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VCF SoCal is happening, February 17-18 2024 in Orange CA

Lutiana

Lutiana

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When: Saturday & Sunday, February 17-18, 2024
(Presidents' Day Weekend)

Where: Hotel Fera - Events Center
100 The City Drive, Orange, CA 92868

More details to come, keep an eye on their website: https://vcfsocal.com
 
I live a few hours away on the far side of L.A., so its closer to me than the Science Center, but still not a part of town I am keen to visit. I might honestly prefer to wait and fly to Chicago.
 
Steve Toner said:
Uggh. 40 miles from Burbank and $28 parking. Would have much preferred to see it at the California Science Center @ Exposition Park...
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Hi, Steve. We've put a lot of thought into VCF SoCal and think you will actually see many positives; once you hear more. To note first; We researched nearly three-dozen venues in LA, Orange, and Riverside counties. Looking at venue quality, size, cost, parking, lodging, food, highway access, airports, and more.

The California Science Center for example has pros, but too many cons for us. Where are out-of-town attendees & exhibitors to stay? Hotels aren't on-site, and LA is Expensive. Parking; Well, Day Of Event parking for attendees at our venue will actually be $10 we are happy to say. The Science Center is $15. Plus, right at this moment of typing they state on their website: "Traffic Alert: Sunday, October 15th, expect heavy traffic in and around Exposition Park. Parking is not guaranteed. Please arrive early and plan accordingly". That would not be fun for us.

I know, 40 miles can mean an hour to two hours of driving around here. But, Its basically right in your backyard! :) Make it a weekend! Drive up Saturday, stay the night (Do I Hear Party?), go home Sunday night. Or, be an exhibitor and come up Friday afternoon to set up, and stay Friday night for the Exhibitor Welcome Party, and hang all night in the hotel Lobby/Bar geeking out with everyone else. Probably taking over all the electrical outlets! lol

We're doing our best here, with a ragtag team, and a ~budget~, to get this VCF in Southern California off the ground! Any feedback is good feedback; and appreciated. Thanks. Wish us Luck!

-Cheers, Steve / The VintNerd
 
hunterjwizzard said:
I live a few hours away on the far side of L.A., so its closer to me than the Science Center, but still not a part of town I am keen to visit. I might honestly prefer to wait and fly to Chicago.
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Hi. We can't figure out what is so bad that would make you say it's not a part of town you're keen to visit. If you're referring to Anaheim/Disney; There are plusses there, but we are not actually in that Disney bubble. We are near there, but far enough away. Is that it? -Thanks, Steve / The VintNerd
 
I know the decision's been made and so it's rather pointless to discuss it at this point, but I do hope that you will do a survey of attendees regarding the venue if you are planning to make this more than a one-time event.

(Pointless drivel follows)

Personally, I don't think it's a big deal for an event like this to have hotels on-site, and having the event in a hotel adds nothing to the experience. Look at VCF West: held at the Computer History Museum, VCF East (never been myself, but): Info Age Campus. The California Science Center is conveniently accessible by public transport. The Hotel Fera? Not. The California Science Center has a friggin' SPACE SHUTTLE. The Hotel Fera has, uh, a grand ballroom?

Oh yeah, and that warning about heavy traffic? Not an every-day occurrence. It's due to another event - a futbol game on that date at BMO Stadium.

It's not really in my back yard. I live ~200 miles up the coast, but I have a pied-à-terre in Burbank which I use as a base for my SoCal antics. So, having that, I'm not inclined to book a hotel in the area. If I attend, it will be as an exhibitor, and that means driving down on a Friday afternoon (bad time for traffic), setting up and then driving home (or rather, back to Burbank) Friday evening (bad time for traffic). Down and back Saturday (probably not too bad traffic-wise) and Sunday (Sunday evening might well be bad). I'm not really a highly social creature, so an Exhibitor Welcome Party doesn't thrill me (but possibly necessary to avoid the worst of the traffic on Friday evening)... So we'll see...
 
