First Congress Experience

[Catarina]

This weekend will be my first time at a Congress. I'm very excited, obviously.

I'm wondering what to expect in a few ways:
crowds--do a LOT of people come in from out of town, or should I expect to see mostly chicagoans?
timing--how late am I going to want to stay/when does it end? how early should I plan to get there for the shows (scheduled for 8 i think)
costs--do they gouge you for water?
buying shoes--do the vendors sell stuff in the evenings, or do i have to go during the day to shop? if I'm looking into buying a pair of dance heels, do i need to bring anything special along with me to facilitate that?

On a related note, what was your first congress experience like?

[tj]

How fun! It should be an exciting weekend for you.

I think IME, a lot of out-of-towners show up for the more popular Congresses. Depends on your city perhaps?

For the shows, (again IME, so YMMV), you can afford to be late. Most people seem to be on "Latin time". One exception - I was at a Congress where it was so dark, it was pretty much impossible to see where any empty seats were.

Water - yeah, it's your typical $1-3 probably.

IME, you can buy stuff from the vendors during most of the Congress. They do shut down earlier than the music, but definitely are open relatively late (after 11pm).

My first Congress experience was great. I was visiting from out-of-town but had a couple of friends along, so I had "morale support" :wink: just in case. In general, everyone was nice, and it was fun in most aspects. I did overdo it however, and ended up getting sick.

[Vin]

How fun. I am coming into town for the congress in Chicago and am looking forward to it. Usually I just go to the social dancing and try and take in the city(or rest) during the day.

Crowds: While there will probably be a large percentage of Chicago regulars there, there will also be a good amount of people from out of town. I would say maybe 25% Locals at most congresses I have been to.

Timing is kind of personal no? Most out-of-towners will be staying in the hotel. If you get there when the social dancing starts there will usually be some people dancing.

Water: Some congresses have started putting water out in the dance halls but they generally run out pretty quick and you end up paying 2-3$ for a bottle.

Buying shoes can happen. I have bought shoes at night at the congress.

Above all: Look for me and save me a dance:)

[Stagekat]

I attended the Chicago Congress last year, had a blast! I'd say it's crowded but a well behaved crowd. Quite a few out of towners, but a fair share of locals too... I'm a local, but will be staying at the hotel so that I actually get some rest this year.

General rules for the show, I'd arrive near on-time, but as with most productions they do not start exactly on time.

Last year they had water provided during the day and at night... I can't say that I actually lasted enough into the night to tell if they ran out, but I was impressed at the attentiveness of the hotel staff at re-filling the stations.

The only vendor I noticed that was open into the night was a small shoe vendor, I do know there was another shoe vendor that was open during the day that brings quite an impressive selection of shoes. I know they will be back in this year.

During the day there are all kinds of vendors with all kinds of dance related items for our spending pleasure, it's a lot to take in and some of it's hard to resist!

Have fun! Hope to see you there!

[Claire_Brummell]

So how was your first congress experience?