Convention 2004 is slated to be held in San Antonio, TX!! I am definitely going this time. I couldn't go to Orlando this year because of my advising our colony in Indiana, I didn't have enough vacation time to do both. I went to Convention 2000 in Miami, and it was really great. Here's a general idea of what Convention is like:
Day 1: Fly in, register, get all of your materials, check into you room! Dinner with a keynote speaker. Always someone fun and interesting! After dinner, they do some teambuilding stuff, but that's basically it for Day 1.
Day 2: All delegates have Grand Chapter meeting...meeting of all the delegates and the International Council. That's the bulk of the morning. Then lunch, with a speaker. Afternoon sessions are workshops on pressing issues like recruitment, alcohol, sisterhood burnout, dealing with conflict, etc. Then, dinner, and some sort of activity (songfest, etc.). You can go out after that and see some sights, but it's normally like 8:30 - 9:00 PM.
Day 3: Finish Grand Chapter meeting...lunch...Afternoon sessions are more workshops. Then, that night is the awards banquet, where all of the collegiate awards are done. It's a dress up affair, and really fun
Day 4: Usually a big workshop with the entire delegation on something important...in 2000 it was Alcohol-Free Housing with the fraternities. Lunch on your own this day if I remember...then a couple more workshops. Since this is the last night, they have something big and fun. In 2000, it was a carnival, and it was AWESOME!! This year I think they did a mardi gras thing. Again, tons of fun...this night is just about having a good time. They do the silent auction winners and the t-shirt drawings and all sorts of games and TONS of food.
Day 5: A good and welfare in the morning along with breakfast. A few more speeches, etc, and then you're done, and off you go home with more information than you can fathom
It's a wonderful experience, and it really shows you that D Phi E isn't just your own chapter or those close to you, but really an international organization of nearly 85 chapters around the country and in Canada. I advise that if you have never attended a convention, put it on your "to do" list , because it's something you'll never forget.