RE: More DinoFest Info - YOU GOTTA GO!

["stevo@dgs.net" <stevo@dgsys.com>]

Everyone,

I just returned from two full days at DinoFest and barely scratched the surface 
of what was there. To add a bit to Allan Edels' 4/13 message:
Parking is actually pretty good if you are there at 10 am when it opens.  There 
is underground parking right next to the Civic Center.  I paid $7, went up the 
escalator and was at the entrance to DinoFest.   Food is indeed limited in 
variety and a meal will be expensive, altho the cute little dinopretzels (!) 
are only a dollar.  The signs mean what they say: once you go out of the 
building, you are not allowed to return. I sure hope they are more lax on this 
rule with you pros during the Symposium.  Also, there was NO FILM for sale, 
only disposable cameras - $18 and you can go through the 25 or so exposures 
pretty quickly.  The Dino Art book is for sale, for $5 is a good buy, but the 
Dinofest is sorely missing a catolog of exhibit photos and descriptions for 
people who want to review what they saw when they return home.

And the exhibits are fabulous!  Every little glass case holds a treasure.  The 
Dino Eggs exhibit has a near-complete large dino nest and small tortoise 
embryos, the huge ceratopsian exhibit is very well presented, the Chinese 
exhibit has some very small, perfect treasures in glass cases that shouldn't be 
overlooked.   It seems like every section of the 'Fest could easily have been 
an attraction on its own.  While Nancy and the large mammoth are not to be 
missed, neither are the several stegosaurs that are scattered throughout the 
exhibit. I also was delighted to see that Don Wohlberg was on the floor, 
chatting it up with the visitors, and meeting him was a highlight for this 
layperson as I return to an old passion. 

As for children, there is more than enough to keep them entertained.  This 
event does a very good job of having plenty for everyone, regardless of age.  

FINALLY -- If anyone has doubts about whether they should go, pawn your watch, 
call in sick, do whatever you must, but DON'T MISS THE DINOFEST!!!!

--Steve