonton Journal). We've also got a two-hour interactive photo session set up, and speakers for every section from sports to news to opinion. We even have one design session.

Our keynote on Saturday night will be a panel session on the future of media with local media gurus — Ruth Kelly, CEO of Alberta Venture; Adam Rozenhart, Unknown Podcast and Oilers Nation founder; and Karen Unland, online editor for the Edmonton Journal.

We have the Gateway Finer Things club coming up with the evening festivities on Friday night, and some form of pub night for Saturday. We will be asking each delegate to pay $5 for registration, but considering we're trying to provide a lunch on Saturday, you're essentially just pre-paying for your own lunch.

We are super excited at The Gateway to see all of our PNCUP friends. We want to put on the best conference ever for the lowest price possible. So please allow us to serve you.

So if there are any questions, or you want a more detailed list of speakers (we have about 10 secured so far, and want to get up to 15 for three concurrent sessions running all day) please feel free to fire me a question at any of my contact ways below. Thanks so much.

Speakers

On Friday night we're having former Gateway editors Todd Babiak and Fish Griwkowsky talk about their experience here at The Gateway and how they managed to break into the real world. They will have funny stories to lighten the mood on the first evening.

On Saturday:

Bryan Birtles of Vue Weekly — reporting on the local arts scene.
Conal Pierce, former Gateway Opinion and Managing Editor — humour writing.
Con Griwkowsky of the Edmonton Sun — sports reporting.
Gordon Kent of the Edmonton Journal — reporting on public meetings.
Jason Foster of onbeer.org — niche reporting, specifically about his adventures in beer reporting.
Jen Fong of the Edmonton Journal — lifestyle reporting
Ben Gelinas and Brent Wittmeier of the Edmonton Journal — Crime Reporting
Max Fawcett of Alberta Venture — long-form reporting
Adam Rozenhart of The Unknown Pocast — making your own podcast
Lucas Timmons of the Edmonton Journal — online storytelling
Shelly Solarz of Parlour Magazine — Fashion and starting a magazine
David Evans — opinion writing
Jenn Kowton of Display Magazine — on good design
Terry Jones of Edmonton Sun — sports opinion writing
Martin Sharp, head of the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences department — Scientists and the Media: Mythbusters or Mischief Makers. The Challenges, Opportunities, Responsibilities, and Rewards of Communicating Science.

Our Saturday night keynote is a panel discussion on the future of media with Ruth Kelly (President and CEO of Venture Publishing), Adam Rozenhart, and Karen Unland (Online Editor at the Edmonton Journal).

Costs

Delegate fees are $5 per person.

Hotel

Campus Towers, 11145 87 Ave. It's right across the street from the conference.

Special CUP rate: $163/night (+tax) for a quad-occupancy room. Must book before March 3 to get the reduced rate. Our booking code is ACT-GFC1063

Book by calling 780-439-6060

Hostel International is a 5 minute bus ride from conference activities. Beds start at $26 for HI members, and go up from there.

or try

Go Hostel is downtown and relatively easily accessible via Edmonton's LRT system. Rooms start at $25

More Info

If you have any questions, please contact Justin Bell at managing@gateway.ualberta.ca, or call 780-492-6654

To Register as a Delegate

Registration is now closed. Thanks to those who signed up. We look forward to seeing you soon. To make a special request, email CUP President Erin Cauchi at president@cup.ca, but know for spacing reasons we may not be able to accommodate late registrants.