Hotel and Accessibility 

Travel and Local Accommodations at philoSOPHIA 2024

Local Organizer Information 

Ada Jaarsma, Mount Royal University, ajaarsma@mtroyal.ca

Conference Hotel

Grey Eagle Hotel, which will have designated times for shuttles between the hotel and the MRU library, and is around a half-hour walk to campus if you enjoy walking.  There’s a park close to the Grey Eagle Hotel, Weaslehead Flats, which would make for a wonderful place to walk and wander, if you’d like an outdoor break. (This is your local host Ada’s favourite place for dog-walking, and sometimes moose-, beaver-, and deer-spotting). 

Conference Venue

Riddell Library and Learning Center at Mount Royal University

74 Mt Royal Cir SW

Calgary, AB T3E 7N5

We’ll be holding all of our sessions in the library and will have maps set up on each floor so that the spaces will be easy to find. The main thing to know, when you first come to the library, is that our welcome & registration table will be on the first floor. And we’ll make sure you’re oriented from that point! Here's a map of the library spaces with additional information if needed. 

Find the rainbow crosswalk to locate the entrance and begin the Feminist Making Experience 🌈

Parking at Mount Royal University

There are many on campus parking lots available, which can be found on this map:  Campus Parking Map 

Parking is paid, and can be easily accessed through the app HotSpot Parking. 

When purchasing parking you will be asked for your Zone Number and they are as follows: 

Lot 2 = Zone 1000 

Lot 6A = Zone 2000 

Lot 7 = Zone 3000 

Lot 8*= Zone 4000

East Gate Parkade = Zone 5000 

Lot A = Zone 7000 

Lot B = Zone 8000

Note: Lot 6A is closest to Riddell Library, and has accessible spaces.

Getting to Mount Royal University

• When putting Mount Royal University into a navigation app such as Google Maps or a Transit App, select Mount Royal University Library so you arrive on the East side of campus!

• If you’re taking a taxi or Uber, you can tell the driver to drop you off in a parking space beside the library (you’ll see steps on your right, as the taxi pulls into the campus road, and there are parking spaces there that are easy to pull into). 

Map of Mount Royal University

MRU Campus Map 

All gender/gender-inclusive washrooms 

There are gender-inclusive washrooms on all four floors of the Library: 

on the first floor of the library (EL 1331, 1333, and 1452), 

on the second floor (EL 2430), 

on the third floor (EL 3430),

and on the fourth floor (EL 4430).

Quiet Space Available for All Conference Attendees

A low-sensory quiet room will be available throughout the conference on the second floor in the library. The room number for this space is EL 2401.  This is a boardroom lent to us by Student Learning Services, which has a quiet feel, design-wise, and is reserved for us to use at any point during the conference.  We hope that you’ll feel free to relax and unwind in this room whenever you’d like.  

Lactation Spaces and Child-Friendly Spaces

We’ve reserved rooms during the conference for our participants in a building, called EA, that’s right across from the library.  

On Thursday March 14, this room is EA 1045

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (March 15-17), this room is EA 1043.  

Food during the conference for registered participants

There will be vegan/gluten-free food provided to registered participants catered by local company Yummi Yogis. 

The food will be set up in the library: on Thursday evening, the food will be in the Ideas Lounge on the first floor. 

Friday morning through Saturday morning, all food & refreshments will be in the Bubble, a glass-enclosed room on the library’s third floor (EL 3249).  

You are welcome to take your food and drink anywhere in the library to enjoy (except the Immersion Studio on the third floor). For example, there’s a cafe on the first floor, Barrow, where you can hang out and bring along the food/snacks from our catered offerings. We especially encourage you to enjoy a room on the third floor, EL 3460, as an interactive space for enjoying your food and hanging out on Saturday and Sunday, .  

Book display for our conference 

Some of our conference research assistants have curated a book display for our conference.  You’ll find this display on the third floor of the library, in front of the fireplace.  (It’s on the left-hand side, as you exit the stairwell).  We hope you’ll enjoy perusing these titles, many of them authored by conference participants.  

Getting Around Calgary

-Calgary Transit  (metro system)

-Rideshare Apps (eg. Uber) 

Dining Options

$: most entrees under $10

$$: most entrees $10-17

$$$: most entrees $18-25

$$$$: most entrees $26+

On Campus

EA Building (directly across from the library): 

• Jugo Juice $ 

Lincoln Park (in the main building, two buildings over from the library): 

• Tim Hortons $

• The Table Food Hall $$

Wyckham House: (a food court, also in the main building, two buildings over from the library) 

• Thai Express $$

• Mr. Souvlaki $$

• Edo Japan $$

• Subway $$

• Wycked Korean Grill $$

• Zen Vietnamese Grill $$

• Cultures $$

• Mucho Burrito $$$

• Dairy Queen $$

Currie Barracks: (directly across the road from the Library, with two quite lovely brew-pubs and a restaurant)

• Vacay Brewing Company $$-$$$

• Wildrose Brewery $$-$$$

• The Inn on Officer’s Garden  $$$ 

Lincoln Park Centre: (Not on campus, but very close)

• Spot On Kitchen and Bar $$-$$$

Of Interest:

• Calgary Farmer’s Market $-$$$$

Vegetarian/Vegan

• WholeLifeGo - Vegan $$

• Vegan Street - Vegan $$$

• Ten Foot Henry  $$$

• The Coup $$

• SaVegCafe $$

African

• Flavours Restaurant (Nigerian) $$

• Karibu Safari Grill (East African and Indo African) $$

• Habesha Restaurant (Ethiopian and Eritrean) $$

• Yenny Delights (Afro Caribbean) $$

• 360 Grill and Lounge $$

Caribbean

• Lloyd’s Patty Plus $

• Bodega $$

• Simply Irie $$-$$$

• Ricardo’s Hideaway $$-$$$

• Krazy Jerk $$

Latin American 

• Tu Taco $$

• Tacos Mexico Memorial $$

• Añejo $$

• Empanada Queen $

• Blanco Cantina $$

Asian

• Ha Tien (Vietnamese) $$

• Viet Hai (Vietnamese) $$

• Hot’n Fast (Chinese - take out only) $$

• Kinjo ( Japanese) $$

• Paolo’s Dine In (Filipino) $$

Dietary Restaurant Guides

• Find Me Gluten Free 

• Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants 

• Nut-Free Restaurants  

• Dairy-Free Restaurants 

• Halal Restaurants 

• Kosher Restaurants 

Local Attractions in Calgary 

• The Hexagon Cafe - board games and tea (kensington area)

• Plaza Theater - catch a film in a vintage theatre (kensington area) 

• Calgary Public Library - have a read and enjoy the architecture (downtown)

• Prince’s Island Park - a lovely stroll, you can walk through Calgary’s Peace Bridge (downtown)

• Douglas Fir Trail - gravel and dirt pathways (Edworthy Park SW). 

• Griffith Woods - lovely forested area with walking paths (Discovery Ridge SW)

• Fish Creek Provincial Park - large park with walking paths

• BUMP Mural Tour - open air art gallery (downtown)

• Ella Grace Market Place - eclectic vintage store

• Esker Foundation - not-for-profit art gallery (Inglewood)

This document has been created and curated by Cerena Bond and Sylvia Belcher, research assistants for philoSOPHIA 2024.  

Our Gallery Host 

On Saturday March 16, as part of our conference program, we'll be heading to Contemporary Calgary, Calgary's world-class contemporary and modern art gallery.  Our Saturday sound event will take place in the Grotto, an accessible space with lots of quiet corners, so that everyone will be free to experience the sound-art in ways that feel the most comfortable.