Thanks! To all the folks who participated in the XXIII GroupoidFest. The weather was good, the talks even better, and the performances at Chicago Symphony Center were superb!

Next year, the XXIV GroupoidFest will be held in Reno, Nevada, and honors Jean Renault on his 70th birthday! Check with Alex Kumjian for the latest developments.

The GroupoidFest was held in Chicago for the first time this Fall, on the East Campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago, situated near the heart of Chicago. This left plenty of time to enjoy some sightseeing in this great city, and dinner at one of the many excellent restaurants. Suggestions for accommodations in the city are below, along with travel information.

Visiting Directions to the UIC campus are available here, and an interactive map of the campus is here. A downloadable map of East Campus is here.

Schedule of Talks — Room 236 SEO — Abstracts of Talks

There are three choices of accomodations which are walking distance to the UIC East Campus - the first three choices listed below are within a mile of the campus.

The Halsted/UIC station on the CTA Blue Line is on the north side of the UIC East campus, and is a 10 minute walk to the SEO building. If an accomodation is close to a CTA stop, then that is a convenient way to access the campus.

Finally, there is a campus parking garage at the corner of Halsted and Taylor Streets (760 West Taylor Street) that is a 5 minute walk to the SEO building, and costs just $8/day for parking. So if you are driving, this is most convenient.

Chicago is a very large city! Be sure to check that the location of the hotel/hostel/rental is not so far from the UIC campus, by car or CTA train or bus. Ask an organizer about the location if in doubt.

Driving: The UIC East campus was formerly known as The University of Illinois Chicago Circle, because it is located at the soutwest corner of the intersection of the Eisenhower (I290) and Kenedy/Dan Ryan Expressways (I90/94) and the combined ramps between these roads forms - a circle! Which is to say, it has reasonable easy access from these expressways. Due to construction though, some of these exit ramps are closed, so you need to get off somewhere near campus and then take Halsted or Harrison Streets to the campus. Check your GPS maps to be cautious.

Plane: Chicago has two airports, O'Hare and Midway. From either airport, a Taxi to downtown Chicago, or the UIC Campus will costs anywhere from $40 to $60, and is not even that fast.

The O'Hare Station of the CTA Blue line is located in the basement of the main terminal at O'Hare, and for $2.50 you can take the train directly to the Halsted/UIC station. The trip is between 45 minutes and possibly more than an hour, depending on the time of day.

The Midway Station of the CTA Orange line goes from Midway Airport to the Loop in downtown Chicago. There you can get off for a hotel in the Loop, or transfer to the CTA Blue line to go to the Halsted/UIC station. The fare is still $2.50 including transfer, so is one of the great bargains available in Chicago.

Bus: There is a Greyhound Bus Station on Harrision Street, almost adjacent to the Travelodge by Wyndham. The bus is a cheap and convenient way to get to UIC from Champaign/Urbana for example.

Bike: Chicago has a national reputation as one of the best large cities in the United States for bicycling. Indeed, getting around by bike is one of the big surprises when you visit Chicago, either with a rented DIVVY Bike, or with your own equipment. Plus, there are marked Bike Trails along the Lakefront and elsewhere which are spectacular and highly popular. One caution though: it sometimes seems that Biking in Chicago is a contact sport, so one really should mind the Biking Rules of the Road to stay Safe and Sound. Wouldn't want to miss any of the talks by being doored!

The first items on the following list are within a 10-minute walk from the SEO building, which would be convenient to visit for lunch. The other items are links to some web sites describing the many options available.