VCF PNW 2020 Exhibitor Registration

Do you already know you want to register? If so, here is the form: https://vcfed.org/vcf-pnw/exhibitor-registration-form


Where: LCM+L (Living Computers: museum + labs), Seattle, Washington, USA
When:

Load-in: Friday March 20nd, 2020
Public viewing: Saturday March 21st and Sunday March 22nd, 2020
Load-out: Sunday March 22nd, 2020 (after public viewing ends)

Why be an exhibitor?

Because it’s fun …

Want some proof? Check out the archived event pages and photographs from the previous years:

How it works

Exhibiting your favorite vintage computing project at VCF Pacific Northwest can be fun and rewarding; besides sharing your work you will also meet others sharing their work and people who are enjoying the show and the museum. Here are some guidelines for how to be an exhibitor:

  • All exhibits must have a theme. Examples of themes include focusing on a single computer and its ecosystem, concentrating on how a particular piece of software influenced the industry (or more!), a timeline for an important series of events, highlighting a particular class of hardware or software, etc. What we are trying to avoid is “Here is collection of my favorite <fill in the blank>” which can be interesting, but generally not at a VCF event.
  • The majority of artifacts in your display must be up and working; we want these exhibits to be interactive and static/non-working hardware makes that more difficult. (We can make exceptions; just let us know in the ‘comments’ field of the registration form.)
  • It is important that you have somebody at your table who can run the exhibit during the public open hours. People generally will pass by an unattended exhibit. All exhibitors will get two exhibitor badges so you can bring a helper, friend, etc. Hopefully the show will be very busy all day long, so bring snacks and drinks and be prepared to do a lot of talking.
  • Exhibits are not intended to look like a flea market or swap meet. Exhibits are strictly limited to demonstrations. If you have something that you would like to sell please use the consignment area. Follow this link to find out how to use the consignment area: VCF PNW Consignment

Additional information

  • There is no exhibitor fee.
  • Each exhibitor gets one VCF T-shirt and up to two exhibitor passes.  Chairs, power, and WiFi are provided by the museum.  You just bring yourself, your exhibit, and snacks.  Somebody usually has a toolkit for field repairs and the museum has fire extinguishers, but hopefully no magic smoke gets released.
  • LCM+L museum admission is free for exhibitors during the days of the show. Bring a helper so you can take advantage of this!
  • We encourage all exhibitors to also bring relevant articles, books, literature, posters, signs, etc. It makes for a more complete exhibit.
  • Further details on load-in time, load-out time, food options, etc. can be found in the Exhibitor FAQ at https://vcfed.org/vcf-pnw/exhibitor-faq.  I use a Google Drive document to share this information so you can always visit the document and see the latest information.
  • We are a registered 501(c)3 non-profit with a limited budget; this will look and feel gloriously low-budget. ;-0  Want to help out?  Bring some stuff to sell in the consignment area; we provide the market and take just a small cut of the selling price.  (See the exhibitor FAQ or the consignment page for more details on how consignment works.)
  • Have a question? Email us and ask! We want to work with you to make your exhibit great, and to have a great show.

Want even more detail?  See the VCF PNW 2020 Exhibitor’s FAQ. It is kept up to date with the latest information so you can always refer to it with confidence.

To register

Please visit the VCF PNW 2020 Registration Form by clicking on that link. All information collected via the form will be kept private and used only for VCF PNW 2020 event planning.

We opened registration a little earlier than usual to give people plenty of advance notice, especially for those travelling from outside of the region. Registration will close in at the end of  January 2020 so that we can work on floor layout, scheduling the speakers and events, making the event program, advertising, etc. If you are able to please register as soon as you can make a strong commitment so that we can get a good read on what the show is going to look like. And don’t be shy about asking questions …


Please direct any questions to Michael Brutman (michael@vcfed.org)