Combinatorial Potlatches have been held for many years at various locations around Puget Sound and southern British Columbia, and are an opportunity for combinatorialists to gather informally for a day of invited talks and conversation.  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.]
 
 

There is no registration fee for the Potlatch, but please let us know you are coming by sending email to Gary MacGillivray:  gmacgill at UVic dot ca.

For accommodation and travel information, please see below.

UVic Downtown is located in the Harbour Square Mall, at the corner of Government and Broughton Streets.  Enter from Government Street, going downwards.  For maps of the Victoria area, see the  Tourism Victoria website, for example.

The Coast Combinatorics Conference is a two day meeting featuring contributed talks of 30 minutes in length (usually, though more or less time is typically possible if requested) by conference participants.  Talks on any topic in discrete mathematics and/or theoretical computer science are welcome.  It is largely "self-serve", meaning that there is no registration fee, no main speaker, you must get your coffee etc. at a nearby cafe, and most often you need to introduce yourself when it is your time to speak.

Please let us know if you are coming to the Coast Conference by sending email to Gary MacGillivray:  gmacgill at UVic dot ca.  You can contribute a talk by sending a title and abstract to the same email address.  The deadline for submitting a title and abstract is November 2, 2003. The number of time slots is limited, however we will do our best to accommodate everyone who wants to speak.

On November 9 we are at UVic Downtown, located in the Harbour Square Mall at the corner of Government and Broughton Streets.  Enter from Government Street, going downwards.  For maps of the Victoria area, see the  Tourism Victoria website, for example.

On November 10 we are on the UVic main campus.   (UVic downtown was not available.)  A map of the UVic main (Gordon Head) campus, driving directions, and more info are available here.
 
 
 

There is a lot of tourist information for Victoria on the Web.  For example, you may find the following sites useful:

The cheapest, decent quality, hotels in the Victoria area are probably those in the  Travellers Inn chain, which has many locations in Victoria.  Rates at some locations in the downtown area start at $39.95 + taxes per night.  Discount coupons are often available on the ferries or at the Tourist Info Centre by the Inner Harbour at the intersection of Government, Humboldt and Wharf Streets.  The Travellers Inn locations within walking distance of downtown are Downtown, City Centre, and On Blanshard.

Other recommended hotels in the downtown area are:

More expensive options include:

From off of Vancouver Island, some options for travel to Victoria include bus (from Vancouver - it goes on the ferry),  BC Ferries (Vancouver - Victoria = Tswassen - Swartz Bay),  Washington State Ferries (Sidney - Anacortes),  Black Ball Ferries (Port Angeles - Victoria),  Victoria Clipper (catamaran from Seattle to Victoria), seaplanes from Vancouver (Harbour Air and  West Coast Air) and Seattle (Kenmore Air),  Helijet (helicopter from Vancouver, Seattle, and other locations), and any airline that flies to Victoria International Airport.

Information on busses within Greater Victoria is available from BC Transit.

Please don't hesitate to ask of any other information is required.  Contact info is at the top of the page.