FOOD 

Everyone needs to eat while at the convention so here are some ideas. All banquet and meals are open to everyone. You do not need to be a registered with the convention/congress to participate.

 Banquet and Awards Ceremony - Saturday July 14^th. Social hour with no host bar starts at 6:00 pm. Dinner starts at 7:00 pm. Cost is $40.00. Your choices for entrée are a grilled 8 ounce tri-tip steak Santa Fe style (rubbed with chili, garlic and brown sugar), Spanish rice, white beans and Pico de Gallo; fresh ruby red Idaho trout (boneless) with dill and red pepper buerre blanc; or tomato basil fettuccine primavera. All start with a baby field green salad with candied walnuts, blue cheese, sun dried cherries, and house made balsamic vinaigrette. Also included are assorted breads and butter, freshly brewed coffee and hot and iced tea. A special dessert treat will be the famous Idaho ice cream potato. This is not ice cream made from potatoes, but an ice cream treat made to resemble a potato with vanilla ice cream rolled in powdered cocoa, split open to accept whipped cream and toppings.

Rather than the typical guest speaker we are going to have a real Cowboy Entertainer during desert. Cowboy Rudy is one of the most well known and requested Cowboy entertainers in the US. He is the first Cowboy to entertain at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. To learn more about him please visit his website here.  After the entertainment we will have the awards ceremony.

 SSA Dinner - Thursday July 12^th. From 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Cost is $20.00. If you are a member of the Stereoscopic Society of America, are interested in joining, or just want to socialize this is the place for you. It will be a western style BBQ outside in Julia Davis Park. The park is about three blocks from the hotel and an easy walk or about a 1.5 mile drive due to the one way roads. The meal will consist of BBQ baby back pork ribs; teriyaki broiled chicken breast; a salad bar with American potato salad, Alpine coleslaw, and fresh fruit salad; steamed bouquitiere of vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, summer squash, zucchini, and snow pea pods); oven roasted rosemary potatoes; dinner rolls and butter; ice carved watermelon and fresh strawberry shortcake chantilly; and iced tea, lemonade, and bottled water. Unfortunately no alcoholic beverages will be served, but you are free to bring your own as long as it is not in a glass container (glass is not allowed in the park).

 NSA President’s Breakfast - Sunday July 15^th. From 8:00 am to 10:00 pm. Annual State-of-the-NSA address and question and answer session with the president. This will be a buffet-style meal consisting of fresh fruits with yogurt, assorted fruit juices, honey-cured ham, scrambled eggs with mushrooms, spinach and fontina cheese, cinnamon-swirl French toast, Boise Centre potatoes, freshly baked cakes and pastries, bagels with cream cheese and jam, coffee and specialty teas.

Area Restaurants - there are more restaurants within walking distance of the hotel/convention center than you could imagine. They cover the full range of food and prices from fast food chains to very costly gourmet establishments. There is quite a diversity of ethnic places including Thai, Japanese, French, Italian, Middle Eastern, Indian, Mexican, and Basque. There are plenty of coffee shops and breakfast places as well. Boise also boasts some great brew pubs and the nation's only distillery pub. If you extend your range to include an easy 10 minute drive there are over 60 restaurants waiting for you to enjoy. To find out more about these places visit one of the on-line guides like Trip Advisor or City Search or one of the more local guides like Dining Decisions (this is a great site with maps, menus, reviews, and much more).