Colloquium: How much $$ to save?
  • BenBen
    Posts: 3,114
    I'm really planning on attending the next Colloquium, as it is within drivable distance for me. That also means I'm starting to save. How much should I expect to spend? There's obviously the main Colloquium fee, but what else would you recommend as "must have" when budgeting for it? Do you have to buy your own food? Transportation around town for anything? What should I know about for things like this?

    Or in other words, other than your plane ticket and the core $600-something tuition, what did you spend last year?
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,477
    I haven't been, but I understand the accessories can get very expensive.

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    Thanked by 1Ben
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,508
    Your hotel bill is the big thing. Then there are a few meals that you eat on your own, and socializing/ going out for a coke. These could involve transportation costs.
    And depending on how flashy you want to dress...
  • Jani
    Posts: 441
    Lodging. Food and drinks for the times they aren't provided. Books or CDs. That's about it.
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,508
    Ben, since you're of the Mp3 age, a CD is a round thingie that plays music when you put it into a machine. In the old days, there was something called a "record" with a similar function.
  • Colloquium expenses, after transportation and registration:
    * Lodging: sharing a room greatly reduces the expense, if this is an acceptable option for you. If there are dorm rooms available, this is much cheaper. So, housing would be somewhere between $50 and $75 a night (based on a dorm or sharing a hotel room).
    * Meals: most of the lunches and several of the dinners are covered in the fee. If you want to go out eating and imbibing with others, this will be more expensive than if you buy something at a market and avoid restaurants.
    * Transportation: no recent colloquium has involved out-of-pocket expenses for local transportation. The area near the host church in Indy is very walkable.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,215
    This year the conference fee was $630; you can estimate $100/day for the hotel (which you could split with someone); add your transportation from WI to Indy, and a little extra for books, breakfasts, etc.
  • canadashcanadash
    Posts: 1,501
    Transportation around town for anything?


    Honestly, you don't HAVE to go anywhere. And if you want to go somewhere, you can usually score a ride in someone's car. People were very generous in this way. If you have a little extra cash, it might be nice and you can always take it back home with you if you don't spend it.
  • The hotel for next year's convention is right on the circle in downtown Indianapolis. You can walk anywhere you could possibly want to go.
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,700
    What are the smoking laws in Indy like? I know I asked a waitress if I could smoke on a patio at a wine bar in SLC and her eyes popped out of her head and she began having difficulty breathing.
  • Won't there be fireworks at next year's colloquium (since it falls the week of July 4)? I'm used to listening to Sousa on the 4th, but chant will be interesting. Of course, Handel's fireworks music might be nice as well.
  • There are fireworks fired off of one of the buildings downtown. They should be clearly visible from the hotel.
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    What are the drinking law like? On my last day in SLC (Monday), I decided to go to the Grand America for a drink. I went to the bar in the lobby/lounge/restaurant-thing, and ordered a glass of Riesling. That waitress looked at me and said: "Thank you sir. This is a restaurant and the law in Utah is that if you order liquor at a restaurant you need to order food. We have a bowl of mixed nuts for $1.50."

    1 glass Riesling - $10.50
    1 bowl Nuts - $ 1.50
    having a drink in SLC - priceless.
    Thanked by 2Jani Adam Wood
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,700
    The Salt Lake City drinking laws have been an awesome joke for the past two years. Each time we go drinking we MUST (by LAW!) consume chips and salsa or an awful cheese plate - or at least use them as a table decoration. I ate more shoddy cheese in SLC this year than I ate the rest of the year combined...
    Thanked by 1Salieri
  • Jani
    Posts: 441
    The past two years? 'Tis been such since I've lived here and that's 33 years.
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    LOL. Do they use those little cups that come with Nyquil to measure their drinks? Almost makes me want to have a crummy cheese plate for old times' sake.
    Thanked by 1Jani
  • I remember going to SLC in 2004 and having to become a "member" of a restaurant so I could be served alcohol. Until recently, Utah law banned liquor-by-the-drink except in private clubs (e.g. a Moose lodge or the VFW), so bars started calling themselves "clubs" to take advantage of the loophole.