We've settled on dates and a location for the 2012 Public Lab barn
raising<http://publiclaboratory.org/wiki/2012-barnraising-cocodrie-la>which
we're all really excited about! This year's barn raising will be in
Cocodrie, Louisiana from November 2-4, 2012 at the Louisiana Universities
Marine Consortium facility and *you all are invited! *

You may be thinking, "what does raising a barn have to do with Public Lab?"
The barn raising is the closest thing that we currently have to a Public
Lab conference-- but with an emphasis on "doing stuff together" rather than
just presenting/talking. In the spirit of bringing a community together to
collectively raise a structure such as a barn, Public Lab is borrowing this
term and coming together to develop tools, toolkits, supporting materials
(such as guides and tutorials), test the tools and develop new research
directions and projects. Participants represent a wide range of interests
from social scientists and community organizers to technologists and
designers. This is a great chance to meet others, share ideas and get
involved in organizing the Public Lab community!

We're running this as an "unconference" so what we do during the weekend is
up to the participants, but broadly, we'd like to focus in on developing
out tools/ideas that relate to what could be considered an *oil spill
toolkit*. Please add session topics that you'd like to have on the wiki
page and list your name under any topic that you'd be interested in
participating with.

On the barn raising wiki
page<http://publiclaboratory.org/wiki/2012-barnraising-cocodrie-la>,
there is a bunch of helpful logistical information including a list of
current attendees and session topics, lodging options, travel information,
food (some of the best in the world!), weather and a list of useful items
to bring with. Please take a read through this page and if you still have
questions feel free to email me at shan...@publiclaboratory.org.

*If you're ready to come on down (or if you're considering), please fill
out this Google
Form<https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEdWOE1DNWczR3Ez...>.
*I need to reserve beds at LUMCON for everyone, so I'll need to hear from
people by October 10th. As this is an open event, please feel free to
forward this invitation on to others who you think might be interested in
coming.

As a final plug from a local about how great this event is going to be,
we're going to be about 1.5-2 hours from New Orleans in one of the most
beautiful places your can imagine, aptly named with the Cajun word for
crocodiles as Cocodrie literally sits in the middle of the Louisiana
wetlands. If you've ever been to a Public Lab event, we work hard, but also
like to have fun, so the weekend will include cookouts, fishing from the
dock and access to canoes to take a ride through the waters surrounding
Cocodrie. The barn raising is also the weekend after Halloween and a bunch
of us will be in New Orleans for the holiday, so if you're able to come
down earlier, there are also good times to be had with other Public Lab
folks in the city.

Looking forward to seeing some of you here and meeting others for the first
time! Shannon

--
Shannon Dosemagen
Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science
504.239.4642
publiclaboratory.org
@PublicLab/#barnraising2012