Putting on the Ritz...

I recently had the pleasure to attend Joomla!Day Austin, which was organized by Melinda and Kyle Ledbetter and held at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas.

The event was unique in so many ways... It was held in a movie theater with food and beverage service at your seat. It was a single track event consisting of four sessions and the closing comments, with each session featuring two presenters. The theme throughout the sessions was based on a site redesign (before and after) for Minis and Friends.

Based in Austin, Minis and Friends is “a 501c3 non-profit orgnaization of caring people and horse lovers dedicated to sharing the love and spirit of miniature horses to those who need special, tender care”. The Austin JUG members selected them from a group of non-profits, and this J!Day helped them get a free website done by some of Joomla's best and brightest designers and developers.

What I liked about this format was the perspectives given by the presenters on how they use Joomla, and what their favorite tools and tricks are. For example, during the template design session featuring Kyle Ledbetter and Andy Miller, they showed how they go about the design process, color selections and where they find thieir inspirations. There will be a video posted on the Joomla!Day Austin website which includes the entire session and links to the speakers' presentations.

Here is a shameless plug: I brought the JoomStew microphone along, and together with Jen Kramer, we interviewed several of the presenters, as well as the recipients of the website makeover. Thanks to all who particapted!

What goes on at a Joomla!Day?

Something that began at Joomla!Day Chicago in July, was based on the question, “what can be built with the platform?”. It has since been a breakout session featured around the world at several Joomla!Days. OSM president, Ryan Ozimek, wrote a great article on his experiences and tells how you can get involved and even build your own J!Platform application. 

The upcoming Joomla!DayNYC is planning to have a JoomlaDevDay on Sunday for all you hard core programmers. There is also a special Roadmap Planning session, coordinated by the Joomla Production Leadership Team (PLT), to be held Friday night. You can still register for these events, but hurry!

Plan to attend a JDay in your area! Here is a list of some upcoming Joomla!Days: http://community.joomla.org/events/joomla-days.html No Joomla!Day listed near you? Why not organize one?

What's involved in organizing a Joomla!Day?

Patience, a great venue, sponsors and some helping hands. If you'd like to help organize an event, get in touch with your local Joomla User Group and join the Joomla Events Google group. You'll find plenty of encouragement and a mentor to help guide you along the way. 

The Joomla!Day Charter, http://community.joomla.org/events/joomladay-charter.html, is also a great resource for organizers. Once, you are in planning mode, don't forget to request a LiveStream of your event to share with the world! 

Cheers! 

As always, the best part about Joomla!Days is the camaraderie of our incredible community. So, go enjoy and be sure to tell us about your favorite Joomla!Day experience!