Barcamp Blackpool
After the success of #bcblackpool1 the general concensus was to have another as soon as possible! Hopefully during the summer or around the illumination switch on, whichever, let us know your thoughts on this page. It's being organised by Gemma Cameron (@ruby_gem) again, with a lot of help from Preston GeekUppers (http://geekup.org) but I would really appreciate some more help this time round. This will be kept as a one day event with plenty of other stuff going on for attendees to make a weekend out of it!
What is Barcamp?
A technical conference with no scheduled speakers. The attendees dictate the format and subject content on the day. In the past sessions on the day have ranged from introducing Ruby, testing and object oriented techniques to geocaching, new gadgets and even wikipedia played on the ukelale. This is a free event is open to everyone and anyone who would like to socialise with passionate people and learn new stuff! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BarCamp
Overnight?
Not as such. This barcamp will be a great opportunity for attendees to experience Blackpool itself, in addition to the Barcamp. We're holding the barcamp at The Pleasure Beach, if we get over 100 attendees interested, they will be offered a discount on wrist bands for the Sunday. Accommodation in Blackpool is also extremely cheap (around £15 B&B), if you know a good (or bad) B&B or hotel, please let us know from your experiences at #bcblackpool1. There's so much to do in this remarkable town, it'd be rude not to spend the Sunday enjoying all it has to offer. ( :
So what next?
We're creating a website (with thanks to Solution Perspective Media) with all the details for people to start gathering sponsorship so we can get cracking!
Event details:
Event Costs for sponsorship:
These are the costs for the 2009 barcamp, I will double check to see if there have been any changes with the Pleasure Beach. We are welcoming microsponsorship of £50 (or more) which we can pool together to help cover some of the costs.
- Venue hire £500 +VAT for the full day
- Internet at £50
- Projector and screen hire costs £150 +VAT
- Microphone hire costs £55 +VAT
- Sound System setup £65 +VAT (includes 4 hours tech support)
- Tech support (£20 per hour)
- Lunch at £6.50 per head (this was very good food last time!)
- Dinner in the evening (fish and chips last year was £5.50 a head)
- Tea and coffee cost £2.25 per person, with biscuits
- Bar sponsorship for beer
- Barcamp Blackpool Rock (@testled sponsored this last time and it went down very well!!)
- Entertainment for the evening
- Magician (please contact @ruby_gem if you're interested in helping us get our awesome magician Paul Sylvester along again by way of sponsorship!)
Getting involved:
If you would like to be one of the co-organisers of the event add your name below. Please note, this includes getting sponsorship, meetings, planning, organising and attending pre-parties etc. We usually hold these meetings at GeekUp Preston though. ( :
If you would like to help out closer to the date with the actual event running, add your name to the next list under helpers. Likewise, if you'd like to sponsor this unique BarCamp, add your details under Sponsors and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
And finally if your interested in coming to the event, add your name to the participation's section. Let us know if you'd be interested in a discounted wristband for the Sunday - these will be bought by attendees when they get their tickets, so the more wristbands, the greater the discount!
Co-organisers signup:
Helpers signup:
Interested in sponsoring:
Participations signup:
Out of town?
If you've never experience Blackpool before, this is your chance!!! You won't regret it and you'll agree with us, there's no where in the world to equal Blackpool
Trains
Preston Train Station appears to be the gateway to the world, including Blackpool! Blackpool has quite a few train stations, including one for the Pleasure Beach itself, which is on the Blackpool South trainline. Trains to/from Blackpool Pleasure Beach run hourly. Buses and trams travel along the promenade to the Pleasure Beach if you're coming via Blackpool North Train Station.
Planes
Blackpool has its own airport, which isn't very far from the venue (a short bus or taxi ride) http://www.blackpoolinternational.com/ in fact it's that close I reckon you could walk it.
Automobiles
There will be discounted car parking at the venue for attendees (£2 for the day)
Social Tags for the event
Please use the tag BarcampBlackpool or for microblogging #bcblackpool
Miscellaneous
Ideas for talks
What you'd like to hear about from others...
Ideas/questions for the BarCamp Planning team
