CivicActions Sponsors Pacific Northwest Drupal Summit

I am going to Drupal Summit 2009 this October 24th-25thIn just over a week, over 150 Drupaleers will gather in Seattle Washington for the first Pacific Northwest Drupal Summit. CivicActions is a proud Platinum Sponsor of this event.  I have helped other CivicActions team members Robin Barre and Jared Stoneberg along with many others from the local Drupal User Group with the planning and coordination for this event.

Just as in 2006 Seattle was at the forefront of the birth of DrupalCamps, I hope that the Summit will create a new paradigm for regional Drupal events that cater to people with Advanced Drupal experience and those making their livings with Drupal. 

Not everyone can fly across the country or half way around the world to make it to DrupalCons. We hope that this Summit will provide an affordable option for people in the Pacific Northwest to get together learn and share, as well as advance the Drupal framework.

There is not that much difference in the mechanics of the summit and the camps that have come before it. Much of the difference is in intention.  We decided to organize an event that goes beyond the basics and the intros.  We invited people submit advanced sessions, to look at Drupal 7 coming down the pike.  And the community stepped up.  There are some fantastic sessions scheduled over the two days of the Summit.

I’m excited to present a session on usability and Ubercart and another on selling Drupal 7 to and the decision on when an upgrade is appropriate.  I intend both sessions to be structured discussions with ample opportunity for participants to share their ideas and experiences.

I think I am even more excited about attending some of the other sessions, especially Robin Barre’s Managing CCK Changes in Code and separately her sessions on Features, Jen Lampton’s session on SEO, and Angus Pratt’s on Panels 3.

The weekend will not only be about organized sessions though, there wil also be Birds-Of-A-Feather sessions, including one on CiviCRM and another on Open Atrium that I intend to convene. And of course there will be social activities each night, including Friday.

If you haven’t registered for this event yet, and you can get to Seattle easily, or already live here, I highly recommend you reserve your spot today. Just visit the site and signup.