JoomlaDay Florida 2019 planning has started, and we wish to thank all of our past attendees for sharing their comments and insight on how we can make 2019 the best year for JoomlaDay Florida!
What we know so far:
After three years we have learned so much about producing a JoomlaDay, and we aren't done yet!
Dates:
When we started our JoomlaDay, we set out to take advantage of the winter months to give our friends up north a much-needed break from the snow. This worked perfect, and we attracted almost 40% of our attendees from outside Florida. One of the downsides of doing the conference in February or March is the peak season pricing and availability of hotels and venues. To help our attendees afford the local hotels and give us more venue options we want to move the dates to May, by doing this the hotel rates go down over 100%! We also love the idea of theming JoomlaDay 2019 on May the 4th be with you, a nod to one of our most beloved science fiction films and the release of Joomla! 4. More info about this follows....
Over the past three years, we have gone from a one-day event to a two day and to a three-day event, well almost three. After trying many formats, we have decided to bring back the 2017 approach to 2 full days with sessions on day one and workshop and certification on day two. We will also offer certification training on the Friday afternoon before, as we saw a 50% increase in passing scores by doing so! We also plan to make the networking and sessions better by having full hour-long sessions and 15 to 30-minute breaks.
Sessions / Speakers:
Every year we have strived to bring speakers from international Joomla community to Florida, and we look forward to expanding on this theme. We had some great input from our survey on the sessions and are happy that you liked 98% of the suggested talks!
If our budget allows this year, we plan on bringing in some significant keynotes that will knock your socks off with their ideas, knowledge, and presentations.
Venue:
Our past venue, the HCC Ybor Campus has a few downfalls on May the 4th. The theater that we used for the opening keynote is not available and the main stage theater that we have intended to use for years across the street is not possible either, This would mean we would only be on the third floor of the HCC Student Services building as we have been in the past.
Last year we wanted to give a better experience by adding the theater and this year we want to too! We are currently looking directly across the street at the historic Cuban Club. We toured the venue last year, but due to construction, we were unable to rent the site. The venue is more expensive and would add changes we are working on such as WIFI and rental of AV equipment.
Lunch:
We have kept our original Cuban Sandwich theme that represents our Ybor City location. In 2019 we will add more options to enhance a sit down networking lunch.
Pricing:
We plan on keeping the event affordable for all. Early bird tickets will begin at the rate of $15, advance tickets will be $30, winter 2019 advance will be $50, regular tickets will be $75, and late registration will be $100. We have offered free tickets in the past, but due to the starting price of $15 and the low hotel rates, we will only be offering free tickets for special cases.
