FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

You will find answers to most of your common questions about the 38th Annual OSA Convention. If you can't find an answer to your question, please let us know by visiting our contact us page. We will try to include it.

YES, I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT

38th Annual OSA Convention
Venue and Transportation
Hotel and Reservation
Convention Registration
Event Calendar or Convention Program Schedules
Cultural Programs
Souvenir
Youth Activities
Other Miscellaneous Topics

Information about 38th Annual OSA Convention

What is OSA convention ?
It is the annual convention of the Orissa Society of the Americas. Orissa is a coastal state in eastern India. OSA is an umbrella organizations of Oriyas living in North America. This convention takes place during the July 4th weekend every year. It serves to bring together people with roots in Orissa to share the pride in Oriya culture and heritage and pass it on to the next generation.

Who runs this convention?
The main responsibility of hosting the convention rests with the local chapter of OSA. This year, it is being hosted in Dearborn, Michigan.

When is the convention ?

June 29th - July 1st, 2007

When will the opening and closing ceremonies be conducted?
The exact times for both, when determined, will be published in the Event Calendar page.

When do I need to arrive and when can I leave?
Although the convention will formally begin with the inaugural ceremony on the morning of Saturday, June 30th, 2007, many are expected to arrive the evening before (Friday, June 29th) to socialize and participate in the Friday night Mehefil. The closing ceremony, the final banquet, and the Mehefil on Sunday night is not to be missed. Therefore, in order to maximize your participation and enjoyment, you should plan on arriving on Friday (June 29th) and departing on Monday (July 2nd).

Who is the convention for or who can attend this convention ?
Anybody who has interest in Orissa and or in Oriya culture.

Is there a Convention Theme this year ?
Yes, this year's theme is "Celebrating our Heritage and Diversity !!"

What are the advantages of attending OSA Convention ?

(1) It is a thrilling experience to be in the middle of the largest gathering of Oriyas outside of India and to be able to witness and share the pride of Oriya heritage thousands of miles away from Orissa;
(2) Enjoy live performances by top-notch artists from Orissa and distinguished Oriya artists living in North America;
(3) opportunity to meet and listen to celebrated guest speakers/dignitaries from Orissa;
(4) participate in forums dedicated to significant issues;
(5) meet and discover old friends and acquaintances and make new ones;
(6) opportunity for your children to perform, participate, and network;
(7) it also makes a great family vacation.

Where will the 39th annual OSA convention be?
It depends on which chapter is interested to host it next year. It will be determined at the executive committee meeting during the 38th annual OSA Convention. Canada (CANOSA) has agreed to host the next Convention in 2008.

Top

Information about Venue and Transportation

Where is the convention location ?

Hyatt Regency Hotel, Dearborn, 600 Town Center Drive, Dearborn, Michigan, USA 48126-2793 Tel. 800-633-7313 , 313-593-1234. Please click for more details.

Do you have free transportation facility from the Airport?
No, but please check with the Hotel Authority.

How far is the convention center from the Airport ?
It is situated mostly almost 13 miles (20 minutes) from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) Click to learn more.

How much it will cost me if I take a taxi ?
Please check Here

Where can I get a driving direction to the convention center ?
A complete driving direction can be obtained by clicking here. However we recommend you reverify the direction and use at your own risk.

Do we have any negotiated rate with any airline?
We don’t have one at this time. However, most internet fares, if booked early, are usually better than the "best" negotiated airline rates.

Top

Information about Hotel and Reservation

How can I do the hotel reservation ?
You can do your hotel reservation by calling the central reservation office at 800-633-7313 or 313-593-1234 and mention ORISSA SOCIETY OF AMERICAS as your group/ convention code. Also, you can book your room using Hotel's online tool. Please click here for more details.

What are the advantages of early hotel reservation ?
We have negotiated special rates for OSA convention participants for the nights of June 29 - July 1, 2007. Please book your rooms at least before June 20th, 2007 to avail the discounted price.

