Spouses and guests are encouraged and invited to attend the APEC 2006 Conference. Aside from the APEC activities, the Dallas-Fort Worth area offers an enormous range of cultural, sightseeing and shopping activities.

In addition to the Spouse and Guest specific activities, spouses and guests are welcome at all APEC social and dining events. Please be sure to register for a badge in order to participate.

In particular, spouses and guests are welcome at the Exhibitor Reception (badge required), Exhibit Hall Luncheons (ticket required), the Conference Social Event (ticket required), Rap Sessions (badge required), and the MicroMouse Contest (always a favorite with spouses, guests and children as well as the APEC attendees).

To make your visit rewarding and enjoyable, APEC has put together a Spouse and Guest Hospitality Program for registered spouses and guests including:

• A Hospitality Room that will be open each morning,
  
  
• A complimentary, welcoming continental breakfast, and
  
  
• Optional tours on Monday and Tuesday.

Hospitality Room

APEC 2006 has arranged for the use of the Parino's Oven restaurant, located on the Atrium level of the Hyatt Regency, as a daily meeting place for the spouses and guests of APEC attendees. The room will be open and coffee served Monday through Thursday from 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM.

Welcoming Breakfast

Monday, March 20th, 8:00 - 9:00 AM
Parino's Oven Restaurant, Atrium Level

To help you start off what will be an exciting week, APEC is serving a continental breakfast for spouses and guests of APEC conference attendees on Monday morning. This is a great time to meet old friends and make new ones. This event is complimentary to registered spouses and guests but you must have your name badge to be admitted.

Optional Tours

Monday, March 20th
Historic Homes of Dallas

Just two miles from downtown Dallas, Swiss Avenue is one of the finest early 20th-century neighborhoods in the southwest. This "dream drive" received its name when a group of Swiss, German and French immigrants first settled in the area. On this guided tour guests will view a variety of homes featuring a 1923 Italian Style Renaissance home.

First guests will experience the 7,000 square foot Aldredge Manor, where they will enjoy a full tour of the old mansion. The Aldredge home features a sweeping mahogany staircase, exquisite walnut paneling and a breath taking dining room. Invitees will surely feel at home in this matchless manor.

Also included on this tour is the Park Cities area, composed of the small but very affluent communities of Highland Park and University Park, it is 6 square miles completely surrounded by the city of Dallas. This pair has a small-town feeling in the shadows of downtown Dallas skyscrapers. On the way back toward Dallas, guests will stop at The Belo Mansion for a fine tour of this historical home built in the 1880s. Colonel Alfred Horatio Belo and his wife Nettie Ennis moved to Dallas from Galveston to open a branch of the Galveston newspaper which many of us refer to today as The Dallas Morning News. Colonel Belo paved a historical path and name for he and his family right here in the middle of downtown Dallas.

Meet in Spouse Hospitality Room (Parino's Restaurant on the Atrium level) at 9:00 AM. The tour group will leave from there at 9:15 AM to start boarding the buses.

Cost of the tour: $48.00

Tuesday, March 21st, 9:30 AM
Crow Collection of Asian Art & The Nasher Sculpture Center

The first stop will be Dallas' Trammell Crow Collection of Asian Art. Nestled like a small jewel in the midst of Dallas' fast growing art district, it offers visitors a serene world of beauty and spirituality in the heart of the city. Sheltered by a shady veil of cypress trees, the entrance to the Crow Collection features a dramatic stepped fountain framing an Asian monumental sculpture.

This three level gallery houses some of the finest Japanese art in the world, from crafted jade, to a towering 18th century red sandstone façade. The Trammell Crow Collection of Asian Art is a classy and enlightening venue. Its wonderful ambiance, coupled with Asian history, makes for the perfect place to host a day of cultural enrichment.

Next, guests will travel across the street in the Dallas Arts District to one of Dallas' latest landmarks, the Nasher Sculpture Center. This recent addition features a rotating display of one of the world's greatest collections of modern structure. Ranging from the late 19th century to the present, the collection includes works by Auguste Rodin, Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore, Alexander Calder and Richard Serra. The building itself is the work of a real artist among architects, Renzo Piano.

Dallas developer Raymond D. Nasher and his late wife, Patsy, collected sculptures over 40 years with stunning results. Only part of the collection, which totals over 300 pieces, will be on display at any one time.

Situated in downtown Dallas at the base of the city's skyline, the Nasher Sculpture Center represents Ray Nasher's vision to create an outdoor "roof-less" museum that will serve as a peaceful retreat for reflection of art and nature and public home for his collection of 20th-century sculpture. The goal was to produce a structure of lasting significance that will sustain the legacy of the collection.

Meet in Spouse Hospitality Room (Parino's Restaurant on the Atrium level) at 9:00 AM. The tour group will leave from there at 9:15 AM to start boarding the buses.

Cost of the tour: $40.00

Other Tours

Dallas and nearby Fort Worth have such a variety of places of interest that we were unable to choose tours or attractions that would appeal to all. For example, Dallas is surrounded by world-class outlet malls such as the one in Hillsboro, south of Dallas on I-35. In Fort Worth, the Stockyards National Historic district with attractions like Billy Bobs (which bills itself as the world's largest honky tonk) are a perennial favorite. The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth is a real jewel and should not be missed if possible. The Fort Worth Zoo is also a very nice attraction with a large variety of animals kept in open, natural environment settings. APEC is sure that you will find far more that catches your interest than you will have time or energy to explore.

Please check with the Hyatt Regency concierge for information on available sightseeing tours, cultural events and shopping.