VCF West 2021 Annoucement

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.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the State of California will be removing almost all Covid restrictions by mid-June and the Computer History Museum will be reopening to rental events by July.
This year’s show is already looking to be an awesome one with some exceptional speakers and exhibits already signed up to participate.
But we’re not done yet!  We still have more space to fill and more time for speakers willing to share their knowledge and experiences with the community or classroom activities for those interested in training others.  Virtual exhibits and talks are also being accepted for those who can’t make the trip.
Exhibit registrations are open here.
Please email the show coordinator, Erik Klein for virtual exhibits or any talks.
Thank you!

VCF Southeast 8.0

VCF Southeast is back!

August 20-22, 2021.
This year they’re at a NEW LOCATION!
They will be at the Marriott Renaissance Waverly in Atlanta, GA.

This year they’re co-located with the Southern Fried Gaming Expo (who are sponsoring their space!)

There will be Speakers, Exhibits, Hands-on Activities, Consignment, Vendors, Concessions,

For complete information, exhibit registration and updates, please follow this link: https://vcfed.org/festivals/otherevents/vintage-computer-festival-southeast/

VCF Swap Meet!

THE SWAP MEET IS A GO FOR SATURDAY APRIL 24! 

GREAT WEATHER IS EXPECTED!

DATE: April 24, 2021
TIME: 8AM to 2PM
ADDRESS:
Parking Lot on Monmouth Boulevard, Wall, NJ
Across from InfoAge Museum and Brookdale College
GPS locationhttps://goo.gl/maps/m1AAS4UUziGXnoPeA ( 40.1848793, -74.0630848 )
Satellite Map: Click Here
Street Map: Click Here
WEBSITEhttps://vcfed.org/vcf-swapmeet
EMAILswapmeet@vcfed.org
PHONE: 732-722-5015
VENDOR COST is per space. First space is $20, each additional space is $10.
You can park in your space and sell out of your vehicle and/or set a table(s) up in your space behind your vehicle. Space size is normally 10 feet wide by 20 feet long. We are increasing that due to Covid-19 to 16 feet by 20 feet.
FREE for BUYERS!
SEND PAYMENT TOpaypal@vcfed.org (FRIENDS AND FAMILY OPTION)
Write in the note section:
[your name]
VCF Swap Meet 4/24/2021
Number of spaces:
SWAP MEET VENDOR SIGNUPhttps://forms.gle/kNCL8WVxTQcnw5nA6
* Reservation doesn’t guarantee sales.
* The Vintage Computer Federation is only providing a space, vendors must bring their own tables, tents, cars.
* In case of inclement weather, money paid will be refunded.
* All items that you bring must be taken with you. No items are to be left behind.
* Porta Potty on site.
The same info can be found here: https://vcfed.org/vcf-swapmeet
EMAILswapmeet@vcfed.org
AFTER THE SWAP MEET, COME VISIT OUR VCF MUSEUM @ INFOAGE!

We are open from 1PM to 5PM: https://vcfed.org/vcf-museum

The Vintage Computer Federation Museum is located nearby the swap meet and is part of InfoAge Science and History museums.

InfoAge and VCF Museums are open every Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday from 1PM to 5PM

InfoAge museums: infoage.org.

Jeff Brace

Vote for the 2021 Vintage Computer Festival T-shirt Design!

There were 5 designs submitted for this year’s Vintage Computer Festival t-shirt.
Please remember that these are only concept art and not the final product!

Please vote for the one that you like the best!
The one with the most votes will be selected as the new t-shirt design for 2021!

Go to this link to see the designs and to vote HERE

VCF West 2021 call for exhibitors

Hello folks,

VCF West is scheduled, as always, for the first weekend in August. That will be the 7th and 8th this year. We have the full second floor of the Computer History Museum booked!

As of right now things are looking fairly good for an in-person show. The CHM is projecting that they should be open in July, vaccine distribution is accelerating and should approach universal availability within the next few months and, overall, signs of pending normalcy are on the rise.

Nothing is certain, of course, but I am cautiously optimistic that we can have a show so I would like to start planning for it.

With that in mind, exhibit registrations are open at VCF West Exhibit Registration

Please consider signing up to show off your favorite toys! We have a lot of space to fill and I’m hoping that there is a lot of pent up demand since we were purely virtual last year.

Speaking of virtual, we will be doing a hybrid show. The Hahn Auditorium will be used for live talks when we have speakers in the building, but we’ll run video presentations of exhibits, talks and classes in between those. If you are out of town or can’t attend in person please consider submitting a video! Heck, we could use your video even if you’re planning on being there in person!

As always we are actively seeking speakers and classroom instructors for the show. If you are able, or if you know of someone who would be a good fit, please let me know.