Single Occupancy $100 (King Room)
Double Occupancy $100 (King Room)
Triple/Quadruple Occupancy $109 (Double-Double Bed Room)
Regency Club $133
VIP Suite $259 (Parlor + Connecting King)

What is the deadline for making hotel reservations?
To avail the discounted rate please book before June 20th, 2007.

What if I can not make my reservation before June 20th, 2007 ?
We encourage you to reserve your rooms well in advance to avoid higher room rates. The negotiated room rates is only available for reservations made on or before June 20th, 2007. After this date, the hotel will accept reservations at the best publicly available rates (which is much higher than the negotiated rate), subject to availability.

How can I pay to the Hotel for my room reservation ?
Hotel accepts major credit cards, personal checks, or money orders. Remember, each guest shall be responsible for his/her own room, tax and incidental charges upon checkout.

Does negotiated room rate (as listed above) include taxes ?
No. Additional taxes and other charges may also apply. Please consult the hotel.

What do I need to do to make changes in my reservation?
Please consult the hotel.

When can I cancel my hotel reservation and not get charged for it ?
Please consult the hotel.

When is the check-in and check-out time ?
The time of check-in is 3:00 pm and check-out is 12:00 pm. Please check with hotel for any recent policy changes.

What amenities are included ?
Please click here to find out.

What are the other facilities & services provided by the hotel ?
Please click here to find out.

Do I have to pay for hotel parking ?
No, they have Free parking facility. However please check with the Hotel for any updates.

Is it possible to get a virtual 3D or Video Tour of the hotel?
Yes, just click here.

Top

Information about Convention Registration

Do I have to be a member of OSA to register this event ?
Yes. If you are not an OSA member, then your registration fee will also include one of the following:
(1) a $25 OSA annual membership fee for the entire family, or
(2) a $10 OSA annual membership fee for the singles, or
(3) a $5/$10 OSA annual membership fee for Students with ID who are single/family, or
(4) a one time $300 life membership for the entire family.

What are the total registration fees ?
Check our registration page for more details.

What is the difference between OSA Convention Registration & OSA Registration fees?
OSA Convention Registration Fee is the primary source of funds used by host chapter to cover the cost of hosting the convention. OSA Registration Fee of $15/ family is collected from all families attending the convention except guests. This money is returned to OSA National Chapter. This is OSA's only other source of funds besides membership.

Can I pay separately for OSA Convention Registration Fee, OSA Registration Fee, and OSA Membership Fee (if I am not a member)?
No. You will need to pay all three fees at the same time.

Does registration fee include the cost for Food ?
No. However complimentary dinner will be provided by sponsors on 29th June. Arrangement have been made to provide complimentary continental breakfast to all OSA attendees on June 30th and July 1st. You can either buy your own food, or buy a catered dinning plan offered by us (Ruchi Restaurant). Click here for detail.

Why should I choose the catered dining plan offered by OSA instead of buying my own food?
There are many eating places in and around hotel area. However, a catered dinning plan allows you to have lunch and dinner catered by local Indian restaurants in the company of your friends. Please visit our Meals page.

Can I pay separately for Registration and Food?
Although you can pay total registration fees and the dining fees separately, we recommend that you combine all fees and send it along with your completed registration form.

How do I register?
Registration and payment can be done in 4 ways:-

1. Register Online and Pay Online (PAYPAL - MC, Visa, Discover, AMEX, Online banking or paypal account)
2. Register Online and Mail Cheque
3. Download Registration Form, Fill in and Mail Cheque.
4. Fill in form during convention and pay by credit card, paypal account, cheque or cash
Check our registration page for more details.

What is the mode of payment ?
We will accept all major credit cards, cheques, cash or paypal account

What is the cancellation policy ?
We generally do not encourage any cancellation. However if you want to cancel you need to call us before midnight of June 27th, 2007 and we will refund 75% of your total registration fees within 4-6 weeks. Thereafter no refunds will be made.

Who is considered to be a Student ?
Research scholars, teachers, university employees, medical residents or any full time salaried employees are NOT considered as students even if they have a Student ID. Otherwise if you are attached to a college/university/institution as a student, you can avail the discounted registration fees.

