Update on a hotel block.

I've been in contact with the Worthington Renaissance. They are willing to offer our group a rate of $155 a night - but it requires me to guarantee a total of 25 room nights on my credit card. Since there are currently rates of $159 for the Worthington on the web, I told them "no go" because I'm not willing to take a personal hit on rooms. If rates start to swell I might rethink that, but for now I would suggest booking a room if you want the Worthington and then going from there.

What we are going to do instead is round up a list of hotels in the downtown corridor that will be walking distance for Friday night and for the shuttle on Saturday and will post it here. The Worthington and the Blackstone Courtyard will certainly be on that list... and we'll add to it shortly.

For those who are thinking about a rental car - there is a Hilton property not too far from downtown and several more reasonably priced properties with other chain affiliations. Parking in downtown Fort Worth on the weekends is, by and large, free and plentiful as most of the office buildings open up their garages in exchange for keeping the downtown vibrant and buzzing on the weekends.

Also... (and this is a GOOD thing but will affect hotel availability) - that weekend will be the Main Street Arts Festival. All weekend there will be free live bands, tons of streetside shopping (usually 200+ vendors), and beer tents. A great excuse to visit Fort Worth and even think about flying in on Thursday (since the event runs Thursday to Sunday).