We are one week away from the 2024 Carolina Code Conference!
It might just be the humidity but you can definitely feel something in the air. Here's everything you need to know!
We still have about 20 tickets left if you want to grab one at the last minute. Ticket sales will close officially on Wednesday August 21st.
Here are the details that you need to know as the things get ready to kick off! There’s a lot going on so remember to tag pictures and tag us on LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Instagram, , Mastodon, BlueSky and YouTube while you’re having all this fun!
If you’re coming from out of town…
Zulip - The Conference Chat
Thursday - Welcome Social at GatherGVL, Baseball Game
Friday - Conference Day 1 Notes
Saturday - Conference Day 2 Notes
Event Parking and Food
If you’re coming from out of town…
First off, welcome to Greenville! We’ve taken some steps to make your experience a little bit easier while you are here.
Aloft Downtown to Flywheel Shuttle
If you’re staying at the Aloft Hotel Downtown, you’ll be happy to know that we’ve got a shuttle running all day during the conference thanks to our friends at Southern Valet. They will be going back and forth to the venue all day long. The Event Details page will be updated soon with specifics on pickup locations.
Even if you are staying elsewhere downtown, feel free to ride the shuttle if you like. Flywheel is just under 2 miles from Aloft Downtown so the shuttle should round trip every 15-20 minutes.
Hang out at OpenWorks Coworking on Thursday
Our friends over at OpenWorks have graciously offered to open their doors at no charge to Carolina Code Conference attendees who are looking for a place to gather, work and meet people when they get into town. It’s on the 3rd floor of the building right next door to Aloft, so extremely convenient for those staying in the block.
Use the Cowork Space | August 22 - 10 AM and 5 PM (drop-in anytime)
Have Lunch | August 22 - 12 PM to 1 PM
Have a beverage before the Conference Welcome Social at GatherGVL, then walk down together | August 22 - 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Just fill out this form so they have an idea if you’ll be stopping by!
Zulip - The Conference Chat
Zulip is an open source chat room system similar to Slack, Matrix, Rocket Chat and others but has a slightly different spin on things…they organize everything by topic. Very soon, every ticket-holder to the 2024 event will be receiving an invite to our Zulip instance!
From there, you can interact with other attendees, plan activities, share photos like a selfie with #RoyalJoel, talk to Our Sponsors and even ask questions of Our Speakers during the conference!
There’s a #2024-birds-of-a-feather channel where you can create topics based on shared interests. We have a #2024-on-the-town where you can get people together to grab dinner or experience downtown Greenville!
Our #2024-sponsors channel is where all of Our Sponsors will have a special carve out for you to talk to them, ask questions, get valuable information or just to thank them for making this event possible!
We have a very tight schedule for our speakers, so most will not have time to offer Q&A during their talks but all are encouraged to answer questions in the #2024-talks channel…under the topic for their talk.
If you’re wondering why everything has a 2024 prefix, that is because our 2023 attendees also have access. Think of it as a giant club for prior conference attendees where anybody who’s made it prior years but couldn’t make it can jump in to see how much they are missing…we still have 25 tickets remaining…
The Zulip instance doesn’t go away after the conference, so feel free to keep talking to all your new friends anytime you like.
Arrival Day (probably), Thursday August 22nd
There’s a lot going on!
Check out the venue
Volunteers, speakers and sponsors are welcome to come by to see the space, help with setup and test our the presentation equipment between 1pm and 4pm at Flywheel. You’ll all be getting separate emails from me, so be on the lookout!
Hang out at OpenWorks
As mentioned above, OpenWorks is happy to have you. Just read the information above and fill out the form to let them know you’re coming.
Welcome Social Thursday Night at GatherGVL
Thursday night we have rented out the upstairs of GatherGVL for a Conference Welcome Social from 6-7pm! If you’ve never been to Gather before it’s a great spot with multiple different food and beverage vendors, so you can find something that you like to eat, hang out and meet some other folks who will be attending the conference.
We’re also having the first ever (that I know of) Carolina Code Cake, courtesy of The Bakery Off Augusta!
