>>>Got this in my e-mail from Meetup group organizer:
>>>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>All – I got this from Microsoft, passing it on. Hope you find it useful. – Daniel
>>>
>>>
>>> You are invited to attend a special event... the WPF for LOB Tour!Overview
>>>This two day training is designed to teach developers how to create Line of Business (LOB) applications using Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). · Day One is an introduction to the WPF graphics subsystem, the core UI services -styling, data binding, templating, layout and input-, and the tools used to build WPF applications.
>>>· The second day begins with advise on integrating WPF with existing technologies (Windows Forms and Win32) and then dives into LOB topics, including building applications with separated concerns using the Model-View-ViewModel pattern, creating unit testable applications, implementing data validation, and error handling.
>>>
>>>After completion, attendees will have a solid understanding of WPF, its advantages over other Microsoft UI platforms, and how to use the M-V-VM pattern to create great WPF LOB applications.
>>>Date, Location, and Logistics
>>>Training is delivered in multiple cities (at different times):
>>>
>>>LocationDatesRegister
>>>Los Angeles, CA 4/25 -4/26www.msregistration.com/wpflobLA
>>>London, UK5/15 -5/16www.msregistration.com/wpflobUK
>>>New York, NY5/29-5/30www.msregistration.com/wpflobNY
>>>Phoenix, AZ6/5- 6/6www.msregistration.com/wpflobAZ
>>>Chicago, IL6/12-6/13 www.msregistration.com/wpflobIL
>>>
>>>Registration Tips
>>>If you are not a partner or don't know if you are…
>>>When asked "are you registered" select No. Select "Visiting partner" under Partner Level. Select the closest match on the Partner Type question; if in doubt, we are all "System builders"
>>>The content and format is the same for all trainings:
>>>· Instructor-led training from 9 AM to 5:30 PM.
>>>15 minute breaks every couple hours. 45 minutes lunch around mid-day.
>>>· Breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks are provided.
>>>Cost
>>>The training is FREE. You need to register prior to the event, but there is no cost.
>>>Detailed agenda
>>>Day One:
>>>· Lap Around WPF
>>>· WPF Tools ( Blend, Visual Studio 2008)
>>>· Graphics Subsystem
>>>· Layout
>>>· WPF Fundamentals and new concepts
>>>o Application Model
>>>o Dependency Properties
>>>o Trees (logical & visual)
>>>o Events
>>>o Threading
>>>· Controls
>>>o Styling
>>>o Templating
>>>· Q&A with instructors
>>>
>>>Day Two:
>>>· WPF integration with Win32 and Windows Forms
>>>· Data binding
>>>· Introduction to Model-View-ViewModel
>>>· Commanding in M-V-VM
>>>· Views, Navigation and Transitions
>>>· Data Validation
>>>· Error handling, Model dialogs, Logging
>>>· Unit Testing
>>>· MVVM & LOB tips and tricks
>>>· Q&A with the instructors
>>>Instructors
>>>Karl Shifflett is a software architect, former Microsoft MVP, current Code Project MVP and MCAD from Bellevue, Washington. He is currently working for Microsoft on the Cider Team as a Program Manager II. He has been designing & developing business applications since 1989 and transitioned to .NET in March of 2003. In April of 2007 he joined the list of WPF and Microsoft Expression fanatics & evangelists. He is a member of Team Mole that delivered Mole Visualizer For Visual Studio to the world. He is the author to XAML Power Toys and loves WPF LOB. Karl’s Blog: http://karlshifflett.wordpress.com/
>>>Jaime Rodriguez is a Senior Technical Evangelist at Microsoft. He focuses on WPF and Silverlight. For the last four years, he has helped a lot of enterprises and ISVs adopt WPF in large scale, mission critical, projects. Jaime has been doing software development for fifteen years. Prior to Microsoft, he worked at Xerox, HP, Cerner and GeoAccess. He joined Microsoft 9 years ago; he spent the first four years as an Enterprise Architect Consultant in Microsoft Services, and the last five he has been a client evangelist covering Windows Forms, WPF and Silverlight. Jaime’s blog is at http://blogs.msdn.com/jaimer.
>>
>>Hi, Naomi
>>
>>You should be able to find similar events in Chicago. Not being familiar with that area, you're not that far away from Chicago, are you?
>>
>>Regards,
>
>Good point. It's about 1:30h drive from Milawaukee.

If you go and it's any time around rush hour, you should allow more time than that. Traffic is a bear all the way from the Wisconsin border to downtown. A good alternative is to take the Metra train. There are several stations along the state line and you get off at Union Station downtown, near the Sears Tower. www.metrarail.com.