Drupal Camp Michigan 2016

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kwfinken's picture

Michigan Drupal Camp was a fantastic time at the beginning of the year. When should we start planning for the next one?

I am confident that I can arrange for space to host it at MSU.

I also have a few ideas for presenting a session myself.

Comments

MSU would be a great location

JamesMcQuaid's picture

Kevin, M.S.U. would be a terrific location. It is centrally located in the state, and offers excellent facilities.

We discussed it a bit at the

zengenuity's picture

We discussed it a bit at the A2DUG meetup on Monday. There was some consideration about pushing the date back a couple months, since weather can be a factor in January/February for people coming from further away. I know it was a problem for me going to DrupalCamp Ohio when it used to be in December.

But, there were only a few of us at the meetup, so we only began the discussion. Thoughts?

concur on event date

JamesMcQuaid's picture

Concur on pushing the date back a couple months.

Pushing date back is fine, or

kwfinken's picture

Pushing date back is fine, or keeping it is fine. I don't think most Michiganders are too intimidated by a little weather.

Pushing date back is fine, or

kwfinken's picture

Is there anyone specific that didn't come because of the weather?

The weather wasn't bad on the

zengenuity's picture

The weather wasn't bad on the day of the camp, so probably not. But, the unpredictability is the issue. There was storm that came through the night after the camp, so had it been 24hrs earlier, it may have been an issue for people who came from Grand Rapids and Columbus.

I can say from my own experience that, had I not been a presenter, I would not have gone to the 2013 Ohio camp (which was in Dec) due to a big storm that came through that day. It took me five and half hair-raising hours to get back to Ann Arbor. I probably should have just stayed over, but you know, it's Columbus. The Ohio camp is now in October, which I'm guessing is in part due to the issues with the later date.

Date doesn't matter too much

royerd's picture

Date doesn't matter too much to me. I think it's a good idea though to do a Drupal Michigan camp.

January 2016 Sounds Good

tyler.frankenstein's picture

I was at DrupalCamp PA talking to the folks who put on the camp there, and for outsiders the January time frame is not fun for weather related reasons, and a few folks expressed that as the reason for not attending.

Granted this is for Michigan folk (mostly), and we're not too afraid of weather, but alas, a freak storm could roll through and ruin the camp.

That being said, I've got 4x4 and am ready to rock!

A Lansing camp sounds fun, so I'd be curious what venues/costs are available to us.

From last year's discussions, it sounds like a free venue will continue to be available at UM and HFC should that be a budget concern. Last I checked, we have ~$2K sitting in our DA account from the money raised last year.

HFC is willing to host again

micahw156's picture

I have no objection to moving the 2016 camp to MSU, but Henry Ford College is willing and able to host again, too.

Micah

Drupalcamp date & Location

egarbeil's picture

There was a really nice turnout at the HFC location last year. I would wonder where most of the attendees come from and what's convenient for them? I do think pushing the date back a couple of months might be less risky, but then who knows. It's Michigan, it's been known to have bad storms in May.

Elisabeth

Elisabeth Garbeil
EFG Consulting, LLC
http://www.efg-consulting.net

Watching the conversation and looking forward to 2016

shanesevo's picture

Hi all,

Just wanted to chime in quickly from the Commercial Progression side of the conversation. We are excited about the opportunity to put on a DrupalCamp at MSU but have no qualms about returning to HFC, they were great hosts. We will be watching the discussion here as it develops. Sounds like the consensus is to move the event out of the winter months...

what month are we talking

Hadi Farnoud's picture

what month are we talking about?

How about early April?

zengenuity's picture

Looking at the list of camps from this year and assuming they stick to a similar time next year, I think one of the first three weekends of April would probably be the best time. (if we want to push it out of Jan/Feb) This would put it between MidCamp in mid-March and DrupalCon in early May.

I think this timeframe also avoids other conflicts: Easter 2016 is in March, so it should be after school holidays. And early April it's still within the academic year for universities, so interested students and faculty should all still be around.

Any thoughts on this timeframe?

