Born Online
Event Camp was born out of an online Twitter group of Event professionals called #eventprofs*. (Yes! The digital world does create face-to-face events!)
This passionate group of planners and suppliers started meeting online and participating in Twitter chats every Tuesday and Thursday. Over time the community grew and grew. Eventually, one year later – Event Camp was born on February 6, 2010 in New York City.
Self Organized
The first Event Camp was organized by passionate #eventprofs community members – Christina Coster, Mike McAllen, Jessica Levin, Jeff Hurt and Michael McCurry. The Event took place at the Roger Smith Hotel in New York City. It was a smashing success.
Attendees came from as far away as California and Europe to participate. There were several people that spent their Saturday participating in the event remotely.
Since that first event Four Event Camps have taken place in Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Chicago. In 2011 – there are event camps scheduled in Silicon Valley, Minneapolis, London, Philadelphia and Vancouver.
All of the events in the event camp series are volunteer driven. The revenues generated from the events are invested back into the innovations of the events.
Event Camp Twin Cities History
Event Camp Twin Cities is an innovation lab for event professionals. The First Event Camp Twin Cities took place on September 8-9 2011 at McNamara Alumni center. It was organized by Ray Hansen and Samuel J. Smith. Nearly 75 people attended in person, 30 people in Dallas, Texas and Basel, Switzerland and over 550 people online. By several measures the event was considered a success.
Here are five press articles about Event Camp Twin Cities that do an excellent job of painting a picture of what happened in 2010 and what this event is about:
- Meeting Accomplished (Minnesota Hospitality Journal)
- EventCamp: An Innovation Lab for Meeting Planners (Twin Cities Business)
- More than Remotely Successful (PCMA Convene)
- An Instant News Channel for Conferences (Corporate Meetings & Incentives)
- Ideas from Event Camp Twin Cities (Minnesota Meetings & Events)
