Hey, we now have a wiki for PHP Appalachia, so if you’re attending be sure to list your name on there. I could do it myself but what do I know; you may want to keep that your little secret. Plus, I’m lazy.

We’re also listing great places to eat, so if you know of any in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area, feel free to add it to the list.

Also, if you want to add fun places to go, that would be killer too.

We still have spots open for anyone that is interested in attending. Plus, we know it will be way better than PHP Vikinger… (just kidding, Derick ).

People have been asking me about the camping arrangements for PHP Appalachia, so here’s the deal, if you’re interested.

In order for us to formally reserve camp sites or cabins, we would have to provide upfront the full deposit on the cabins and one night’s fee for the tent sites. Not only do we not have the cash to front that, quite honestly I’m not sure how many of our attendees will want to camp versus making other arrangements (how many people can think that far ahead? )… thus making it difficult to reserve anything formally at this time.

However, what we’ve worked out with the Pigeon Forge KOA is that you can call and make your own reservations for whatever you want (camp site versus tent site) and mention that you’re with the PHP Appalachia group. They’ll do their best to keep us all together as a group.

Although they’re completely open right now, the sooner you make arrangements, the better chances you have of getting a reservation and being put with the rest of the group.

To make your reservation, you can call the Pigeon Forge KOA at (800) 562-7703. Incidentally, at the moment, if you try and reserve online it erroneously says that they’re all booked up, so you’ll have to call.

After a bit of a PHP Appalachia feeding frenzy earlier, all rooms have now been accounted for. However, if you still want to attend, there are a few things you can do:

1. Sign up with the $15 registration fee and request to be put on the waiting list for any rooms that might open up. If you are unable to attend, you will of course get your money back.
2. Sign up with the $15 registration fee and reserve a spot at the nearby KOA (http://koa.com/where/tn/42109/) to stay in a tent or a cabin. They are currently closed for the season but will reopen next week. We will be confirming large group availability then, but you are able to reserve individual cabins now.
3. Sign up with the $15 registration fee and make other arrangements for accommodations at a nearby hotel of your choosing.

Keep in mind that we will be limiting the number of attendees at the conference to 50. We still have spots open, but unfortunately I don’t know how long they will last. Of course if you register and then need to cancel, you will get your $15 back… so you should register now and at least reserve your spot.

We have only 2 rooms left! So if you’re interested in staying at the lodge, you need to contact me (elizabeth _-at-_ naramore _-dot-_ net) as soon as possible.

We are also coordinating a group at a nearby KOA if you’d rather camp or if you need a less expensive alternative. There will be a lot of coordination between the two groups, so everyone can appreciate the full unconference experience.

As well, we have developed cost-effective sponsorship packages, so if your company is interested in sponsoring the event, let us know.

PHP Appalachia is back and badder than ever! Instead of renting tiny little cabins, this time around we are going BIG.
We’re renting this entire lodge (affectionately known as the beast), complete with wi-fi, game room, and movie theater. You should really check out the supreme awesomeness of this structure.
Conference Specifics:

When? October 11-14, 2008.

Where? Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (where there is a lot of fun stuff to do)

What’s the Schedule? In true un-conference fashion, we will likely have a few informal presentations but for the most part we will let the participants dictate the course of the discussions. If you are interested in giving a talk or if you have an idea for a focused discussion or activity, contact Elizabeth Naramore or Keith Casey.

How much is it?
If you want to stay at the lodge, the cost per room is $100/night ($300 total). Almost all rooms have 2 beds so if you want to split the cost with someone you are obviously welcome to do so. (Spouses are welcome too!). We have a very limited number of rooms left (as in 6), so if you’re interested you should reserve one right away. We require $200 now, you can pay the rest later.

If you would rather make your own arrangements (or perhaps pitch a tent next to the cabin?) then you don’t owe us anything but your registration fee.

Registration for all conference participants is $15 for incidentals. Fee includes an official PHP Appalachia t-shirt.

So you’ll have a very captive audience for 4 days… interesting. How can my company sponsor this event?
There are several sponsorship opportunities available. If you’re interested in sponsoring this event, contact Elizabeth Naramore or Keith Casey.

How do I register?
We’re cleaning up the code to let you register for the conference online… but in the meantime you can email me (elizabeth .. at .. naramore .. dot ..net) and I’ll get you registered. You can register with your $15 now, which will reserve you a spot at the conf, but won’t reserve you a spot to stay at the lodge.

I have an unanswered question. Who should I contact?
You can contact Elizabeth Naramore or Keith Casey.

For anyone curious about what our plans are for the PHP Appalachia conference, we’ve posted our schedule here on the site. Our plan is to keep things flexible, but with a pinch of structure, and a couple of formal presentations thrown in for good measure. If you’re going to be attending and you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send an email to the mailing list, or to me or Ben.

It’s getting closer - only 7 more days until PHP Appalachia. Looks like the weather will be cooperative, at least as far as they can predict today. I’m dusting off my camping gear and getting ready to head out.

I wanted to give a quick acknowledgement to our sponsors for the event, as posted by Ben on our PHP Appalachia site. We have so many sponsors, and so many door prizes to give away, a good time will definitely be had by all. Their donations are really helping our grass roots gathering come together, and we all greatly appreciate their efforts. I also want to give a quick thanks to Cal Evans who also personally donated numerous t-shirts and goodies as well.

Our rough schedule is in the final stages of completion, and besides alotting time for our presentations and lively campfire discussions, we’re also going to be setting aside time for lightning talks (in true OSCON fashion) so the attendees can take the floor for 5-10 minutes and speak about whatever’s on their mind. We’ve also of course included time for hiking, sightseeing, and simply hanging out around the campsite. I’ll be posting the schedule to the PHP Appalachia site once everything is finalized… or as finalized as we’re getting at this gathering.

Although it’s only a week away, you can still register for the event. Registration is only $15, and all attendees get a free t-shirt and free Wi-Fi while they’re at the conference. The more the merrier we say - so come join us!

Thanks to Ben, we now have an IRC channel for PHP Appalachia: Freenode- #phpappalachia. Come join us!

The time for PHP Appalachia is drawing near, but don’t let the word of expired “deadlines” keep you from signing up; there is still time to register. In fact, you can register up until the event.

The reason we had deadlines was to ensure that those reserving a campsite/cabin would be placed with the group. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that you will be placed with the group now, but if you call the campground and request a site with us, they may be able to accomodate. Regardless of where your campsite is, there will still be plenty of room for you to hang out with the group.

Register today, and don’t forget to reserve your campsite/cabin!

Everybody knows a good conference gives stuff away. But since we’re on a budget here at PHP Appalachia, we decided to make our prizes a little more “not so fabulous”. The folks at www.giftsforengineers.com (read: me) have donated some door prizes that will be given away to one random attendee per day. So, all you have to do is just show up and you’ll be in the running.

What are those “not so fabulous” prizes, you ask?

• The Geek Man Action Figure (superman, shmuperman)
• Circuitboard Tic-Tac-Toe and Coaster Set (make good use of the environment and avoid work at the same time)
• Computer Lock (keep those laptop-stealing hooligans in line!)

And the best part is, because these are random giveaways, you can be a total schmuck-slob-loser and still win something. What could be better?