Time frame

egarbeil's picture

Early April might be a problem with all of the spring breaks - you're still in the vacation zone. I think mid-April (after the 11th to 15th) would be best. Otherwise many people may not be able to make it due to trips, child care, etc.

Elisabeth Garbeil
EFG Consulting, LLC
http://www.efg-consulting.net

Only one of the

kwfinken's picture

Only one of the colleges/universities has spring break in April (http://www.studentcity.com/when-is-my-spring-break), most of them are early March. From what I have found, spring break for the public schools is spread all over the calendar, so planning based on that may not be possible but most are the middle of April. As we move into mid/late April, it gets difficult for the universities and colleges as they approach end of semester projects and final exams.

Based on this, I would suggest March 26 (I don't think that the spring breaks for Hope College and Great Lakes Christian College will affect our attendance at all). It is late enough in the season that the weather should be nice, it is early enough to avoid most of the public school spring breaks and late enough to avoid most of the university/college spring breaks. This is after MidCamp's typical date so it shouldn't interfere with that.

Giving a hand

heymo's picture

Hey,

I just wanted to chime in to let you know that I'm local (working at MSU, Broad College of Business), and you can count me in as a volunteer organizing/running a DrupalCamp at MSU :-)

Great connection to MSU

shanesevo's picture

I think there was talk of a possible change in venue for this years DrupalCamp Michigan. MSU would be a great destination, thanks for connecting!

I'm looking forward to a

heymo's picture

I'm looking forward to a Michigan DrupalCamp, no matter if it's at MSU or not!

Michigan DrupalCamp

egarbeil's picture

Any news on where this stands? We had been debating about the date, and it's getting close if we're going to do a Drupalcamp in March or April - this needs get going. It's really short notice at this point. Was everyone thinking we would do later in the year?

Warmest regards,
Elisabeth

Elisabeth Garbeil
EFG Consulting, LLC
http://www.efg-consulting.net

I was wondering the same

heymo's picture

I was wondering the same thing....

MidCamp

heymo's picture

Totally forgot to mention:
For anybody still interested in a semi-local Drupal event: MidCamp Chicago is happening this coming weekend:
http://2016.midcamp.org/

Let's go for summer

tyler.frankenstein's picture

It's almost time for DrupalCon NOLA, and we definitely don't have enough time to organize anything before then. Let's shoot for a summer camp instead.

First, we've got around $1.8-1.9K sitting in our Michigan Drupal Association account. Second, we need someone to step up and try to secure us a venue. We've talked about getting out of south east Michigan this year and hopefully going westward towards Lansing or Grand Rapids (other?).

If no one has an idea for a venue, then I think we should start talking to University of Michigan and/or Henry Ford College again to see if we can secure a free venue.

Does anyone have an idea for a venue location and/or contacts to make it happen?

Other than securing a date and venue, the actual planning/preparation for the camp isn't too bad, but I figure the date/venue is the most important starting point.

I'll propose Saturday July 16th, 2016 as a potential date.

I am 95% sure I can get free

kwfinken's picture

I am 95% sure I can get free space at the MSU Libraries, but I need a date before I can confirm.

Excellent

tyler.frankenstein's picture

That's great news. Would everyone please provide their preferred date(s) for the camp? Then @kwfinken will be able to check availability for us and we can look to pick a date ASAP.

I personally think Saturday July 16th, 23rd or the 30th would be nice.

Saturday July 16th, 23rd or

heymo's picture

Saturday July 16th, 23rd or the 30th would all work for me.

Available Dates

itcetera's picture

July 23rd or 30th work for me. I'm on a bike trip in PA on the 16th.

kwfinken's picture

I have submitted these three dates to the Library administration to see if they will approve one of them. If all work equally, we will probably aim for 23rd as first choice, 30th as second and 16th as third.

Summer

Slurpee's picture

Why a Saturday in July when we live in the midwest? We only get so many summer weekends :(

@Slurpee, read the whole

kwfinken's picture

@Slurpee, read the whole thread. When earlier in the year was proposed people nixed it because they didn't want to have bad weather. Whenever we choose, not everyone will be happy, so we have to choose something.