The VintNerd said:
Hi. We can't figure out what is so bad that would make you say it's not a part of town you're keen to visit. If you're referring to Anaheim/Disney; There are plusses there, but we are not actually in that Disney bubble. We are near there, but far enough away. Is that it? -Thanks, Steve / The VintNerd
Click to expand...

I have a general hatred for Los Angeles. I don't drive due to poor eyesight. If it were on the uphill side of LA I might be able to take a train over, but to get to that area I'd be looking at ride I couldn't do there and back in the same day. Unfortunately I haven't yet managed to find any fellow vintage computer enthusiasts in my area to ride with. So I'm just a little sore. Its actually easier for me to fly to Chicago than try to get across LA on public transit.
 
Steve Toner said:
I know the decision's been made and so it's rather pointless to discuss it at this point, but I do hope that you will do a survey of attendees regarding the venue if you are planning to make this more than a one-time event.

(Pointless drivel follows)

Personally, I don't think it's a big deal for an event like this to have hotels on-site, and having the event in a hotel adds nothing to the experience. Look at VCF West: held at the Computer History Museum, VCF East (never been myself, but): Info Age Campus. The California Science Center is conveniently accessible by public transport. The Hotel Fera? Not. The California Science Center has a friggin' SPACE SHUTTLE. The Hotel Fera has, uh, a grand ballroom?

Oh yeah, and that warning about heavy traffic? Not an every-day occurrence. It's due to another event - a futbol game on that date at BMO Stadium.

It's not really in my back yard. I live ~200 miles up the coast, but I have a pied-à-terre in Burbank which I use as a base for my SoCal antics. So, having that, I'm not inclined to book a hotel in the area. If I attend, it will be as an exhibitor, and that means driving down on a Friday afternoon (bad time for traffic), setting up and then driving home (or rather, back to Burbank) Friday evening (bad time for traffic). Down and back Saturday (probably not too bad traffic-wise) and Sunday (Sunday evening might well be bad). I'm not really a highly social creature, so an Exhibitor Welcome Party doesn't thrill me (but possibly necessary to avoid the worst of the traffic on Friday evening)... So we'll see...
Click to expand...

Micki & I talked with you and checked out your exhibit at VCF West (our table was around the corner; through the doorway). Would be nice to see you at VCF SoCal. Hope you can make it! -Cheers, Steve / The VintNerd
 
hunterjwizzard said:
I have a general hatred for Los Angeles. I don't drive due to poor eyesight. If it were on the uphill side of LA I might be able to take a train over, but to get to that area I'd be looking at ride I couldn't do there and back in the same day. Unfortunately I haven't yet managed to find any fellow vintage computer enthusiasts in my area to ride with. So I'm just a little sore. Its actually easier for me to fly to Chicago than try to get across LA on public transit.
Click to expand...

Of course, meeting fellow enthusiasts DURING VCF SoCal doesn't help with your transportation needs, but we will have a public messaging board up shortly. Hopefully, that can help connect with others locally. We should create a folder specifically for SoCal Locals to chat. Hope that'll help, and hopefully you can make the fest! -Cheers, Steve / The VintNerd
 
The VintNerd said:
Of course, meeting fellow enthusiasts DURING VCF SoCal doesn't help with your transportation needs, but we will have a public messaging board up shortly. Hopefully, that can help connect with others locally. We should create a folder specifically for SoCal Locals to chat. Hope that'll help, and hopefully you can make the fest! -Cheers, Steve / The VintNerd
Click to expand...

I did sow up on this forum to find like-minded enthusiasts :cool: So who knows?
 
Steve Toner said:
bad time for traffic
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To be fair, is there ever a good time for traffic in the LA area? I've been down there more that a few times and found the traffic to be bad pretty much 24x7.

I'll be coming down from the San Francisco area myself, and trying to work out if I'll drive down, or fly/uber.

@The VintNerd Welome to forums! Feel free to use this thread for any and all updates, and don't let the rabble get you down with their complaints. It's awesome to see an event in So Cal happening!
 
