Hi Andrew,
Thanks for taking the lead on making sure we're all going to have a good time in Austin :-)
One comment to keep in mind - keep an eye on the extent to which alcohol consumption is a key focus of an event.
There will be underage attendees, there will be attendees with cultural problems with alcohol, and there will be attendees who simply choose not to drink. There's also the issue of social responsibility - when we're trying to improve diversity, an official "lets all get hammered on cheap booze" event doesn't exactly scream "we're making a female-safe event space".
I'm not saying that we can't have alcohol at events. I just want to make sure that if alcohol *is* involved, we're encouraging consumption in moderation, and that there are either alternatives for those who'd rather not be drinking, or the event is organised in such a way that having a beer is an option, but not a key part of the event. A non-drinker can enjoy watching a retro movie at a licensed theatre; they're not likely to enjoy going on a pub crawl :-)
Yours,
Russ Magee %-)