For those of us in Academic environments (which is a large section of the Michigan Drupal community), summer makes a ton of sense.

MI Drupal Camp

jackes's picture

My vote is for the last half of July.

Jack

MI Drupal Camp

andyblanchard's picture

I put my vote in for Grand Rapids.

I think it would be great, if we are going to have it on a Saturday in the summer, to be able to enjoy a long weekend by Lake Michigan and what makes Michigan summer's so great.

Also, I just attended an event at Calvin College. The facilities, food and location were great and I think it would be a great place to host this event. If anyone in the group has a connection there, it would be great to know cost, etc, otherwise I can reach out to the college to find out.

MSU availability seems likely!

kwfinken's picture

I just finished talking with the AD over my section of the library. He said approval to do it here at MSU is likely and that I should know in the next day or two.

Putting in Grand Rapids vote,

vilepickle's picture

Putting in Grand Rapids vote, west side is best side.

+1 for GR

alexfisher's picture

I'll vote for Grand Rapids, too.

Alex Fisher | 734-393-4696
Commercial Progression - The Drupal Experts
http://www.commercialprogression.com

Twitter: @AlexanderFisher
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Venue Sponsor

bentekwork's picture

Depending on cost, my company (HS2) may be able to provide some funds for a venue in GR for the camp. If that would be helpful, please email me ben.routson@hs2solutions.com.

Multiple Camps?

Slurpee's picture

Earlier in thread we were offered a free venue at MSU Libraries. Lansing seems like a good central location for all attendees and the venue date ball is already rolling. Next question becomes do we plan for a camp on each side of the state? 2+ hours driving between regions is a fairly big gap...maybe we can move forward with MSU in July and plan for an event later in year in GR?

Michigan is a big state. Mission of a DrupalCamp is to spread the word of Drupal in a local region? I don't believe mission is having the largest amount of attendance in one location once per year? How many attendees won't attend because they don't want to book a hotel since location is 2+ hour drive each way? How do attendees make it to intro session at 9am when they have to drive 2+ hours?

Multiple - Do we have enough people? 2hrs?

kwfinken's picture

1) Do we have enough people for 2 camps?
2) GR to Lansing - 1 hour, Detroit to Lansing - 1 1/2 hours, Kalamazoo to Lansing - 1 hour, Flint to Lansing - 1 hour, Mt. Pleasant to Lansing - 1 hour. Where does the 2+ hours come from? Do we have people coming from up north?

Drupalcamp

egarbeil's picture

Several people were asking for a camp in Grand Rapids. That's where the 2+ hours came from. Detroit or Ann Arbor to Grand Rapids.

I'm not sure if there's a lack of consensus or there's a movement for 2 camps this year. Seems to me we have difficulty pulling off one and someone has already offered a venue for Lansing.

Elisabeth

Elisabeth Garbeil
EFG Consulting, LLC
http://www.efg-consulting.net

Detroit->GR = 2+ hours.

Slurpee's picture

Detroit->GR = 2+ hours. Detroit in itself is a major area that could have a camp.

I'm a bit further south in SW MI (basically Michiana). It is about 2 hours to GR and about 3 hours to Detroit.

Disclaimer, I'm not an organizer, I'm simply providing feedback based on attending a few of these camps. I think there is room to grow in a few regions over next few years. Any active communities up north?

Drupalcamp

egarbeil's picture

Slurpee,

The difficulty is the organizers and people to set up and run a camp. I've done enough seminars/days like this to know just how much work it is. There's only room enough to grow if you have enough people willing to put in the work to set it up, not just attend.

I know the Detroit area only has meetups a couple of times a year. Ann Arbor is much better about it. I can't speak for how many active groups there are on the west side of the state.

I know I wouldn't be able to attend a camp in Grand Rapids.

Warmest regards,
Elisabeth

Elisabeth Garbeil
EFG Consulting, LLC
http://www.efg-consulting.net

+1 for MSU

jhaskins's picture

Putting in my 2 cents - Lansing is centrally located and it sounds likely that we can get a free venue. Personally, I'm in Detroit and I feel that GR is a little far for me to drive so I'm not sure if I would attend a GR camp.

