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!
 

5 comments:

  1. Maybe I can make it to this one out on my side of the country! Hopefully the bans will be lifted!

    1. We are currently planning on a Virtual VCF West due to the anticipation that large gatherings won’t be allowed even in August. We will be updating with information here soon.

      1. I wouldn’t be the same experience… It is better to postpone rather than making it ‘virtual’ IMO.

        1. I understand your feelings and agree with you that in person is much better. Unfortunately the uncertainty of the spread of SARS-CoV2 (Covid-19) makes it too difficult to reschedule. On top of that there are other events whose schedule conflicts such as: VCF Mid-West (September), VCF East (October), Holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.), VCF PNW (March) that make it harder to plan. The is also the issue of scheduling at the Computer History Museum itself and other people that rent the facility. The fist weekend of August was picked because it was a good time that maximized attendance and didn’t conflict with other events and holidays. It was decided to go virtual rather than outright cancel the show.

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