Hello OggCampers! There’s only 5 weeks now until the big event. In fact, 5 weeks tonight the OggCamp pre-party will be in full effect and that’s what I want to talk to you about today. The various social events.
You’ve probably heard about the talks, the workshops, the exhibits, the panels and many other things, but one of the most important aspects for me in organising the event has always been the parties. The social events where everyone gets to let their hair down and catch up with friends they might see online regularly but rarely get to meet in person. We have food, drink, live music and most of all a really friendly atmosphere. So let me fill you in on the party schedule.
Friday October 18th - The OggCamp Pre-Party!
Many people arrive the day before OggCamp and we traditionally have a gathering on Friday. This year will be no exception. On the Friday evening before OggCamp we’ll have a party in the Garden Bar at the Pendulum Hotel, which is our venue for OggCamp the following day. There will be food available to order off the menu, drinks to be had and much chatting to be done I’m sure.
This will start from about 18:30 and run until late but if you arrive early the bar should be open so don’t worry.
Saturday October 19th - The Main Party
After we finish in the main room on Saturday at 17:00 the hotel staff will be beavering about changing the layout from theatre style to banqueting style. This gives you a couple of hours break to head to your hotel and drop stuff off, nice and easy if you’re staying at The Pendulum of course but plenty of time if you want to head somewhere else and freshen up. Alternatively you could easily just kill a couple of hours in the hotel bar or one of the many nearby pubs with other attendees.
Then at 19:00 we’ll kick off the main party!
A selection of food will be available to order from the menu in the main room, for anyone who hasn’t already eaten somewhere else should that be your preference. There’ll be a selection of burgers, pizzas, salads, pastas and other things to choose from. The bar will be open of course and there’ll be plenty of tables to gather at and chat with friends.
After dinner have live music lined up in the form of Dev Null & The Kernel Panics. A band consisting of Linux engineers who’ll be playing a mix of stuff but crucially only tracks that originate from before the Epoch Unix timestamp, which began on Jan 1st 1970. So lots of 60’s tunes and older then, delivered in their own garage rock style. Plus a few surprises no doubt and guests joining them on stage for a song or two. It should be fun. Have a look at this video to get an idea of what they sound like…
If live music is not your thing then of course there’s plenty of space to spread out into the Garden Bar and other areas. The party in the main room is set to finish at about 23:00 but I’m certain there’ll be many people staying the bar till late and of course Manchester’s famous Canal Street isn’t far away if you want to party into the night.
Sunday October 20th - The OggCamp Post-Party
After the main event finishes at 16:30 or 17:00 on Sunday there’s traditionally another gathering for those who don’t have to rush off home. Many attendees stay till Monday. This tends to be much more low key and chilled. Mainly because everyone is worn out after 2 days of OggCamping and socialising. We’ll probably gather in a nearby pub for food and drinks but the specifics haven’t been nailed down at the time of writing.
Details will be circulated widely on social media, announced on stage and generally disseminated on the day.
So lots to look forward to on the social side. I always said from day one that I wanted to make OggCamp like “a music festival for geeks” and I hope we’ve gone some way to achieving it.
I can’t wait to see many of you in Manchester and chat in person. If you have any questions in the meantime feel free to ask me via Twitter, Discord or Email.
Party on Wayne… Party on Garth!
Dan Lynch