Wondering what this CodeMash thing is all about?  Or are you a veteran CodeMasher? Somewhere in between, maybe? Sit back and relax, and grab your favorite hot or cold beverage. We’re excited to offer you a mini series: “What to Expect”… v2.0.1.8.

Before we dive into the deep end, it’s important that you don’t go overboard with CodeMash. To make sure you (and the rest of us) have a great time, and don’t wear yourself out, follow the basic rules of 1-2-3.

  1. One shower a day. Puh-leeze.
  2. Two meals a day. We know it’s hard to break away from sessions, board games, and open spaces, but please eat two meals a day.
  3. Three hours of sleep. Many are up early for breakfast, go to sessions all day, hit the Artemis simulator, a reception, then an after party later on. That’s cool if that is how you roll, but getting three hours of sleep each day is a bare minimum to keep you functioning. Plus you need time to charge your phone.

Please also make sure you are familiar with our Code of Conduct. By having a ticket, you were required to agree to it, but we want to reiterate the importance. Making CodeMash a safe place for all attendees is our top priority. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, lets get down to business!

Tuesday & Wednesday

If you’re coming on Tuesday you are in for a real treat. Roughly 50% of the crowd attends the Pre-Compiler, though this year it’s even a bit more than that!

Before you Arrive

Arriving On Site

  • Most likely, you’ll want to get checked into your hotel. If you are staying on site at the Kalahari, hotel check-in won’t be available until after 4pm.  Arrived before then? You can still check in and request a text message when your room is ready. For other hotels, check-in times may vary- please refer to the hotel web sites for that information.
  • The Conference is held in the convention center. It is located on the opposite end of the water park.  You can view the floor plan in the Mobile App, and also here: https://www.kalaharimeetings.com/media/251861/OH_floorplan_capacity_chart.pdf
  • Head to the Orange Booth for registration. It is located towards the center of the conference area.  You will see a large bronze Lion, which happens to be across from the registration booth.  It’s hard to miss.

Registration

  • Registration will be open on Monday night at approximately 6pm. It will also be open right before breakfast Tuesday and Wednesday morning, and throughout the day. Registration for the main conference ticket holders (Thurs/Fri only) will not be available until after 6pm on Weds. The shortest lines will be in the evening.
  • Please bring you EventBrite ticket, or have your ticket available on your mobile app.We simply need the bar code on your ticket (either paper or on your mobile device). If your dog ate your ticket, don’t worry- we have a special line for you, but it’s going to take more time to manually check you in.
  • We will hand you your badge and some other stuff when you register. The wonderful intern volunteers will also do their best to explain how things work (like how to redeem soda/snack tickets).
  • New this year: in order to keep the line moving, hoodie pickup will be across from Zebrawood (outside of suite 4).  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE only request the hoodie in the size that you put on your ticket. Otherwise, someone who registers later may not get the right sized hoodie, and that’s just not cool. No extra hoodies are available, so please don’t request one for your cat (or significant other, child, pet wookiee, etc.).

Pre-Compilers: What to Expect

  • All sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday (Pre-Compiler days) are in 4 hour blocks. Why so long? It’s so you can get into some hands on activity, and/or really dive into a deep topic.
  • Some sessions are repeated. Some are not. (Hint: check the schedule)
  • Some sessions have two parts to them (a half day in the morning, a half day in the afternoon).

The Law of 2 Feet

  • If the session just isn’t doing it for you, don’t feel obligated to stay. The speakers won’t mind, and you should do what you can to get the most out of CodeMash while you are here.
  • Simply head for the door and find another session to go to. If you are doing some kind of pair programming activity (or something collaborative in nature), please be courteous and give them a heads up as well.

Food & Beverage

  • We want you to stay hydrated. All session rooms will have carafes of water and cups in the back.
  • Snack stations will be open throughout the day, and will have a variety of healthy and less healthy snacks and beverages. You will be able to redeem your “snack and soda” tickets on your badge at these stations.
  • Snack stations are in the Zambezi booth, and in Marakesh. Coffee will be the regular hallway spots (outside suite 6), and outside the Atrium.
  • Pro Tip: snack and beverage tickets are good for the day only as stated. (Reason being: it’s the only way to effectively scale).
  • Coffee is available all day, but not in the hall during meals. During meals, Coffee is moved to the dining room.
  • Breakfast and Lunch will be provided.
  • There isn’t an attendee dinner on Tuesday or Wednesday, so you have from 5pm – 8pm on your own. There are several restaurants in the Kalahari, and many in the surrounding area. This is also a good time to get some waterpark time in, because the week only gets busier.
  • Special Meals: If you indicated that you need a special meal when registering your ticket, you can pick it up in the main dining hall. The location is to the far left, by the buffet lines, if you are facing the stage. Please check in each day in the window. If the buffet food meets your needs, you are welcome to get food from there as well.

Other Activities running during the Pre-Compiler

  • Many non-session activities are also running concurrently with Pre-Compiler content.
  • 3d Printing and Artemis/Laser Tag: 3d Printing will be held in the CodeMash Factory, which is located in the Executive Center and specifically, in the Guava and Tamarind Rooms. Tickets are not required for 3d printing (just show up), but will be required for Artemis/Laser Tag. Those tickets should be available soon, and we will tweet /blog an announcement.  Artemis/Laser will be running in Salon C and F (just remember: Captain Firk).
  • Boardgames will be held in Salon B&G (as in BoardGames).

KidzMash

  • KidzMash registration will be the same hours as regular attendee registration, but is located by the Disapproving Gorilla at the base of the grand staircase to the hotel, right outside the Acacia room.
  • KidzMash sessions are listed along with the Session Schedule. They are held in the rooms that are closest to the hotel portion of the Kalahari (towards the large stair case): Ironwood, Crown Palm, Acacia, and Banyan.

Sponsors

  • This year, we have only one Pre-Compiler sponsor! (Most sponsors have opted to do the main conference only).
  • Please go visit Geeny, who will be exhibiting right outside the CodeMash Factory. Check out their CodeMash landing page as well.  They will be near the executive center and have some really cool IoT stuff to show you.

Evening Festivities

  • Tuesday night starting at 8pm: come join us for the Pre-Compiler Mixer. It will be in the main ballroom where the meals are held. Light appetizers and drinks will be provided.
  • Wednesday night starting at 7pm: Corey Haines will be hosting the infamous Lightning Talks! These are a series of (usually) really interesting talks, all of which are only 6 minutes each! Read more about it here.
  • Wednesday night starting at 8pm: the Welcome reception is in Marakesh (the bar/restaurant area in the Convention Center). It will sprawl into the hallway as well. We have a band lined up as well!

Special Accommodations 

  • Don’t want to wear your coat around all day? No problem, we offer a coat check, located right near the conference center door at Aloeswood Registration.
  • If you would like to have a quiet time/prayer room, come to Orange Registration and request a key. The room is located in Hospitality Suite 2.
  • We also have a mother’s room available. Please request a key at Orange Registration.

Whew, is that all?

  • We’ve got most of it covered, but there are other things going on we forgot to mention.
  • Be sure to stay tuned to our major comms channels (Twitter, Slack) to stay up to date with the latest.