The physical 2010 Evergreen International Conference may be over, but you can continue to bask in it’s virtual glow on the Evergreen dokuwiki.

Bill Ott has been busy adding to this page all the presentations that were submitted to the conference planning team for inclusion in the official conference flash drive.  If you don’t see the sessions or lightning talks there you’ve been hoping for, feel free to encourage presenters to add theirs.

At some point we’ll also be adding videos of the presentations – Jim Schuyler (world renowned host of lightning talks) is busy editing them as I type . . .

Thanks all for a great conference!  Oh, and don’t forget to submit your online survey, those of you who were able to attend!

If you’re like me and pretty much stick to the Cliff Note version of documents. You might like the one-page schedule to plan your trek through the conference.  We’re going almost paperless at the conference, so you’ll receive an electronic copy, but if you want to print and plan ahead…

While perhaps not the best reason for coming to the conference, certainly something to look forward to. The pub crawls will give us a chance to wind down and review a fine day of hacking, or rev up for the sessions in days to come. Whatever your motivation, here’s a look at the potential starting points for the night’s festivities.

Bar Divani 15 Ionia SW – Downtown Grand Rapids premier wine bar offering the most extensive wine list in Grand Rapids as well as award winning cuisine in a posh, downtown Grand Rapids cosmopolitan atmosphere.

The B.O.B. 20 Monroe NW – The Big Old Building (B.O.B.) houses several restaurants, a cigar lounge, a microbrewery, banquet rooms, a comedy club, a dance club, and billiards hall. Constructed in 1903 as Judson’s grocery warehouse. It stood vacant for decades before The Gilmore Collection began its transformation, saving it from demolition.

Z’s Grille and Bar 168 Louis Campau NW – A sports bar with NTN trivia, thirteen 27″ TVs and an American Barbecue style menu.

J. Gardella’s Tavern 11 Ionia SW – Once a warehouse, the turn of the century old building is now home to a beautiful storefront restaurant in the “Old Town” section of Grand Rapids. The architecture and decor is much like that of a Chicago tavern, complete with wooden floors, an embossed metal ceiling, red brick walls, and gorgeous hand-carved moldings.

HopCat 25 Ionia SW – HopCat was envisioned, designed, stocked and staffed with one mission in mind: to bring you great beer. Rated by Beer Advocate as the 3rd best beer bar in the world, they specialize in Michigan brews, but also offer a wide range of global beer, with a large Belgian selection.

Ottawa Tavern 151 Ottawa NW – Ottawa Tavern is a downtown Grand Rapids hot spot for variety, value and fun. The build your own burger menu is a revelation with over fifty toppings for guests to choose from. Ottawa Tavern has been offering Grand Rapids the best happy hour value in town for quite some time, highlighted by the most reasonable beverage options around.

Peppino’s Grille & Pizzeria 130 Ionia SW – Enjoy a vast menu offering everything from the award winning Joey’s Sicilian Pizza to a Black and Bleu New York Strip, they have your favorite Draft Beer or try one of the unique Martini selections.

The Cottage Bar 18 Lagrave SE – A Grand Rapids tradition since 1927, proud to be the oldest operating bar and restaurant downtown. Known for their casual charm and down to earth atmosphere and famous for having the city’s best burgers, and three different styles of award winning chili.

GP Sports Inside the Amway Grand Plaza – Try the buffalo hot wings or the 10-ounce char-grilled Score Big Burgers. Then take your pick from interactive games, pool tables or basketball. Sporting events are broadcast on one of 40 televisions and two large screens so everyone can get in on the action.

Flanagan’s Irish Pub 139 Pearl NW – Flanagan’s is a popular nightspot and a great restaurant offering original pub-style menu for lunch and dinner. Featuring classic Irish favorites such as Shepard’s Pie and Corned Beef along with a full service menu with items ranging from salads and soups to burgers and seafood.

