I'm very happy to hear that you're attending AR! Have you gotten your pass yet?
Visiting another city, especially another country, is really tough! It's going to require a lot of effort and preparation to make sure your stay here in Vancouver is memorable. Having a friend who is familiar with the area will help you tremendously (or even bringing another friend so you both can get in trouble together haha) However, in the dire case you aren't able to find someone familiar with the area, there are many resources you can visit online to plan your visit.
For currency exchange, we recommend that you go to your bank and exchange your cash for Canadian money. The train stations here have currency exchange places but they come with hefty fees, so as Can and SiguusaEcho suggested, use a bank!
Here are some resources I highly recommend!
http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/report_rapport-eng.asp?id=308000
http://gocanada.about.com/od/faqscrossingtheborde1/p/border_tips.htm
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g153339-s602/Canada:Crossing.The.Border.html
It is highly recommendable that you research what to expect when you cross the border, air or ground. I've linked to some sites that provide information on what to expect. Otherwise, I'm sure you can ask somebody whose crossed the Canadian border before, or even a travel agent for more information.
http://www.urbanspoon.com/ps/14/8531/vancouver-vancouver-convention-exhibition-center-nearby-restaurants
Here's a nice little nifty website that tells you some of the restaurants that are close-by the convention centre! If you're planning on eating out, this is a very nice site that gives you reviews of each restaurant and their price range.
http://www.vancouverconventioncentre.com/
If you want to more about our venue, the venue website has a ton of information you can read on. They also have lots of pictures so you can get a general idea of what to expect when you party with us in August
http://www.translink.ca/
Translink is the public transit system that Vancouverites use to get around the city. If you visit the website, it'll give you information on zone information as well as ticket prices. It has a dandy tool called "Trip Planner" that actually plans out what buses and routes you can take to get to your destination.
http://g.co/maps/78rjn
For your convenience, I tagged the area where the Vancouver Convention Center is. Google Maps is a great tool you can use if you want to see whats around the convention centre. What's also great about Google Maps is that it also has a built in Trip Planner like the one that Translink uses on their website so it's double the convenience if you need something more visual to understand where you're heading
I'll demonstrate in the next two links I provide!http://g.co/maps/cv3rj
If you're driving in, I know you live somewhere in Washington, so I set the from destination to Seattle Washington. But feel free to put in your address so it gives you a more of a direct route
http://g.co/maps/yctyx
Here's the route if you're coming from the YVR airport. You may have to follow the transit details they provided to you.
http://www.animerevolution.ca/2012/04/13/codes-and-discounts/
Make sure you check out our hotel! It's at a very inexpensive rate of $149 a night, so it's definitely a hotel to consider
AND as always... I can reassure you as the Information Booth Team Lead that we at the Information Booth will be more than happy to help you if you have any questions. Don't hesitate to come on by and ask for help! We will try our best to assist
I hope these links help you in your conquest.
Best of Luck!