Who can be used as Add-ons and why ?
This is intended for visiting parents, visiting relatives or visiting Oriya friends who normally resides outside US and Canada. They are not entitled to the free copy of the Souvenir and other OSA benefits.

What about children above 18 ?
Adult children will have to register independently based on their status. They cannot be included as ADD ON guests to the Parents or Other OSA attendees

Where and when will the Convention Registration be done ?
Registration will be done at the Hyatt Regency Lobby and Ford PAC as mentioned below. The OSA Convention 2007 registration timings are :-

Friday 29th June,2007 6.00 - 10.00 pm (Hotel Lobby)
Saturday 30th June,2007 7.00 - 10.00 am (Hotel Lobby)
Saturday 30th June,2007 11.00 - 2.00 pm (PAC)

Those who did not register within the above time line will have to approach our INFORMATION DESK which will operate either at the Hotel Lobby or Ford PAC Lobby, depending on where the current OSA programme is being held. This is a complimentary service, so please dont depend on this service unless unavoidable.

Top

Information about Event Calendar or Program Schedules

Where can I get a program schedule ?

Please check our Event Calendar page.

Top

Information about Cultural Programs

Where the Cultural program will take place ?

The Cultural program will take place in Ford Performing Art Center (Ford PAC), a spacious and comfortable 1,200-seat theater, a state of the art facility for performances. Please click for more details.

What do I have to do to if my child wants to perform in the Cultural Program?
First you need to complete a participation form describing the performance. You can download the form and submit it by mail. Please check our Cultural page for additional details.

What other information should I send to the cultural co-ordinator?
Other relevant information, such as a short bio, audio or video tapes, any referrals, may also help. We also recommend that you arrive at the convention by Friday, June 29, for a stage rehearsal. For more details please consult our Cultural co-ordinators.

What is the Cultural Appeal ?
It is basically an appeal towards a successful cultural program. Click to learn more.

What is the difference between performing in the Children's Cultural program and the Subrina Biswal Award Competition?
The child has to meet certain eligibility rules to compete for the Subrina Biswal Award, however they do not have to follow these rules to participate in the Children's cultural program.

What are the Eligibility Rules to participate in Subrina Biswal Award Competition?
Please consult Subrina Biswal and IAFF Rules for details.

Top

Information about Souvenir

When is the deadline for submission of my articles?

The deadline for submission of your article is April 15, 2007.

How and Where will I send my articles ?

Please visit our Souvenir page.

Where can I find the General Guidelines for Manuscript Submission?

Click here.

How to use Odiya Word Processor (Odiphon) ? Instruction and Help:

Download and install the free Oriya phonetic editor “Odiphon”. The most popular Oriya font “OR-TTSarala” is automatically installed on your computer when you install Odiphon. You can verify this by checking if the font appears along with other fonts inside MS Word.
Go through the “Remade” file and to get the basics of using Odiphon. Also take a copy of the “Phonetic” editor an. Keep it near you when you start typing your articles.
There are some words that you can’t type with Odiphon. For example “lla” and so “pallabI” or “prahlAda” would be difficult to type in Odiphon. Also when you type “shruti”, “u kARa” will come under “sha” and “ra phaLA” under “u kAra” and it would look absurd. However, you will be able to do these corrections in MS Word after you copy/paste the article into MS Word.
One problem with some advanced Windows operating system such as MS Windows XP is that if somebody uses a mAtrA or phaLA or symbols that go above or below the letters, then it creates a gap. For example if I like to type shruti it may print "shra gap u-kAra gap ti", which may look absurd. But if you copy and paste that to MS word choosing Sarala font, it would look perfect.
In Microsoft Word, you can change font to OR-TTSarala and start typing Oriya letters. To see the mapping of English letters on the keyboard to Oriya letters, “matra” and “juktakshara”, use the Character Map program on your computer. Search for the file “charmap.exe” on your computer and double click on it to open. Change the font to OR-TTSarala and you will see the mapping by clicking on any character.
You can use all the formatting options of MS Word including changing the font size. After you are done with typing, save your article as MS Word document.