Those of you who have had a chance to look ahead have discovered by now that there aren’t too many options for getting from the airport to the conference hotel.  Hoping to save some of those hard-to-come-by dollars (and not have to ride two different buses), one of your colleagues has suggested carpooling, or rather, taxipooling.

Now I’m sure you’ll be able to pick out your fellow Evergreen conference attendees as you deplane by the bounce in their step and the lilt in their voice (and perhaps an Evergreen bumper sticker displayed prominently on their laptop case), but if you would like to make taxipool arrangements in advance, feel free to use this blog as a forum for connecting.

And happy and safe travels to all!

If you are driving to the conference, please be aware the I-196 expressway will be closed from the Fuller Ave. exit to the Ottawa St. exit. The Ottawa exit is often used to get downtown, where the hotel and conference are being held. More details: http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-9621_11008_53418—,00.html

I had a sneak peak at one of our conference presentations today: “Managing Serials with Evergreen”.   If you speak “serials”, this presentation will make your heart flutter. In a good way!

Dan Wells and Steven Putt (Calvin College) have been hard at work building some serials functionality (including check-in) in Evergreen.  See their presentation and demo on Thursday, April 22 at 4 p.m.

By Friday morning, you’ll be so packed with information (or pub crawling) that you won’t be able to stop talking about it.  Why not use a captive audience?  Lightening Talks will occur just before the closing keynote.  So, leave your own impression on the attendees and plan to present one yourself.  Five minutes, 0-3 slides, and your moment of fame.

Interested, but not sure what to talk about?  Here are some suggestions from the man that coined the phrase. …just don’t try to submit your idea to that conference from ‘03.  Instead, email your plans to lt@evergreen2010.org.  We only have 8 slots available, so act fast!

How about you? On Thursday of the EG 10 conference, we are lining up a dine around to local restaurants. So far, Bar Divani, The B.O.B. (Big Old Building), and Six.One.Six. have all agreed to participate. We will have a trolley running between the Amway, the Library reception, and the restaurants. Sign ups for the dine around will be posted soon.

If you would rather discover yummy eats on your own, we have many great places to explore.

Did you know Bill Ott has twin boys?  Did you hear the rumor that Dan Scott will be running a Developers Panhandling Session outside the hotel?  Did you know that though Kate Sheehan calls her blog Loose Cannon Librarian she claims never to have been called a loose cannon?  Did you know that Mike Rylander has been known to cry “WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” at the thought of bug fix releases?  Do you know what less than common item Eric Lease Morgan collects?

And do you have little known facts about our speakers?  Do tell!

Within the last week, the Evergreen Community has been abuzz, requesting more from their conference, and the 2010 Evergreen International Conference Committee is happy to report we’re able to make it so!

We’re expanding hackfest day, Wednesday, April 21, to include four additional roundtable discussions.  The morning will feature an Authority Roundtable facilitated by Shae Tetterton and a Reports Roundtable hosted by Anoop Atre and Jenny Turner.  The afternoon will feature a Sys Admin Roundtable guided by Evette Atkin and Megan Dudek and a Holds Roundtable led by Grace Dunbar.  Together, these roundtables form our redesigned Sys Admin and End User Hackfest.

And how much will these additional sessions add to your conference bill?  Absolutely nothing!  They are included in the one low registration price.  But wait!  There’s more . . .

We’ve lined up not one, not two, not three, but four developers for our Meet with the Developers, also part of hackfest day.  Spend an hour chatting with Mike Rylander, Bill Erickson, Bill Ott, and Dan Scott as part of the Hands-On Coding for Developers Hackfest, all together in the same room at the same time!  Imagine the synergy!

And this new opportunity is also included in that one low registration price!  If you haven’t done so already, register for the 2010 Evergreen International Conference at http://www.evergreen2010.org/  If you’re already registered, make sure your travel plans now accommodate a full day of hackfests on Wednesday, April 21.

See you in Grand Rapids!