The n-th Annual Combinatorial Potlatch will be held February 16, 2002 on the campus of the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.
Combinatorial Potlatches have been held for many years at various locations around Puget Sound and southern British Columbia, and are an opportunity for combinatorialists in the region to gather informally for a day of invited talks and conversation. While most who attend work in, or near, the Puget Sound basin, all are welcome.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines "potlatch" as: A ceremonial feast among certain Native American peoples of the northwest Pacific coast, as in celebration of a marriage or an accession, at which the host distributes gifts according to each guest's rank or status. Between rival groups the potlatch could involve extravagant or competitive giving and destruction by the host of valued items as a display of superior wealth. [Chinook Jargon, from Nootka p'achitl, to make a potlatch gift.]
Please help us plan food for break services by carefully considering the following (punitive) registration options.
All talks and breaks will be conducted in the Murray Boardroom, which is located on the first floor of the Wheelock Student Center in the northeast corner. The Wheelock Student Center is building number 20 on the campus map. A larger map of the Tacoma area works well with written directions describing travel by car, plane, train or bus. Parking on the weekend should not present any special problems, and no parking passes are necessary. Approaching the Student Center from the south along Lawrence Street (off N 11th Street) will lead to a large parking lot adjacent to the building. Or find the parking lot just west of the intersection of N 14th and Alder.
For those traveling from some distance the UPS web site has some suggestions for overnight accomodations, bed and breakfasts and hotels and motels. Keenan House is the closest bed and breakfast at just a few blocks from campus. If you are combining business with pleasure, The Villa is pretty deluxe, but has also been eager to accomodate visitors to the university at their lowest rates for some of the fancier rooms.
For more traditional hotels and motels, we can recommend The Tacoma Sheraton, though it is likely the most expensive of the lot. Some of the hotels listed on the UPS site as being "off I-5" can be pretty ordinary. If you are coming down through the Olympic Peninsula, The Inn at Gig Harbor is a nice location 15 minutes short of campus, while the Maritime Inn is a small hotel right on the waterfront in Gig Harbor proper - very picturesque.
Some suggestions for lunch or dinner that are nearby are provided by the UPS web site. Or consult this list, which seems to have it about right, or the Tacoma Weekly's more comprehensive list. The Engine House #9 might be a good location for a group lunch - close to campus, variants on pub food, and a wide selection of beer, some brewed next door. More scenic is Katie Downs with good pizza and good beer right on the waterfront along Ruston Way. Gateway to India is close by, and caters to vegetarians (more info on a couple of the lists referenced above).
A no-host conference party will be held after dinner at Coles Tavern, A Blues Oasis located at 5811 N 51st St, which is close to the entrance to Pt Defiance Park at the northern tip of North Tacoma (though this is really the very small town of Ruston). Phone number there is 253-879-1119.
A history
of the Combinatorial Potlatch is available.
Photos of the speakers in action
are also available.
Program Committee: Nancy Neudauer <nancy@pacificu.edu>
Local Arrangements Committee: Rob Beezer <beezer@ups.edu>
Last Updated: February 18, 2002
http://www.math.ups.edu/activities/potlatch2002.html