MSU++

kb8zqz's picture

MSU sounds like an excellent idea to me. :)

Earlier is better

poja's picture

Lansing sounds better to me as well, but I'd be willing to go to GR. However, I'll be out of the country July 27 -Aug 9 so would prefer something a little earlier.

Only One Camp, Impartial to the Location

tyler.frankenstein's picture

Let's please only have one Michigan Drupal Camp, we don't have that big of a Drupal community in the state, so I'd advise against the separation. Definitely keep on having local meetups wherever, but the amount of resources that goes into making a camp, it'd be silly to try to have two of them.

I think both GR and Lansing would be fun, and I'm willing to travel to either. But unless someone in the GR area steps up and takes action very soon in actually finding a venu (like @kwfinken has in Lansing), then I'd vote to move forward with Lansing pending @kwfinken's findings.

I'm not so worried about the $$$ involved in securing a venue, we have a decent chunk of change sitting around from last year, but if there is a free venue available I think that takes the cake, and then we'd have a whole bunch of money after ticket sales to have it catered very nicely and an after party.

There should be only one

heymo's picture

I second the motion to have only one camp.

The resources (...in volunteer willpower and time) are limited (I assume - I'm fairly new to the Michigan Drupal community), and having multiple camps would dilute the significance of a camp vs. the local meetups.

Just my 2c

How big is the Drupal

bentekwork's picture

How big is the Drupal community in Lansing? If its the smallest of the 3 then you are effectively forcing the majority of the community to travel. I would assume that Detroit has the largest of the 3 cities in terms of community size. I live in GR and I would travel if the camp is worth it. Keywords being "worth it". A cool venue with great speakers and topics ... and frankly, Beer.

zak.schlemmer's picture

I like to bargain.
I seem to inherently do it in all of life.
So, here's more of that:

I spammed everyone I talk to everyday still (or could find on hangouts) at Liquidweb a huge ranting pitch about sponsoring this.

I'm talking with a number of close friends at Techsmith.

A large number of the organizers for Spartahack happen to work with me at MATRIX, I'm confident I can blindly offer them up to some degree.

I'll talk to people I know at H-Net, ICER, MSU ITS, and I can send out something to MSU Webdev Cafe and some of the various mailing lists / groups around campus.

(wow, I had to unlink all those businesses / organizations; I couldn't beat mollom)

So yeah.... VOTING MSU!!!

MSU makes the most sense to me this year.

SpartyDan's picture

MSU makes the most sense to me this year.

I don't know that we will be able to make everyone happy because many of us would like to have it in our backyard. Last year was in Dearborn (Detroit Area) and had good attendance. Let's work to build a successful DrupalCamp in Lansing this Summer and next year we can all go to Grand Rapids.

I'd be happy to help and to present a session or two.

Venue decision should include # of volunteer help.

techPersona's picture

Aside from the price of the venue, and the number of attendee votes; Deciding between GR and Lansing ought to also include the number of committed volunteer helpers.

MSU seems to make the most sense

daviedos's picture

A free venue is difficult to refuse, as well as it is centrally located in Michigan. I have no opinions on the date.

Officially Approved!

kwfinken's picture

We have official approval to do Drupal Camp at the MSU libraries FOR FREE!.

We need to settle on a date, ASAP, but they are open to July 16, 23 or 30th.

I created a pole to help settle the date. Please vote between now and April 25.

The only restrictions
1) we cannot start the camp until 10am and must finish by 5pm. (Library is normally open from 11-5 in summer, they are opening an hour early for us!)
2) we are responsible for food and cleanup.
3) we must offer some breakout sessions that highlight the digital collections (on Drupal) at the MSU Libraries - I already have speakers available for this.
4) we must have library staff present at all times (I have also arranged this already).

Awesome, thanks for taking

heymo's picture

Awesome, thanks for taking charge on this! Now, let's go out an vote :-)

Grand Rapids, MI

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