National Clothesline

Cleaners will have an opportunity to observe the manufacturing process of drycleaning machinery up close and personal during the International Drycleaners Congress 2006 conference from Nov. 2-5.

An entire day has been set aside for delegates to come to the Firbimatic factory in Bologna and learn firsthand about machines and equipment, including how they are developed, tested and manufactured, as well as the quality assurance arrangements.

Bologna, the host city for the event, has long been recognized as a center of drycleaning machinery manufacturing. Machines made at the Firbimatic factory are exported to more than 130 countries around the world.

The IDC conference will open on Thursday, Nov. 2, with a traditional welcome reception following an afternoon IDC board meeting.

Friday will be devoted to the tour of Firbimatic’s factory. Then, on Saturday, the association will host a half day of presentations on what is going on around the world in the area of drycleaning, as well as other topics. Afterwards, attendees will have a half day to explore Bologna on their own.

Later in the evening, IDC will conclude the day with its President’s reception, flag ceremony and banquet.

The Sayonara Breakfast, a long-standing IDC tradition, will mark the end of the convention on Sunday.

This year’s headquarters hotel will be the Jolly Hotel de la Gare, located in the center of Bologna. A special discounted rate of 114 euros per night for a single room, or approximately $142.50, is available. The nightly cost for a double room is 134 euros, or $167.50. Those rates include a buffet breakfast, service charge and value added tax.

Following the convention, there will be an optional short tour that will end in Milan just in time for the international exhibit, Expo Detergo. The tour will depart from Bologna after the Sayonara breakfast on Nov. 5.

The group will drive to Venice, tour the city and visit the glass producing island of Murano. From there, they will proceed to Verona, which is famous as the setting of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

After spending an evening in Sirmione on Lake Garda, IDC members will head west to Milan, arriving on Nov. 9, the day before the Expo Detergo exhibition opens.

IDC is also offering a pre-convention tour that will begin in Rome on Tuesday, Oct. 24. Stops on that guided tour will include Rome and a visit to St. Peter’s, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel.

The group will also take trips to Pompeii, Sorrento, Positano and the Amalfi Coast, as well as a day at the Fonteverde Natural Spa Resort in San Casciano dei Bagni.

On the way to Florence, participants will also see the Castello Banfi winery in Montalcino — which boasts over 2,400 acres planted with vines — and the nearby medieval castle, Poggio alle Mura. For lunch, the tour will stop for a five-course meal featuring Tuscan specialties and the Castello Banfi award-winning Brunellos and Super Tuscans.

After two nights in Florence — home to the famous Renaissance Palazzos, the Duomo, and Michelangelo’s David — the group will move on to Bologna, making a stop on the way for a guided tour of the Parmigiano Reggiano production facility located in the heart of Emilia Romagna. The tour will demonstrate the care and skill that goes into making classic Parmigiano Reggiano, voted to be one of the world’s four finest cheeses.

More information on the convention and tours and a registration form are available on the IDC web site, www.idcnews.org, or by calling Yamato Travel Bureau, (800) 334-2825.