Venue

Venue for the workshop

Any workshop venue should have the following:

• Wireless internet access
• An open area large enough to fit all participants (for the Installfest and intro/closing presentations)
• Spaces for small groups
• This could be meeting rooms, lounges, or any nook that is adequately sequestered from other groups.

Ideally, your small groups will have access to a white board or large sticky notes or some way of writing information on the board. They should also have a projector or monitor to look at things together, but if you have to pick between being able to write notes on the board and seeing a screen, choose writing notes.

Venue for the afterparty

After-parties are generally held at a location other than the workshop venue. Hosting an all-day workshop requires effort on the sponsor's part. Hosting an afterparty is a different event and requires even more effort. Having it at a nearby bar, coffee shop, etc. means letting the host move their chairs back.

So how does this work?

• Most of the time, it's not a big deal to pile into a bar, since we're arriving around 5pm on a Saturday, before things are busy. For especially big workshops (>100 people total) it's a good idea to give the bar a heads up and reserve the space. (We don't pay for the space though.)
• Students pay for their own drinks
• If there's an after-party sponsor, the money is used to pay for drinks (and a tip!)
• The expectation is one drink per volunteer
• Cost of after-party sponsorship is relative to the number of volunteers
• After-parties can still happen if there's no drink sponsor – it's just a nice thank you for volunteers

If there's an after-party sponsor:

• Use drink tickets (either pre-made or just rip up a piece of paper)
• Let the bartender know to put these drinks on the tab
• If you have extra money, it's nice to get some appetizers to share
• See the sample budget for an example