Event Information

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Event Information

DATES:

October 1 - 3 (Wednesday - Friday):

Ringing Course - A $25 registration fee will apply.

October 3 - 5 (Friday - Sunday):

The annual general meeting takes place on Saturday. A $25 registration fee will also apply. Payment will be accepted by check or through PayPal.

General ringing, peal and quarter peal attempts.

VENUES:

On Friday the Miami Guild will host an evening at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden (http://www.mbgarden.org/), a 10-minute ride from the cathedral. Attendees can sip on mojitos (a Cuban cocktail made with rum, fresh mint, sugar, and lime juice) and enjoy traditional hors d'ouvres from Spain while catching up with old friends, meandering through the gardens, or watching a chef perform “before your eyes cooking” of a seafood paella. Following the event, you can take a stroll along the Beach Walk and Boardwalk, an undulating, tree-lined promenade that skims over the dunes along South Beach. Or you can explore the art deco hotels along Collins Avenue and the night life on Ocean Drive. Or you can enjoy a Cuban coffee or gelato while taking in the café culture along Lincoln Road. All this lies within a few blocks of the garden.

Cathedral Hall at Trinity will host both Saturday afternoon’s AGM as well as the Saturday night banquet. The evening will begin with a cocktail hour on the patio facing the bell tower where pineapple-infused vodka and hors d'ouvres of fruit kabobs, Bahamian conch fritters, and ceviche will be served. The Caribbean-flavored hospitality will continue indoors with a Jamaican jerk chicken and Island ribs dinner.

Tickets for each evening will be priced at $35/person, food and drink included, and a vegetarian option will be provided.

ACCOMMODATIONS:

Many of those who attended the last AGM hosted in Miami in 1996 enjoyed the convenience of discounted rooms in the Marriott right next door to Trinity Cathedral. Well, the neighborhood surrounding the cathedral has changed quite a bit since 1996. It now includes a performing arts center, the American Airlines Arena, and thousands of new high rise condominiums along the newly dubbed “Biscayne Corridor”. The Marriott has taken notice and raised its rates accordingly. However, the Miami Guild was able to secure a block of discounted rooms at the Doubletree Grand Hotel Biscayne Bay on 1717 North Bayshore Drive in Miami which lies right next to the Marriott, so the bell tower will remain within a 5-minute walk and perhaps within earshot if the breeze from Biscayne Bay is blowing in the right direction.

All reservation requests for discounted rooms at the Doubletree that were received by September 3 have been confirmed by the Doubletree. The hotel has advised that they still have a few more rooms available for the dates of the ringing course and AGM weekend. Please contact the hotel directly or e-mail us at agm2008@bellsouth.net to attempt a reservation. No guarantees!

Some may prefer to trade the convenience of an adjacent hotel for less expensive accommodations beyond walking distance. Trinity Cathedral is accessible to most of Miami’s downtown and Brickell area hotels by way of the Miami Metromover. Metromover is a free, elevated, automated people-mover system (www.miamidade.gov/transit/metromover.asp). The Metromover’s Omni Station is a 5-minute walk from the Cathedral. Trinity is also a 10-minute taxi ride or 15-minute metrobus ride across the Venetian Causeway to South Beach where bargains may be found with a little research, as September and October are the slowest months of the year for tourism in South Florida. Should you be staying further afield, free parking is available at the Cathedral.

TRANSPORTATION:

Trinity Cathedral lies 7 miles east of Miami International Airport (currently a $25 taxi ride). Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, 25 miles north of Trinity Cathedral, serves many discount airlines, and shared rides from FLL are priced at $18/person one way (current rates). If staying at the Doubletree, there’s no need for a rental car. Public transportation and/or sharing a taxi will suffice and prove a more economical means for getting around.

AGM Schedule: See the calendar: (download here)

AGM Registration form: Register for AGM 2008: (download here)