Lutiana said:
To be fair, is there ever a good time for traffic in the LA area? I've been down there more that a few times and found the traffic to be bad pretty much 24x7.
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But if that's the case, doesn't that argue for a venue that is readily accessible by public transit (and in particular, I'm talking subway and light rail, not buses) if you're looking to maximize attendance?

LA has OK times, bad times and unbearable times. For instance, (speaking from personal experience) there are times when you can drive 80 MPH on the 405. There are other times when you walk a particular 3 mile stretch faster than you can drive it. Some say traffic's fine as long as you stay off any freeway with a 5 or 10 in its number.

This one's going to be where it is, and hopefully it is successful. But I'm hoping to see it as an annual event and trying to look ahead to see if the location can be improved on for future events, so feedback is useful. And I think the most useful feedback would come from those who considered attending but decided not to. In addition, of course, to those who do attend indicating what they liked and didn't like about the event as it was...

Lutiana said:
don't let the rabble get you down
Click to expand...
rabble?
 
Steve Toner said:
But if that's the case, doesn't that argue for a venue that is readily accessible by public transit (and in particular, I'm talking subway and light rail, not buses) if you're looking to maximize attendance?
Click to expand...
Public transit is not ubiquitous in So Cal. It's far too big and diverse. The LA rail system pretty much stops at the 605. I have no idea how far north it goes (does it even go into the San Fernando Valley?). There's the Amtrak commuter system which can service both the IE, LA, and OC, but not all at once. It's a real pain to go from the IE to OC via the Amtrak system. But LA to OC is easy, and The Block (where this is hosted, is it still called The Block?) is not that far from the ARTIC in Anaheim (which is the transit hub near Angels Stadium and Honda Center). So, light rail to Union Station to Amtrak to ARTIC to bus to Block. Scheduling may well be another trick, however.

The distances are so far, that while the bus system has solid penetration in LA and OC, it's all local. It takes forever to go anywhere. When I lived in OC, I could have taken a bus from my house to my office, 7 miles, but it literally would have been faster to walk. I was a heavy user of the bus system back in my college days, and San Gabriel valley to my friends house near downtown LA was a 2 hr trip. I had a similiar, 5:30am boarding time to get to my 8am position from the San Gabriel valley to near Long Beach (including a 20min walk from the bus stop to the office). Both of those would normally be 1/2 hour (not during rush hour, naturally) by car.

So, yea, the bus system exists, but I don't consider it usable for any real distances.

And, honestly any Downtown LA venue I expect would be more expensive than an OC one.
 
whartung said:
So, yea, the bus system exists, but I don't consider it usable for any real distances.
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Also consider people might be bringing or taking home very heavy things. Vintage computers are not known for being easy to transfer by bus.
 
The VintNerd said:
Micki & I talked with you and checked out your exhibit at VCF West (our table was around the corner; through the doorway). Would be nice to see you at VCF SoCal. Hope you can make it! -Cheers, Steve / The VintNerd
Click to expand...
I'm trying to figure out how to make it work for me. Maybe just Friday night in a nearby hotel (not necessarily the venue hotel) - that would eliminate one whole round trip and the worst of the Friday-of-a-long-weekend traffic...
 
Steve Toner said:
I'm trying to figure out how to make it work for me. Maybe just Friday night in a nearby hotel (not necessarily the venue hotel) - that would eliminate one whole round trip and the worst of the Friday-of-a-long-weekend traffic...
Click to expand...
If you're coming from the far side of LA from the venue, one trick is to go the long way around. It might not cut much time off but at least you'll be moving the whole time.
 
Lutiana said:
@The VintNerd Welome to forums! Feel free to use this thread for any and all updates, and don't let the rabble get you down with their complaints. It's awesome to see an event in So Cal happening!
Click to expand...
Thanks, Jarrod! Working on updating the website for Ticketing and such. Will post when ready. :) -Cheers, Steve
 
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