Also, as usual, we’re always looking for volunteers to help out with show preparations and on show days.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments or concerns and please forward this email to anyone you think might be interested.

Thank You and All the Best,

Erik Klein

erik@vcfed.org

Keep the lights on at InfoAge (GoFundMe fundraiser)

Vintage Computer Federation has initiated a fundraiser for InfoAge operating expenses. As with many museums across the country InfoAge was hit hard by lower visitor numbers, yet the expenses keep coming. For those that don’t know, VCF leases space for our museum and warehouse from InfoAge. So we are looking to help them as it benefits us and all the other museums under the InfoAge umbrella to stay in business.

Our doors stay open as a result of the volunteers’ efforts, the donations made by visitors to InfoAge, as well as grants and other fundraising efforts.

As you can imagine, the long closures, limited capacity and public concerns that have come as a result of COVID-19 have seriously hurt our ability to raise money and continue to maintain and improve the Camp Evans Historical Landmark Site and the museums that occupy it’s spaces.

Starting with the resident non-profits, we are pooling our resources to keep the doors to our home here at Camp Evans/InfoAge open and continue to share this wonderful place with the public. But we need your help to make it through these difficult times.

ANY donation will help make an impact.

How will your donation help? Your donations will assist InfoAge in paying for daily operating expenses (like keeping the electricity on!) repairs and maintenance and installation of new exhibits just to name a few!

Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to us.

We set a goal of $10,000 to go towards operating expenses to keep the lights on. You can donate by going here: https://gofund.me/f72ab5f0.

VCF East 2021 – Rescheduled!

Hello everyone,

I hope that everyone is safe, healthy and still able to enjoy our vintage computer hobby these days.
As you can see Covid-19 persists across the country and vaccines are not yet at the levels that we want them to be. Large crowds will not be possible in April and likely not be for at least a few months.
So I am rescheduling VCF East to October 8, 9, 10, 2021. I’m hoping that 8 months from now we will be in a place where we can have an in-person event. I will make a final decision by August 1 whether we will stay in-person or go virtual.
I will be starting to make plans for this event with the hope that we will have an in-person event. There will be some exciting and welcome changes to the event that will make it epitomize the fun nature of it’s namesake “festival”, which I see as a once a year coming together and celebration of vintage computers where everyone will share their enjoyment of this hobby.
Take care everyone, be safe, and be well!
Jeff Brace

Giving Day and Donating to VCF

Today is Giving Day, so I’d like to remind everyone that VCF is a 501c3 non-profit. We are always open to donations of money. We always need funding especially in a year where the largest sources of our funding, our Vintage Computer Festivals, were cancelled due to Covid-19.

Here are the ways that you can send us cash donations:

  1. Check by Mail:  P.O. Box 417, Eatontown, NJ, 07724
  2. PayPay: paypal@vcfed.org
  3. Amazon Smile: smile.amazon.com/gp/ch/list/47-4133714

An unrestricted donation is best for us to fund the most needed project.

Here are current projects that we are working on:

  1. Warehouse organizing materials
  2. Warehouse climate control materials
  3. Warehouse climate control equipment
  4. Museum artifact display improvements
  5. Museum office supplies

VCF Swap Meet

The Vintage Computer Federation is having its first Swap Meet event. This swap meet is for vintage computers, radios, TVs, ham radios and related items.

FREE FOR BUYERS!

Vendors: $20 for 1st space, $10 for each additional space.

DATE: November 7, 2020 (RAIN DATE: November 8, 2020)
TIME: 9AM to 6PM
LOCATION: Huge Parking lot on Monmouth Boulevard between Watson Road and Taft Street in Wall, NJ

Across from InfoAge Museum and Brookdale College
GPS location: 40.1848793,-74.0630848
Google Maps: Click Here
Satellite Map Click Here
Flyer – PNG
Flyer – PDF

WEBSITE: https://vcfed.org/vcf-swap-meet
EMAIL: swapmeet@vcfed.org
PHONE: 732-722-5015

If you are interested in renting a space, please fill out this Reservation Form

VCFed 2020 T-shirts – Last Call!

VCF events are done for the year, the world is still a mess, and our supply of t-shirts is dwindling! If you were thinking about getting one of these beautiful shirts, now is the time!

Two great colors to chose from, and the back sums up 2020 perfectly! (Green is shown; amber shirts have an amber back as well. Bonus points if you know where the caterpillar comes from.  Hint: it is not from Centipede!)

Your cost for this masterpiece? Just $20 + shipping, and all profits go to support VCFed. The shirts are made for us by A Nova Print in Portland, OR.  Men’s and Women’s sizes are available, but some sizes have already sold out.

More information can be found at https://vcfed.org/t-shirts/