Travel Info

Where is WMAW?

WMAW’s host is the beautiful, DeKoven foundation, in Racine, WI. Located 60 miles north of Chicago, the DeKoven Foundation is a partly walled, Anglican retreat center overlooking the shores of Lake Michigan. The Foundation began as Racine College in 1852, and was the first college built west of the Appalachians. Dr. James DeKoven came from St. John's School in Delafield to become Warden of the College in 1859 and remolded the campus, modeling the quadrangle on English colleges at Oxford and Cambridge, with faculty and students living together in dormitories and eating together in a common Refectory, known today as the Great Hall. During the Western Martial Arts Workshop, a somewhat rowdier bunch fill the campus and one can only wonder at what Dr. DeKoven would have thought.

The DeKoven Center
600 21st Street
Racine, WI 53403

See also maps at places like: Google Maps or MapQuest.

How the heck do I get there?

Racine is 60 miles north of Chicago, about 30 miles south of downtown Milwaukee. This means that, if you are flying in for the event, you have two options: O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, or Mitchell International in Milwaukee. Shop around: prices and flight availabilities can vary wildly between the two. (However, if you’re coming in last minute, your best bet for finding a flight will be through O’Hare.)

For tips on how to pack and travel with your weapons and training gear, we've provide some Travel Advice for you.

OK, I made it Chicago/Milwaukee, now how do I get to DeKoven?

Good question. You basically have three options: arrange a ride with someone in advance, rent a car, or take a bus. Obviously, renting a car is the most costly, but easiest, option, especially since if you are not staying on-site; DeKoven is about a mile and a half from the nearest hotels, and about three to four times that from the rest.

Here is a complete bus schedule from O’Hare or Midway on WisconsinCoachUSA. You are looking for the “Racine” destination. Note that the bus will not bring you all of the way to DeKoven, but instead will drop you off about seven miles from the event, at which point you will need to call a cab.

If you are going to need to either cab it from the bus stop or directly from the airport, here’s a list of taxi services serving Racine:

Taxi Service Phone Note
A-Airport Cab 262-791-8541 Mobile Service
AAA Yellow Cab 800-547-8294 Service to Milwaukee/Kenosha/Racine Counties
Affordable Shuttle Bug Taxi 262-554-0063 Racine
Airport Car Service 262-552-2552 Service to Mitchell-O'Hare-Midway
Al Escape Taxi Service of Racine 262-632-2707 Serving O'Hare & Mitchell
Burlington Cab Co. 262-763-3555 200 N. Perkins Blvd., Burlington
Jack's Taxi Service 262-636-8294 1627 Douglas Ave., Racine
Veteran Taxicab Co. 800-924-5387 General Mitchell International Airport

This is a Retreat Center, can I stay on campus?

This is a Retreat Center, can I stay on campus? You bet you can…if you act quickly! Many a student says that it's the after-hours ramblings of WMAW they remember best. One of the great perks about the DeKoven center is the chance to arrive on-site and immerse yourself in the event completely, never leaving until it's time to go home. Our instructors lodge on-site and there is a chance for a number of our guests to do so as well. Situated right in beautiful Taylor Hall, all rooms are a double occupancy. They are modest rooms, with single beds, and hot showers located down the hall, but the linens are fresh, the atmosphere is homey and you get a chance to be at the center of everything… not to mention first in-line for breakfast.

The only catch is that there are only about 30 beds up for grabs so you have to act fast if you want to reserve one! Beds can be reserved for a minimum of 4 nights (Wednesday through Saturday, or Thursday through Sunday) or for all 5 nights (Wednesday through Sunday).

I’m not staying on campus, where can I crash?

Racine is not a small town, there are a wide variety of hotels, motels, and bed & breakfasts in the area; even campgrounds for the intrepid! Once again, in the documents section of the website we’ve stored a complete listing of lodging options. As WMAW staff stays on-site or commutes from home, we’re probably not the best folks to make recommendations, but we would suggest that when choosing a location, check its distance from DeKoven and make sure that you have a viable way to get back and forth to the Workshop!

OK, but what about … (insert unanticipated question here)?

If you have any other questions while planning your trip to WMAW, feel free to contact us. We can’t guarantee that we’ll know the answer, but we’ll do our best to find out, or get you to the right person. The goal for the weekend is to have fun and work hard once you get here, not work hard to get here!