Visitor Info:
Ashland is a small, yet diverse and culturally rich, town in Southern Oregon, and offers a wide variety of lodging possibilities from roadside hotels to bed and breakfast inns with a wide range in prices. As this conference will be held at the beginning of the summer season, visitors are encouraged to find lodging well ahead of June 4th and 5th. With the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in full swing at this time, Ashland will be booked with tourists, so make your plans now. Given the small size of Ashland, most lodging is within reasonable walking distance of SOU or a short bus ride. For bus information visit RVTD
Ashland is located directly along I-5 and is approximately a 20 minute drive from Medford International Airport (which offers connecting flights to Portland and SF, etc.).
There is much to do here: hiking (including the Pacific Crest Trail), rivers, mountains, lakes, Shakespeare, regional wineries, and plenty of live music and art galleries (the second day of the conference, Friday, June 5th, is also the "First Friday Art Walk" in Ashland - all the galleries will be open, offering live music, treats, and lots of art). You can soak in the natural mineral waters of Jackson Wellsprings, or take a stroll through beautiful Lithia Park in downtown Ashland. Mt. Shasta is an hour to the south, Crater Lake is 2.5 hours north, and giant redwoods are 2.5 hours west.
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING LODGING: For the 2016 conference, the Ashland Independent Film Festival will be running simultaneously, Thursday-Sunday. This means that lodging in the area will be tight, so attendees are encouraged to secure lodging well in advance of the event. Also, there are a number of hotels in southern Medford that are only about 15-20 minutes away from the SOU campus in Ashland.
Conference Location:
The conference will be held in the Rogue River Room of Stevenson Union at Southern Oregon University. Food is available in the student union food court, and immediately across the street there are many convenient restaurants. There are also several hotels across the street from the university, and are within walking distance of downtown Ashland. There is only very limited visitor parking at the university, but there is street parking nearby (though it can also get fairly full).
Cost:
The entire conference, is FREE and OPEN to the public. Come for the entire event, or just part . . .