added myself; But it all depends on date and location… since i’d have to take a plane ride from the Netherlands and last minute changes makes it expensive 
Should we, in the list of Vendors, include all vendors we WANT to be there, and the status? (confirmed, being talked to, not approached yet ) so we can let people approach them?
Just some general info - both weekends in July that we were looking at have been taken, so now we’re looking at September or October. Hopefully it’ll get set in stone early enough for people to hop on early prices for flights. @zeno the lists of both members attending and vendors attending are not official, they are just to gain a general idea of who might want to show up so that I know how much space we need. Soon I will be contacting vendors asking individually, asking what the level of interest is.
Keep in mind, most manufacturers need a year+ to budget and plan for a major trade show / convention event
Man if the Boosted riders are there you better have outlets everywhere…it’ll look like iPhones at the airport
What if, instead of a costly convention, we organize a large unsanctioned group ride? Like the Broadway Bomb, but not a race.
If you want to filter out the boosted boys, just make the route farther than 5 miles
If everybody wants that, I can stop organizing…
i like the convention idea
Me too, I am sure there will be plenty of fun group rides sprinkled in!
I say it should be pushed back for next year in order to see all the options available (like whether or not to make this an independent thing or joining an already happening program like @sofu recommended). I know everyone’s eager to have it this year, but in order to pull this off, this has to be planned down to the T.
This way people can plan out their vacation days and travel plans better & like @Alphamail said:
At this stage I’m not sure why we need to build this event from scratch. Can’t we piggyback onto an existing event? Makerfaire San Mateo/NYC/Detroit seems like the natural fit, and it would provide a built-in audience that might actually grow this community and provide an alternative entry point to skateboarding/longboarding. It should also allow us to make contacts with potential future esk8con vendors who may want to sponsor such a convention. Vendors like inventables, shapeoko, autodesk, epilog, lulzbot, etc.
I totally get the want to have a dedicated convention though. Look at MRRF and how it’s grown over the years. But those guys started small - really small and grew from there. I honestly think that this first dedicated esk8con should be about building community (riders/builders/vendors) and preparing for the next esk8con. Try some things and see what works and what doesn’t with a limited group of people. Call it a trial run and learn as much as possible.
I second this
0 voters
I agree 100+% with this part @akhlut: “I honestly think that this first dedicated esk8con should be about building community (riders/builders/vendors) and preparing for the next esk8con. Try some things and see what works and what doesn’t with a limited group of people. Call it a trial run and learn as much as possible.”
i think makerfaire detroit is a great idea 
I third this
I’m willing to do this @ WMF in September, and we could probably get some of the NYC eskate crew there.
I know A2ESK8 was at the detroit maker faire a few years ago.
Any builders in the bay area want to apply to exhibit in May @ san mateo?
yea and they have a booth there again 
I know a lot of drones guys mixed up with the big maker fair in the bay area, it is an appropriate audience for DIY eskating and would give tons of exposure…
Got a call back from both Shadow Cliffs and The Fairgrounds today. Shadow Cliffs said that they don’t cater to events like this, but the Fairgrounds would love our business, given that we use a few different spaces from out original request (that have still more than enough space). Here’s what I was sent:
All calculations based on 2 day weekend event, with setups and tear down way before/after
Building C 14100 square ft - 3600 Festival paved lot - 9000 Commerce court (green area) - 1200
Total: $13,800
Other info and pricing:
SO HERE’S WHAT I’M THINKING:
Rather than pay for a paved parking lot, since this is probably going to end up in September or October anyways, let’s just rent one larger building (thousands of dollars cheaper) and make the entire event (including races) indoors. That way everybody is in the same space, which also makes security super easy. I’m continuing to look into sponsors as well to bring down the cost. Tickets are still looking to be about 20$/person
