Shedding Some Light

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 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!

We’ve issued the Call for Speakers for Southwest Fox 2020. If you’re interested in presenting, please read the document referenced in that page and consider submitting sessions via the Geek Gatherings Submission Web site.

The conference dates are November 12-15, 2020.

Only 258 days until we gather in Gilbert!

Registration for Southwest Fox 2019 has been open for a few weeks and there’s less than a week until the Super-Saver Registration deadline (Sunday night at midnight ET – just 5 days from this post). If you register before the end of June, you save $125 and we’ll throw in a pre-conference session worth $99. Not only that, but you’ll be entered in the drawings for a scholarship that will reduce your cost even more and a license of Stonefield Query SDK, a $2,500 value. Check out the speakers and topics on the conference website.

Please beat the rush so we still have some fingernails left when July begins! No need to wait, we won’t charge your card or cash your check until August!

Only 121 days until we gather in Gilbert!

Speakers and sessions for Southwest Fox 2019 have been announced. This is going to be a terrific conference, and I am looking forward to it as much as I have ever looked forward to any previous Southwest Fox!

I am presenting again this year: Get More Productive With Visual FoxPro

White Light Computing is a Platinum level sponsor and CleverFox Backup is a Gold level sponsor.

Only 171 days until we gather in Gilbert.

Registration for Southwest Fox is now available. See the Speakers page for a list of speakers and Sessions page for a list of sessions. Super-Saver Registration, which saves you $125, is available only through June 30th, so don’t wait. We also let you pick a free pre-con if you register by June 30th.

Putting on a conference is a risky endeavor. Conference centers require a guaranteed minimum income to block the dates of a conference; for a conference like Southwest Fox, that minimum is in the tens of thousands of dollars. We have to commit to the conference center by July 2nd and need your support by July 1st to make that commitment. We will not send out any “We need your help” appeals so please do not wait; register by June 30th! We know most of you like to wait until the last minute to avoid the credit card bill arriving too soon. We will not charge any attendee credit cards or cash any checks until we have committed to going forward (sometime after July 2), so this is not is a reason to wait.

Besides being an organizer, two of my companies are sponsoring the conference. White Light Computing is a Platinum Sponsor this year. CleverFox Backup from Forward Thinking Software is a Gold Sponsor this year.

Doug, Tamar, and I look forward to seeing you in October!

Only 139 days until we gather in Gilbert!