Kiwi PyCon 2014: One month to go!

[Tom Eastman]

Time flies! And it's now just under one month until Kiwi PyCon 2014
kicks off on the 12 of September in Newtown, Wellington.

We have a couple things to get through in today's update:

* Registration and tutorials
* Accommodation!
* Financial aid
* Dinner plans


Registration and tutorials
==========================

(tl; dr: act *now* to get the last tutorial spots! And register soon for
the main event!)

We're thrilled to see the registration numbers climb -- as of this
minute we've already sold almost almost half our tickets and the number
is climbing by the hour.

If you *are* intending to come to Kiwi PyCon, don't delay but register
as soon as you can! Our ticket prices are so cheap that it's hard to
incentivise early sales (there's no point in having an 'early-bird'
price when the main price is so affordable!), but if you register early
you're really doing us a favour by helping us confirm numbers and
solidify our plans.

Eventually there *will* be some firm deadlines, for example: "register
before XXXX or you won't be guaranteed a T-Shirt in your size". Or you
might even miss out on catering!

We'll warn you when we're about to bump into one of those deadlines, but
please, if you're going to come to Kiwi PyCon, tell us sooner rather
than later!

As for tutorials -- you're very nearly out of luck! As I write this two
tutorials are sold out, one has six places left, and the other has
exactly ONE spot left (Maybe you should go and register for it then keep
reading...).

The registration details are all at:

http://kiwi.pycon.org/registration/

Better head there now, sign up, and then come back and read the rest.


Accommodation!
==============

(tl; dr: Book your accommodation soon soon like now soon we can't
emphasize it enough kind of yesterday soon)

On the weekend of the 12th of September there is not only the best
Python conference ever happening, but also an All Blacks vs South Africa
match.

Hotels and accommodation are filling up fast! Wellington is not a small
town but it's going to be filled to the brim.

(Not to mention, with the general election the next week all sorts of
other characters might be flitting into town)

The Kiwi PyCon team have managed to reserve sets of rooms at two hotels
-- one in Kilburnie and one a bit out of town at Lower Hutt. The
Kilburnie hotel is a short bus ride to the venue, and the Angus Hotel
(Lower Hutt) is a longer ride but we'll be chartering a bus to and from
the hotel.

However, you need to know that we can only hold onto these blocked
bookings for about another week. After that they will be released again
to be snapped up by the general non-Pythonista public, and we want to
make sure you all have a place to stay before that happens!

Head to http://kiwi.pycon.org/accommodation/ for the details on some
hotels, don't wait till the week before the conference!


Financial Aid
=============

(tl; dr: If you want to come but don't think you can afford it, ask for
help!)

Once again this year, Kiwi PyCon has launched a financial aid program
for those who wish to come to Kiwi PyCon but are worried about being
able to afford it.

The details are all online at http://kiwi.pycon.org/financial-aid/ but
the low-down is: send an email to kiwi...@nzpug.org with "Application
for Financial Aid" with a brief rundown on who you are and what sort of
assistance you're hoping to get, that is: we want to know if you just
need help paying for the ticket, or if you need help with flights, or
accommodation, or any combination of the above.

If you:

- want to come to Kiwi PyCon, and
- are not sure if you can, and
- are not sure if you're the sort of person who can apply for financial
aid, then:

let me answer: you are EXACTLY the sort of person who can apply for
financial aid.


Dinner Plans
============

(tl; dr: Announcement and a new event on the registration page coming soon!)

The conference dinner will be on Saturday night, the final details are
being pinned down now. We'll send out an announcement when the
registration for the dinner opens, along with the details about time and
location.


That's it for this edition, but look look out soon for some more
announcements in the works!

See you all soon!

Tom

On behalf of the New Zealand Python User Group and the Kiwi PyCon team.