North Bay Python is returning! See you June 10 & 11 in Petaluma!
When we last left you in November 2019, we'd announced that we'd be taking a four-month break before preparing our next conference, so that we could stop running in the North Bay's fall fire season. Suffice to say, it's been a bit longer than four months. Things happened, y'know?
Anyway, We're sorry to have kept you waiting!
Three years and one month later, we're finally ready to welcome you back to Petaluma: North Bay Python is returning on 10 & 11 June, 2023!
If you want to share your knowledge, experience, or strongly-held-but-justifiable opinions about Python or technology in general, expect our Call for Proposals (CFP) to open sometime around late February/early March. If you just want to absorb two days of excellent Python talks, tickets will go on sale in April. Our updated website will be available... eventually.
What about the event itself?
For the last couple of years, we've been trying to figure out how we could best run an event that we felt could live up to the first three North Bay Python conferences, and honors our community's expectations by running it in a way that takes the health of our community seriously, accounting for the new risks of gathering in person that have emerged since we last met.
We think we've come up with a plan that will work, and now that the ink has settled on our contract, it's time to let you know what we have in store.
First, a new venue. We're looking forward to welcoming you to Reis River Ranch, a delightful piece of riverfront farmland just off Highway 101, on the border of Sonoma and Marin counties, a few miles south of Downtown Petaluma. Our presentation space is a 6,000 square foot barn, and we have the run of the vast public areas of the ranch for your enjoyment during lunch and afternoon breaks, or for conversation between sessions. There's a small vineyard and wine and beef tasting room on-site in a separate building: please reach out to us if you need to know more.
We intend to take effective COVID precautions, three of which we can already announce: Along with ample space for eating outdoors, the barn has excellent ventilation, and our attendance cap is significantly reduced compared to previous years. Full details of our health and safety policy will be available when we launch our CFP. We commit that any precautions we announce will only be strengthened between now and the conference.
With the change in venue, we'll no longer be on the doorstep of Downtown Petaluma's restaurants during the day. To make up for it we'll be catering lunch on-site. Expect increased (but still great value) ticket prices compared with 2019 so we can cover those costs. We remain absolutely committed to inclusivity, so expect financial aid to be available for people who need it.
Since we won't be in Downtown Petaluma, getting to the event will be a bit different: there's plenty of space to park on-site if you're driving, it's bikeable from Petaluma or the SMART Rail Station in Novato, and we'll be looking into ways to make the Ranch easily accessible from Downtown Petaluma as our plans come together.
Now that we've shared just a few of our plans for 2023 with you all, it's time we got back to figuring out everything else. We're so excited for you to join us in the beautiful Petaluma Valley in June!
For details, stay subscribed to our mailing list, follow us on Mastodon @northbaypython@floss.social! Our Twitter account remains online, but most content will be cross-posted from Mastodon.
Most importantly, add June 10 and 11, 2023 to your calendar, and save the date for the return of North Bay Python!
I'm Excited!
--Chris and the North Bay Python Team