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Edmonton is a great place to hold a conference. I work for the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association (AB.VMA) and part of my job is to facilitate and organize all our events. I can honestly say we get as good a turnout here in Edmonton as we do anywhere else in Alberta.

Once, I booked an AB.VMA dinner function at the Royal Alberta Museum. I love the museum. Where it's located. The grounds. It's a wonderful place. I don't know if people are aware that you can actually book a wedding reception or have a dinner upstairs in the foyer area. And you can book a couple of exhibits so guests can wander around and have cocktails.

We had cocktails in one of the permanent exhibits and then we had a catered dinner. One of the curators did a slide presentation for us. The Beatles exhibit was in Edmonton, so we saw that after dinner. We bused everybody over there for the evening, and it was great. Our guests all enjoyed it. Plus it's educational.

When I plan conferences, I’m always looking for ways to entertain the vets in their off time. They spend so much time in meetings, and it’s nice to do something just a little different in the evenings.

One of my favourite conference locations in Edmonton is the Crowne Plaza Chateau Lacombe. Last year we hosted an acupuncture course there. We held it on four separate occasions, all at the Crowne Plaza. They're downtown, which is a nice thing. They're on the river valley, so they have a beautiful view. And, you know, their rates are incredible for a downtown location. But we also use the Mayfield Inn in the West end. Parking’s easier for our large animal practitioners there. They often have units on the back of their trucks for heating and cooling drugs and stuff like that, so sometimes parking is easier at the Mayfield. We try to accommodate everyone.