A Greenville Drive Baseball Game
As luck would have it, the Greenville Drive stadium is right next door to GatherGVL and they have a game against the Rome Emporers that starts at 7:05pm. Tickets range from $9.00 to $20.00 if you feel like heading over with some of your new conference friends for a good time. Get a group together at GatherGVL or on Zulip…or both…
They have 2 promotions going that night, “Dollar Drink Night” and “Less Likes More Love Night presented by Snapchat”. We don’t even know if conference Snapchat accounts are a thing, but we just created a CodesCarolina account if you find a good use for us on there!
Conference Day 1 - August 23rd
Doors Open at Flywheel Friday at 7:30am
Anytime after 7:30am you can check in, get your badge and Lyrical Code T-shirt. Free parking is available at the venue, as well as our shuttle from the hotel mentioned above. We’ll have coffee, water and an assortment of breakfast snacks available for you as well while you chat with sponsors, attendees, dive into the DEF CON 864 Capture the Flag contest (to win a fabulous Raspberry Pi 5 kit and book)! Remember to bring your laptop if you’re planning to try your hand in the CTF!
I’ll kick off the conference welcome at 8:30am and the first of our 14 day one speakers, opening keynote Tim Tomes, will take the podium at 9am! Lunch will be served by Tropical Grille at 12:15 (details below) and the first day should wrap up by about 4:45.
Happy Hour by Fly.io at New Realm Brewing at 5pm
Fly.io is hosting a Happy Hour for the first 120 conference attendees who arrive at New Realm Brewing in downtown Greenville, from 5pm to 7pm. Those who attend will receive 2 drink tickets and a selection of Hors D'oeuvres to choose from as you mingle, network and have a great time.
Dinner & Comedy at Cafe and Then Some
If you grabbed a ticket for Cafe and Then Some’s dinner and comedy show, doors open for dinner at 6pm and the show will start at 8pm! They recommend arriving between 6-6:30pm to make sure you have plenty of time for dinner service.
Just a reminder, the ticket only covers entry for the show so you will be responsible for your meal. Check out the menu if you’re curious! If you listed any dietary restrictions on your conference ticket we will pass them along.
White Trash Lotus: A New Musical Comedy
Norma Jean and her sidekick Dot, along with the usual gang of crazies, have decided to turn Norma’s grandmother’s house on Lake Keowee into a luxury resort and spa. What could go wrong here?
Join Cafe regulars Susan Smith, Maureen Abdalla, Jim Wilkins, and the delightful Traysie Amick in WHITE TRASH LOTUS. a brand new musical comedy by Matt Smith.
After nearly 5 decades, this wonderful staple of the area recently announced that they will be closing their doors over the next year so don’t miss this great opportunity to get the full experience while you still can! If you didn’t grab a ticket with your conference order, you can still get them here.
Social and Game Night at OpenWorks
Didn’t grab a ticket for Cafe and Then Some but still don’t want your night to end? Go hang out with your crew for a Social and Game Night at Open Works from 7 to 9:30pm! Just fill out the form to let them know if you’re planning to attend!
Conference Day 2 - August 24th
Doors Open at Flywheel Saturday at 8am
After a big Friday night, we’re giving you an extra 30 minutes to sleep in on Saturday. Doors open at 8am and Jason Crome, the first of our 14 day two speakers, will get things rolling at 9am. Lunch will be served by Jason’s Deli at 12:15 (details below) and the second day should wrap up by no later than 5pm.
Wind Down at Fireforge
After the conference, wind down at Fireforge Crafted Beer, grab dinner with some of your new friends and enjoy downtown Greenville a little more before heading home!
Event Parking and Food
Flywheel has parking on site and a few of their neighbors have made space available for conference attendees as well. You will find a parking map for Flywheel with our Event Details. We will also be running a shuttle all day from the conference hotel, Aloft Downtown Greenville which anyone is welcome to use. If you plan to use the shuttle, we recommend parking in the Richardson St. Garage.
Lunch on Day 1 will be again be provided by Tropical Grille in a “Build Your Own Bowl” buffet style, which allows individual attendees to customize their dish to their specific dietary preferences (rice, beans, meat, vegetables, pita and sauce).
Lunch on Day 2 will be provided by Jason’s Deli with an assortment of sandwich, fruit, cheese and cookie trays. A selection of Gluten Free and Vegan boxed lunches will be available for attendees who indicated those dietary restrictions on their ticket orders.
Wow, that Tropical Grille lunch was delicious!! 😋😋😋
I signed up for the conference a while back. How do you sign up for a Zulip account? I don't see any email for me to reach out to with questions.