Transportation from Pearson Airport

A number of potential 2012 AGM attendees have been concerned about transportation to the hotel from Pearson Airport. We have contacted a minibus company that is licensed to operate from Pearson who will pick people up from the airport and drop them at the hotel on the Friday at set times. When you book your flight to Pearson, please let us know if you would be interested in the airbus and we’ll take it from there.

The cost is going to be about $30 per person (including tax and tip). This is about $20 cheaper than taking a cab from the airport.

We suggest that you do not rent a car if you are coming just for the AGM as the schedule will be filled with things to do.

Taxis:

• Nearly every Toronto-area taxi company accepts the major credit cards (VISA and MasterCard). However, check with the taxi driver that she/he will take the credit card you have.
• Most companies also accept American bills. Again check before if they accept American dollars.
• A number of taxi companies offer a senior rate. Ask before if the taxi does offer a seniors’ discount and be prepared to show proof.
• The taxi will cost approximately $50 to $55 from the airport to the hotel, including taxes. Some, such as Airport Taxi, charge $47 to the hotel, but you must prebook your trip.

We will have a taxi sign-up sheet at the AGM registration so you can coordinate a ride back to the airport with someone else to split the costs.

Please note you will need a passport to cross the Canada-US border.

(Posting by Victoria)

Silent auction XV

American Ricardians David and Judy have very generously donated a signed Graham Turner print of Richard III, called The March from Leicester to the Silent Auction. 

The framed print measures 17 inches by 13 inches (43 cm by 33 cm). 

Please note that there will be a reserve bid on this item.

A signed Graham Turner print of The March from Leicester.

(Posting by Victoria)

Morris McGee Raffle

This year, we are doing something different at the AGM to raise funds for the McGee Fund. Instead of the Sunday breakfast, we are holding a raffle instead. The reason for this is because Sunday’s breakfast, traditionally reserved for American Society fundraising, is covered by the cost of your hotel room.

McGee raffle tickets can be bought at the time of your registration at the AGM and until the raffle closes on Saturday. The McGee raffle draw is slated to be held after the banquet dinner on Saturday, so be sure to leave room in your suitcase for your goodies.

If you would like to make a donation to the McGee raffle, please let myself and Nita of the American Society know. If you can send a description and photograph of the items, I will post it to our blog. We hope to have a formal list of raffle items by the end of June. Please bring the items with you to the AGM.

If you would like to take part in the McGee raffle, but are unable to attend, please let us know and we will send you a list of raffle prizes closer to the AGM. If people want to participate in the raffle and are unable to attend they should make arrangements with a friend who is attending the AGM to bring home any prizes for them. Unfortunately, sending prizes by mail is very expensive.

The cost of raffle tickets will be $2 for one, $5 for three, $10 for seven.

To get the ball rolling, I have donated a cross-stitch stained glass bookmark to the raffle (see below). 

Good luck!

This medieval-themed bookmark will look
wonderful in your favourite edition of
Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time. 

(Posting by Victoria) 

Public transit to the hotel

Our hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn Toronto/Oakville, is accessible by public transit.

The 21 Oakville bus runs from Clarkson GO Station to Winterborne Drive, which is just 400 metres (a seven-minute walk) south of the hotel. Please click here for walking directions to the hotel from the Winterborne Drive bus stop. The hotel is actually mislabelled on this map, the hotel is the building with the greenish grey roof to the north. It appears that the 21 Oakville does not run on Sundays.

The 29B Mississauga bus runs on Sundays along Winston Churchill Boulevard to Clarkson GO Station. Please click here for walking directions from the hotel to the Truscott Drive/Winston Churchill Boulevard bus stop. It runs every 40 minutes, so you should plan your trip before leaving for the bus. 

