Final post for the countdown – a little later in the week than I wanted. Right now there is less than 1-week until the PASS Summit. There’ve been a few posts over the last few weeks on the upcoming summit (1 , 2 , 3 , 4, 5, 6).
These have also been aimed at trying to inform on the things to take advantage of while you are there. This one is no different – the aim today is remind people that PASS does not end after the last session of the day.
Scheduled Events
First lets start with the scheduled evening events:
- PASS Summit 2010 Welcome Reception & Quiz Bowl – (Monday, 6:30pm – 8:00pm): Lighthearted fun and entertainment from the experts.
- Microsoft Appreciation Event (Wednesday, 7:00pm – 10:00pm): Microsoft is opening up GameWorks for us again this year. Get in and celebrate the week with a few thousand of your closest SQL Server peers.
- PASS Board Meet and Greet (Thursday, 5:30pm – 7:00pm): Critical event for anyone that is interested in or wants to comment on how PASS operates as an organization.
Before Hours (aka Breakfast)
We’re talking about the after hours, but to get to there you need some fuel. Get charged in the morning and take in some content with an early morning session:
- Sponsor Hosted Breakfast (Microsoft) – (Wednesday, 6:45am – 8:15am)
- Sponsor Hosted Breakfast (VMware & PASS Virtualization VC) – (Wednesday, 6:45am – 8:15am)
- Sponsor Hosted Breakfast (Quest Software) – (Thursday, 6:45am – 8:15am)
Sponsor & Vendor Events
Sponsors and vendors will have a number of after hours events. Finding out about them can be tricky from time to time. Below I’ve listed the ones I’m aware of – feel free to comment with any that you hear about as well:
- SQL Server Central Opening Night Party (Monday, 8:00pm – 10:00pm): Get in and get gambling. A good time with a packed room and chance to win some great prizes.
- SQLServerPedia Awards Cocktail Party (Tuesday 8:00pm – 10:00pm): Quest’s award show for the newly unveiled SQLServerPedia Awards.
As I hear of others, I’ll update them here.
We Don’t Need No Stinking Schedule
Most of the best after hour events come from grabbing a few new and old friends and heading out into Seattle. Some things you can use to find a good time and engage with your peers:
- SQL Karaoke (always) - This usually ends up heading to Bush Gardens. A brisk walk from the convention center and a time worth the walk. Find out where people are on twitter with #sqlkaraoke. There will definitely be a group out at Bush Gardens on Wednesday evening.
- Photowalk (Monday, 9:00am) – A tour of Seattle area with photographers Pat Wright (Blog|Twitter) and Tim Ford (Blog | Twitter). A bustling adventure that I’ve heard only great things about.
- Inappropriate PASS Sessions (Tuesday, 6:30pm – 8:30pm)- Inappropriate things that can’t happen during the daylight can, and will, happen here.
- Do It Yourself (always) – want to get people together and don’t know where to start? Create and post your own event on PASS Summit Events. It’s easy.
You have to have heard this one before. If you will be at PASS this year… GET ON TWITTER. It cannot be stressed enough how much this will help you find things to do.
The crowds are often tweeting about this, that, and the other thing. If you’ll only be using it for the PASS Summit – no big deal. But if you give the SQL Server community 3-days to show you the value of twitter – I’m sure you’ll be sticking around.
Not sure about this… start with a post I wrote last year and get more information from there.
Get Registered
Of course, I would obviously recommend getting… registered! It’ll make catching up with people all the more easier. If you need some additional reasons to attend outside of this post, I wrote a post on some of the reasons I attend the PASS Summit.
Related posts:
- 2-Weeks to PASS Summit 2010 Countdown
- 5-Weeks to PASS Summit 2010 Countdown
- PASS Summit 2010 Call for Speakers
