VCF East 2026 mark your calendars!

🎉Dawn of the PC: VCF East 2026

đź“… April 17-19, 2026
📍 Wall, New Jersey | InfoAge Science and History Museums

We’re thrilled to announce the theme for next year’s Vintage Computer Festival East 2026!

Dawn of the PC

In 2026, we’ll explore the pivotal era when computing took a bold step out of labs and into homes, classrooms, and small businesses. This theme celebrates the early days of personal computing—the period when powerful machines became accessible, affordable, and, most importantly, personal.


đź’ˇ What does “Dawn of the PC” mean?

It’s the story of how we got from the blinking lights of hobbyist kits to the sleek machines that reshaped everyday life. We’ll shine a spotlight on the computers, people, ideas, and companies that ignited a digital revolution .

From the Altair 8800, Apple I, and Commodore PET to the TRS-80, IBM PC, and Macintosh, this theme gives us room to showcase the innovation and competition that defined the era.


🖥️ Planning an exhibit? Here’s how to tie in:

We invite exhibitors, presenters, and tinkerers to interpret the theme broadly. Some ideas to spark your creativity:

  • Early Personal Computers: Show off systems like the Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Osborne 1, or Amiga.
  • Clones and Compatibles: Explore the world of IBM PC clones and the DOS era.
  • Software Milestones: VisiCalc, dBASE, GEOS, early word processors, games, and operating systems.
  • User Experience: Recreate how people first encountered computers at home, in school, or at work.
  • Cultural Impact: Ads, packaging, magazines, and educational content from the PC’s formative years.
  • Builds and Restorations: Custom-built 70s/80s computers or working reproductions of classic systems.

Whether your passion is hardware, software, design, or storytelling—there’s a place for your vision under this theme.


🎤 Want to Present or Host a Workshop?

We’re looking for talks and sessions that explore:

  • The transition from minicomputers to personal computing
  • The business and marketing of early PCs
  • Key people and forgotten pioneers
  • Preservation challenges and techniques
  • Fun retrospectives on favorite platforms or programs

Join us as we celebrate the origins of the digital age and the brilliant machines that brought computing power into the hands of individuals.

🧠 Because before we were online… we were booting from floppy disks.


We have already begun planning to improve the show based on feedback from the surveys and conversations with different participants.

Signups for exhibits, vendors, talks and volunteers will be available starting in mid-August.

See you there!

Jeff Brace

VCF East Showrunner

VCF East 2025 on The Verge!

VCF East was a great success with great speakers, exhibitors, classes, consignment and attendees!

Take a look at the coverage of the show on The Verge:

Thanks to all the volunteers who helped make this show happen. I couldn’t have done it without you!

Also check out other videos from VCF East: https://vcfed.org/vcf-east-2025-videos/

Jeff Brace

VCF East Showrunner

Amiga Roundtables

VCF East 2025 is April 4-6.
Amiga Roundtables at VCF East Moderated by Dave McMurtrie and Dan Wood.

Saturday Roundtable:
RJ Mical
Dale Luck
Ron Nicholson
Glenn Keller
Andy Finkel
Jeff Porter
Randell Jesup
Peter Cherna

Sunday Roundtable:
RJ Mical
Dave Haynie
David John Pleasance
Robert Miranda
Hedley Davis
Jeff Bruette
Don Gilbreath

Tickets here: https://vcfed.org/2025/03/16/non-member-ticket-pricing-vcf-east/
Info here: https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/

Brian Kernighan coming to VCF East 2025

Do you know this man? He co-wrote the first book on C programming. He was involved with early development of UNIX including authoring UNIX program ditroff, co-authoring: AWK, AMPL. He will be talking about his 2019 book: UNIX: A History and a Memoir.

Tickets to VCF East: https://events.humanitix.com/vintage-computer-festival-east-2025

Schedule: https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/vcf-east-schedule/

General info: https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/

VCF East 2024 – Update #2

Tickets available now!

Jeff Brace will be giving updates on the current status of VCF East.

Streaming live: VCF East updates on Saturday, February 10 at 6:30PM EST

VCF East Main Page

Some important links:

Exhibit Registration (Only 8 tables left as of 2/4/2024)

Vendor Registration (Only 8 tables left as of 2/4/2024)

Speaker Registration (Room left for 1 more speaker)

Volunteer Registration (It always helps to have volunteers)

Hotel Blocks (Still some rooms available!)

Consignment registration will start March 12. We are programming the new system which will be ready by the end of the month.

More updates to come!

VCF East 2024 is coming! April 12, 13, 14 @ InfoAge

Happy New Year everyone!

Streaming live: VCF East updates on Saturday, January 13 at 6:30PM EST

VCF East 2024 planning is into motion! We will still be at InfoAge. Dates are April 12, 13, 14.

Some important links:

Exhibit Registration

Vendor Registration

Speaker Registration

Volunteer Registration

Hotel Blocks

Consignment registration is coming soon. We are redoing the consignment process and it will be even better than last year! Also we have a new location for consignment that is twice as large!

More updates to come!