VCF East 2020 Update – Postponed till October

What a difference 24 hours makes!

Since last night’s announcement, we have now seen various state governments
recommend cancelling all large gatherings in light of the “continued
outbreak and to aggressively mitigate the spread of the virus.” in the
words of the Governor of NJ.

As such, VCF East 2020 will be POSTPONED (not cancelled) until October 10th
through 12th, 2020. This is Saturday through Monday, Columbus Day.

Over the past week we have been actively working on backup plans for VCF
East in the event it had to be postponed, with several different
contingencies planned based on different circumstances that might arise.
While it is unfortunate that such a circumstance has occurred, the VCF
Steering Committee is pleased to inform everyone that we have secured the
dates mentioned above, along with the needed space at the Infoage Science
and History Museums.

Additionally, we have been reaching out to our Keynote Speakers and class
proctors to lock in their availability. We have confirmed that Bill Mensch,
Michael Tomczyk, Bil Herd and David Murray have all confirmed their
availability as of today. We will update the website, class schedules, etc.
over the coming week to reflect the changes in date as well as filling in
who can and cannot attend based on the new days of the event.

Please stay tuned for more updates as the days and weeks go by, and please,
stay safe and healthy!

VCF Steering Committee

VCF West 2020

With due consideration for the current Corona virus situation, our hopes are that The Vintage Computer Festival West 2020 will take place, as usual, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA on August 1st and 2nd.
 
This year, however, we’ve decided to take over the entire second floor of the CHM.
 
This will give us a real auditorium and stage for our presentations away from the hustle, bustle and noise of the exhibit area. It also allows us to put Consignment in a contained area nearer the freight elevator and, by doing so, free up the classrooms for, well, classes.
 
I’ve opened exhibit registration on the vcfed website and have posted our preliminary schedule, exhibitors guide, FAQ and so on, all linked from here.
 
Please feel free to sign up for exhibits as soon as you are able. Please tell your friends, family, coworkers, acquaintance and random people you meet on the street about the event. Especially those in the vintage computing community or related areas who might be interested in exhibiting or presenting.
 
We have a much bigger space to fill and I’m looking forward to a huge, awesome show.
 
But we still need lots of things:
 
  1. Speakers – If you know someone working on a special project, with a connection so some bit of history, with a passion for something in our field, etc. please let me know and let’s get them signed up to share!
  2. Classes – If you have a talent or skill that you can teach others about, please consider conducting a class. Anything in the restoration, vintage software, preservation and other hobby areas is encouraged!
  3. Exhibitors – we need lots. We’ll be expanding beyond the traditional VCF focus on just computers and related gear. We’re looking for collectors of slide rules, mechanical and early electronic calculators and other “computing” equipment from days gone by.
  4. Volunteers – This show requires a lot of work and we’re looking for anyone interested in lending a hand. Responsibilities include running the front desk, consignment, the AV boards, running mics for presentations, helping with setup and tear-down and more. Students in need of volunteer hours will get letters for credit.
We will, of course, continue to monitor the Corona Virus situation closely and we will make timely decisions on how that might impact this show. The hope is that things settle down significantly in the intervening 6 months, for the world’s sake, and that we can proceed.
 
We’ll keep you posted. Please let me know if you have any comments, concerns, questions or whatever.
 
Thank you!
 

VCF PNW 2020 has been cancelled

The short story: VCF PNW 2020 has been cancelled

The longer story:

King County health officials are asking event organizers to consider postponing events where large groups of people will be present.  As a result, Living Computers:Museum+Labs has closed and will remain closed until further notice.

I’d like to thank everybody for their effort and support.

Update (March 11th, 2020)

Given the uncertain nature of the health crisis we are not going to try to reschedule VCF PNW this year. The situation does not look like it will get better in the next few weeks and later in the year we conflict with other events. Thanks for your support and understanding and stay safe.

-Mike