Shedding Some Light

We had so much fun at Virtual Fox Fest 2020 that we’ve decided to do more online conferences. They won’t all be three-day events; in fact, the next one (Thursday, May 6, 2021) is a one-day event. However, it’ll still have the same great features everyone loves about VFF: great speakers delivering great sessions, live chatting during presentations, and getting to hang out virtually with new and old friends. This event will feature classic sessions from Southwest Fox, updated for 2021. Registration is available now so sign up today!

We’re still discussing whether to hold Southwest Fox in Arizona this fall. We expect to announce our plans for a fall conference by the end of March.

More details here: https://virtualfoxfest.com/

Registration available here: http://geekgatherings.com/Registration

Only 76 days until we gather on the Internet!

We have 11 quick questions to help us plan future Virtual Fox Fest conferences. We would really appreciate your input:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F8ZLX9J

Happy Holidays and wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2021 to all.

Here are some follow-up notes about Virtual Fox Fest 2020, the first but likely not the last online event hosted by Geek Gatherings:

• Videos for all presentations are now available on YouTube for free to everyone, as our contribution to the VFP community. Be sure to subscribe to our channel.
• If you want materials (white papers and sample code) for the presentations, go to  https://geekgatherings.com/Registration and “register” for the conference. You’re not really registering since it’s over, but in the Registration Fees section of the registration page, you’ll see “Virtual Fox Fest 2020 Session Materials (download)”. The cost of the materials is $49. There’s also an opportunity to sponsor Virtual Fox Fest, which means your name will be listed on our Sponsors page.
• We’re planning on doing a survey soon. It’ll be sent to all attendees but if you want to participate so you can help shape future events, email info@geekgatherings.com and ask to be included.
• We have tentative dates for an in-person Southwest Fox conference next year: October 14-17, 2021, at the same location as previous years: the SanTan Conference Center in Gilbert, Arizona. At this point, we don’t know whether we’ll be able to have an in-person event, but hope springs eternal!
• If you didn’t attend Virtual Fox Fest, check out our Facebook page and see what you missed, then plan to attend a future one so you can join in the fun.

On a personal note, I found the Virtual Fox Fest exceeded my expectation on every front. It ran smooth, no show-stopping technical glitches, and the people who attended interacted just like when we are in-person with the exception of handshakes and hugs. I still walked away exhausted and energized at the same time. I’m looking forward to the next event, no matter where it is hosted and how we get together.

We’re pleased to announce GeekWear by Geek Gatherings. Order your Virtual Fox Fest gear from the options shown or create your own unique VFFwear.

Unfortunately, because of family matters, Cathy Pountney had to withdraw from presenting this year. Fortunately, John Ryan offered to present “Visual FoxPro Advanced and VFP C++ Compiler: a New Lease of Life for VFP”.

Registration is open, get signed up today! Only 36 days until we gather virtually via the Internet!

Speakers and Sessions for Virtual Fox Fest 2020 have been announced, and registration is open!

White Light Computing is a Platinum sponsor and has three speakers including myself, Jody Meyer, and Cathy Pountney. We are looking forward to sharing our knowledge with the Fox Community.

Virtual Fox Fest is October 15, 21, and 27, 2020!

Only 92 days until we gather virtually via the Internet!

We are excited to offer you Virtual Fox Fest, an online conference presenting the latest in Microsoft Visual FoxPro development techniques and interoperability with other technologies. This conference provides a venue for VFP experts to come together virtually to learn more about how our fellow programmers are using and extending VFP. For details about Virtual Fox Fest, please see https://virtualfoxfest.com.

We’ve issued the Call for Speakers for Virtual Fox Fest. If you are interested in presenting, please read the document referenced in that page and consider submitting sessions. If you previously submitted sessions for Southwest Fox 2020, you don’t need to resubmit for Virtual Fox Fest (but feel free to delete or revise your prior submissions or submit new sessions).

Only 155 days until we gather via the Internet!

We’re disappointed to announce that due to COVID-19, the annual Southwest Fox Conference is on hiatus in 2020. It was a difficult decision knowing how much fun we have when we get together each year, but it was appropriate given the circumstances we have been dealt. We are going to return to Gilbert for some face-to-face learning October 14-17, 2021. More exciting news about a new Fox conference for 2020 in my next post.

Only 519 days until we gather in Gilbert!

We understand you’re probably not thinking much beyond the next few weeks or months, but we’re still planning Southwest Fox 2020 on the assumption that the current crisis will be over by November. In light of that, we’re extending the speaker submission deadline to Monday, April 13. If you have something to share with our developer community, read the Call for Speakers document and then use the Submission site to send us your session proposals. We look forward to your ideas.

Only 227 days until we gather in Gilbert!