From Lester B. Pearson Airport, there is no direct public transit to the hotel. If you are very keen to take public transit from the airport, take the TTC to Kipling Station, then to the Long Branch transfer node, transfer to Long Branch GO Station, which is on the same line as Clarkson GO Station, from there take Oakville Transit to the hotel. Here is a link showing public transport from Pearson Airport to Clarkson, which involves different transit companies and multiple fares. I don't recommend this. 

Billy Bishop Airport, in downtown Toronto, is close to Union Station, which is on the same line as Clarkson GO Station. Billy Bishop Airport, named after the Canadian First World War flying ace, is actually on the Toronto Islands and is accessible from downtown Toronto by a free shuttle bus just outside Union Station.

From Clarkson GO Station, it's only an eight-minute drive to the hotel, so hailing a taxi might be easier. There is a taxi stand at Clarkson.

The hotel does have a local shuttle that goes to Clarkson GO Station, but you have to book it in advance and, to be honest, it was 20 minutes late when I was picked up to to do my first hotel site visit and the shuttle wasn't around when I needed to go back and I missed my train. Could have been worse!

Please double check all transit information closer to the date of the Joint AGM as public transit schedules do change. If it has, please let me know and I will update the post.

(Posting by Victoria)

Dates for the 2012 AGM

It would appear that I forgot to share the most basic of information about the AGM -- its dates! 

So, without further ado...

The Richard III Society of Canada is delighted to extend a warm welcome to the American Branch of the Richard III Society in the common cause of the rehabilitation of Richard III's character and legacy upon the occasion of our joint AGM this coming Friday, September 28th to Sunday, September 30th. 

May our merrie making, fellowship, and goodwill make this joint AGM as memorable as the one in 2004 when we were last honoured with the presence of so many Ricardians from across the US and Canada.

Victoria

Silent auction XIV

More goodies to add to the growing silent auction pile!

Arthur: King of the Middle March (Kevin Crossley-Holland, hardcover)
Caesar (Adrian Goldsworthy, paperback)
The Definitive Wit of Winston Churchill (edited by Richard M. Langworth, hardcover)
Beyond Black (Hilary Mantel, paperback)

The Saint John's Fern (Kate Sedley, hardcover)

A handmade book by the ever reluctant Ricardian, James Pratt.
The pages are made of laid paper and are blank. The covers
feature five debossed five-petalled roses. The book measures
15cm high by 12cm wide by 4cm deep (5" x 6" x 1.5").
(Please note that there will be a reserve price on this item.)

A handsome metal mediaeval bookmark, a charming pink
pig (about the size of an adult's fingernail) and a sexy boar
brooch. These three items will be auctioned separately. 

(Posting by Victoria)

Our hotel for the AGM

Our hotel for the Joint Canada-US Richard III Society AGM will be the
Hilton Garden Inn Toronto/Oakville at 2774 South Sheridan Way, Oakville,
Ontario L6J 7T4, telephone: 905-829-1145 or 1-877-STAY-HGI.

For directions, please click on the hyperlinks: via Port Huron; via Pearson International Airport; via the Rainbow Bridge (near Niagara Falls); via Billy Bishop Airport (on Toronto Island, near downtown Toronto). If you are driving, the hotel does not charge for parking. 

Please note that Americans will require a passport to cross the Canada-US border. 

We have asked the hotel to set aside 25 hotel rooms for our group, so please let them know when you call (it's best to call) that you are part of the Richard III Society. All rooms are non-smoking.  Please note that the room rate we have negotiated with the hotel also includes breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. Breakfast is served from seven to eleven, however, AGM programming will begin at nine on Saturday and nine-thirty on Sunday (programming times subject to change). 

The hotel features a swimming pool, whirlpool, fitness centre, business centre, and complimentary outdoor parking. Unfortunately, the hotel does not have an airport shuttle. It does have a local shuttle that can take you to nearby restaurants, movie theatres, and shopping centres. 

Rooms come with a king or queen bed.

All rooms come with a desk, high-speed wireless internet,
and flat-screen television.

All rooms come with a microwave, fridge, and coffee maker.