Dear friends:

As you know by now, San Francisco will be hosting the 3rd Annual West Coast Picnic during the weekend of July 4-6, 1997. The fee for the 3 day event is only $45.00. Please call your local representative to reserve a ticket. If you call ahead of time, we can arrange a sponsor to _put you up" for the 3 days that you will be here so that you won't have to rent a hotel.

We will have Football (Soccer) competition between about 6 teams from Canada to Los Angeles. PLEASE DISTRIBUTE THIS NOTE TO THE PARTIES ATTENDING OUR PICNIC. We have concluded that these following traveling tips should make your trip to the San Francisco Bay Area more convenient and as comfortable as possible. We are looking forward to your arrival and hope that you short stay here will be a pleasant one.

Airline Ticket Reservations

Reserve your ticket for the Oakland Airport, instead of San Francisco since most of the events will be held in the Oakland/Berkeley. When making your reservation, try to arrive here before 5:00 PM on July 3rd, which should be

ample time for you to arrive at the hotels, get cleaned up and ready to party!! Guests staying outside of the Oakland/Berkeley area, please call your respective hosts so that you can get the proper airport. Guests staying

in the San Rafael, San Mateo and San Francisco area, please reserve the San Francisco Airport. And for the departure date, we advise July 7th if you have the day off from work so that you can enjoy another day of celebration for our annual His Holiness Birthday.

Car Rental

Guests with no ride from friends and family members, please contact the airport car rental prior to flying into the city. We hope that this will help you speed up the paper work process. We suggest a car because the places that you'll be commuting to and from, lacks proper public transportation.

Shuttle Services

Shuttle services are also available to and from the airport. We suggest shuttle services to guests who will be staying at a friend or family members place.

Yellow Avon Express: 510/841-2266 Airport to Berkeley/Oakland - $22.00 Group rate - 4-5 persons, $5.00/person.

Direct Airport Express: 510/548-1111 Airport to Berkeley/Oakland - $22.00 Group rate - 4-5 persons, $35.00 flat.

BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). You can also catch the BART Shuttle from the airport to the BART (subway) Station for $2.00. The shuttle takes you to the BART station and from the station, you can purchase a ticket to your respective destination. Please contact us or your host to locate the closest station to your destination. For Oakland guests, purchase the ticket for the 19th Street Station and for Berkeley guests, Berkeley (downtown).

Packing Tips

Summer in Northern California ranges from low 60's (degree) to high 90's.

Shorts and T's are recommended but carry a sweater as well.

Help Organizing

Please call us if you have any questions or doubts about your travel plans so that we can help you organize it to fit your needs and your budget. We are here to make your trip an enjoyable one!!

Hotels in the Berkeley Area:

HOTEL PHONE # (510) ADDRESS SINGLE DOUBLE

Capri Hotel 510/845-7090 1512 University Ave. $40 $60

Campus Hotel 841-3844 1619 Univ. Ave. $61.60 $78.40

Marina Lodge 841-7410 975 Univ. Ave. $40 $50

Travel Lodge 800/578-7878 1820 Univ. Ave. $62 $72

Travel Inn 848-3840 1461 Univ. Ave. $40 $60

Ramada Inn 849-1121 920 Univ. Ave. $69 $79

Golden Bear Motel 525-6770 1620 San Pablo Ave. $49 $59

Budget Inn 524-8778 1720 San Pablo Ave. $33 $45

Hotel Shattuck 845-7300 Shattuck @ Allston $69 $79

EZ8 Oakland Airport562-4888 8471 Enterprise Way $52.80 $60.59

Please note that these prices are subject to change. Most of these

Hotels/Motels are located near the _Little Tibet" in Berkeley. The drive from these hotels to the evening parties is approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

We hope that the information provided to you is helpful. If you can have any questions, or have concerns with your reservations, please don't hesitate to contact us. We will do our best to make your trip here as convenient as possible.

Looking forward to meeting you all this July.

Choni Yangzom

Tibetan Association of Northern California

Phone 510/654-8035

E-Mail Yangzom@aol.com

Fax 510/636-2177