A quick reminder that VCF West is August 2nd and 3rd at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.
In order to get everything organized before the event we have to shut down exhibit registration and speaker signups by the July 4th weekend. This year that means that the last day to sign up to exhibit or to volunteer to speak is July 7th!
Speaking of volunteers, we’re always looking for a few more. So if you have time, energy and, maybe, muscle to spare for us, shoot me a note!
VCF East is in the books! Congratulations to everyone involved in this great event!
With that show put to bed, it’s time for us to turn our attention to the next big show, 3,000 miles to the West.
There will be a few notable changes to VCF West this year, including the following:
First, like last year, we’re still a Friday and Saturday show, with load in on Thursday.
This year we are partnering with the Computer History Museum to put on the show, so there will be some new opportunities opened up for everyone.
Primarily, there is now only one admission charge for the event, managed by the CHM front desk. We will be setting up ticket pre-sales and our VC Federation member discounts in the coming weeks. This admission will be for both VCF West and the Museum attractions so VCF attendees will be able to tour Revolution, Make Software and the like and Museum attendees will have full access to VCF Exhibits, Speakers, Consignment and the rest of the show.
Beyond that, we will be able to use more of the Museum. Once we have an idea as to what our exhibits will look like I will try to place some select exhibits in one or more of the downstairs spaces to highlight the show and to encourage visitors to spend time in the rest.
On that note, exhibit registration is now open for VCF West. We were just about at capacity last year so please bear in mind that I might have to limit tables and or exhibits this year. Maybe. Get your applications in early just to be sure!
We will also be hosting a Friday night meet and greet in the CHM Courtyard and in other parts of the open space downstairs. There will be food and drinks for purchase and an opportunity for everyone to relax after the first day of VCF while getting to know each other or just catching up.
The rest of the event will be as we know and love. Exhibits, speakers, consignment and tons of vintage fun!
We’re still signing up speakers, classroom instructors and volunteers. If you are interested please contact me! If you already have then hopefully I have gotten back to you. I am a bit behind, but feel free to remind me.
Hello and Happy Pi Day!
With VCF East coming up fast that is the current focus of the Federation, but that doesn’t mean we can’t multitask!
VCF West is scheduled to occur on August 2nd and 3rd (Friday and Saturday) at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.
This year’s show will be a little bit different than previous iterations as we are now a full partner with the CHM and not just a sponsored rental event. That will give us a bit more flexibility in how we use the space and should make the advertising for the show a whole lot better. It also means that there will be one admission price for both the event and the museum, taken at the CHM front desk.
We’re going to work on how to integrate our pre-sales and membership discounts into that in the coming months.
We have already started signing up speakers for the event but there is room for a whole lot more. Please contact me if you are interested in hosting a talk or if you know someone who would be.
As usual, we’d also like to use the classroom(s) for actual classes, if anyone wants to sign up to teach what you know. Again, please contact me with interest!
We are also hoping to host a gathering after we close the doors on Friday Night. We’ll use the patio area out back of the CHM, and maybe some of the indoor space, to let people eat, mingle and geek out.
As always, we’re going to need a lot of volunteers to help with the event. Please let me know if you’re willing to jump on board and share some of your time and enthusiasm for this show or for any other VCFed related events in the Bay Area. We’d love to do swap meets, meet and greets, repair workshops, etc. All we need is folks willing to take the lead… Please, again, contact me if you are willing.
We’ve come a long way, but we’re set for another edition of VCF West, 20+ years removed from the picture above!
Please join us on Friday August 4th and Saturday August 5th at the Computer History Museum for what promises to be an amazing show!
We’ve set records for exhibitors (56!) and speakers with our first, the amazing Jeri Ellsworth, kicking off festivities at 10:00 AM on Friday! Gates will open at 9:30 to get everyone seated in time! Book your tickets now! Or pay at the door when you arrive.
If you’re a collector looking to add or subtract from your collection it looks like our consignment space will be overflowing with goodies! Sellers need to sign up in advance, so please hit that link above!
See you soon!
Planning for VCF West 2023 is moving along nicely! This is a good thing since there is less than a month left!
The show will take place on FRIDAY AUGUST 4th and SATURDAY August 5th at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.
Please note that this year’s show is Friday and Saturday. There is no event on Sunday for 2023.
The Exhibitor list has been posted and registration is now closed. Amazingly, we have more exhibits than we’ve ever had before!
If you missed the deadline please contact us via the link on the Exhibitor page and we’ll do our best to accommodate.
For those already registered, look for an email containing our standard set of Exhibitor instructions in the coming days.
Our cast of Speakers is absolutely outstanding this year! This will be finalized along with a schedule in the very near future. Thanks to Bil Herd and others we have a packed speaker schedule with tons of exciting talks!
We have a new space for Consignment this year! We’ll have lots more room and a more streamlined system. This will, however, require some extra help from those participating in consignment. The instructions on our page will be updated very soon.
Thank you all for the encouragement and support. This show can’t happen without you all.
It has been a long time coming, but we’ve finally made arrangements to have a 2023 VCF West.
I’ll share some of the boring details later, but, for now, I want to encourage everyone interested in this year’s show to get ready for a great event, but one with a very short runway. So get those exhibits prepared and registered, get those talks planned and free up your time for FRIDAY AUGUST 4th and SATURDAY August 5th.
Yes, you read that right. One of the big hang-ups with getting 2023 off of the ground was that our traditional, and preferred, venue, the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, is not available for Sunday on our normal show weekend.
So this year’s event will be Friday and Saturday with setup on Thursday.
While this scheduling issue was the main holdup to getting the show off of the ground – It took a while to come to terms with the CHM for the rental, dates, etc. and that’s on me – the good news is that the CHM are very excited to have us back and they will help us promote the show, hopefully increasing our attendance even with the awkward days.
That said I do apologize profusely for the delays and inconvenience this will cause. I also apologize for “ignoring” most of the emails from folks asking about our progress. I really wasn’t sure until just today that the show would even go on and I didn’t want to spur a rumor mill in advance of an announcement.
Thankfully the announcement is a positive one!
Exhibitor registration is now open. Because of the short timelines I’m encouraging everyone to sign up ASAP.
The same goes for speakers. If you’d like to speak at the show please let me know soon.
Thank you all for the encouragement and support. This show can’t happen without you all. Once again I apologize for compressing all of the planning. This won’t happen again.
As announced at VCF West we are starting a West Coast Chapter of the Vintage Computer Federation.
If you are interested please sign up here.
Thank You!
Please note that VCF West is happening as planned. The Computer History Museum recently announced that they will be reopening to the public on September 1st. This is for their exhibits. Their rental space, such as the one the VCF is using, will be open earlier and VCF West will go on as planned on August 7th and 8th.
We will be closing Exhibit Registrations immediately after the July 4th weekend. All registrations must be completed by July 6th to be accepted.
Please note: We have the opportunity to support analog phone lines at this year’s event. Please let me know if that is something you want to take advantage of.
Speaker schedules and other particulars will be announced shortly.
We are pleased to announce that the Vintage Computer Festival West is returning to a live show format with this year’s show. Last year’s virtual event was great, but it’ll be good to get back together in person and, of course, we can have a consignment space at a live event! The event will be held on August 7th and 8th at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.