The PyCon US Blog

Before we get under way,  https://us.pycon.org/2015/onsite/ is your go-to for all things once you're at PyCon. Here are some important details and things coming up. WiFi: SSID is "PyCon 2015" and upon joining the network you'll be presented with a popup (you may need to try to visit a site first).  Download the Guidebook app to keep track of it all. Our schedules and events are all loaded in there, and you can build your own personal schedule, complete with notifications to keep you up to date on what talks are going on when. Head to  https://guidebook.com/getit/  and install it for your device! Lunch Menus We put together the menus for each of the lunches and breaks, and where possible, have listed ingredients. If you've made a specific meal request on your registration, be sure to ask our friendly lunch staff for the type of meal that suits you. Registration Pick up your badge starting at 7 AM the next few days! The closing hours differ by day so ch...

Come celebrate with us as we kickoff the weekend with snacks and drinks at our Opening Reception  in the expo hall, Thursday from 6-9 PM. Whether you spent the day in tutorials or you just got in town before the talks begin, join your fellow attendees in mingling around, chatting about what you're up to, seeing what our sponsors have on tap for the night, and getting ready for another great weekend of PyCon. Each attendee will get a complimentary drink ticket, and we'll have various light snacks available as well. There's no registration needed, just show up and enjoy yourself!

There's a lot going on at PyCon this year. If you've paid for tutorials, you have those to keep track of. Then there's the free sponsor tutorials. Then there's 95 talks going on in 5 parallel tracks. Then there's open spaces. Then there's evening stuff. Lots of stuff! When you pick up your badge at registration we'll have paper schedules available, but as you can imagine with paper, it's not live and doesn't tell you when things update or give you reminders. That's where Guidebook comes in. We have once again partnered with them to provide an excellent web and mobile schedule for you to keep track of everything at  https://guidebook.com/guide/31995/ . They also have apps for Windows, Android, and iOS available in your platform's app store. Once you've opened the Guidebook app, search for PyCon 2015 and it'll be right at the top. Choose to get that guide and you'll be in sync. Once you have the book loaded, you can view th...

You might have known that Python's 1.0 release came at the start of 1994, but did you know Microsoft shipped its Merchant Server 1.0 product built on Python only a few years later in 1996 ? Microsoft, this year's Keystone sponsor, has long been a user and supporter of Python, with a history of use within build and test infrastructure and individual users all around the company. There are even a few lawyers writing Python code. In 2006 they introduced the world to IronPython , a .NET runtime for Python, and later the excellent Python Tools for Visual Studio plug-in in 2011. They continue to release Python code, as it's "a must-have language for any team that releases developer kits or libraries, especially for services on Azure that can be used from any operating system," according to Steve Dower, a developer on Microsoft's Python Tools team. "Python has very strong cross-platform support, which is absolutely critical these days," says Steve. ...

We're really happy to be holding our fourth annual 5K Charity Fun Run on Saturday April 11 at 7 AM, before day two of PyCon kicks off. The event was introduced in Santa Clara and has been fun for everyone involved and each year has raised money for a bunch of great causes. This year's proceeds benefit Autism Speaks Canada ! Everyone is invited to come out and join us on the course which snakes along the Port of Montreál just a short walk from the conference center and hotels. Whether you're a runner, walker, or someone who just wants to come out and support Autism Speaks, registration is available at Eventbrite for $20. In the past we've sponsored the American Cancer Society , Autism Speaks , the Epilepsy Foundation , the Electronic Frontier Foundation , and the John Hunter Memorial Fund . For more information about Autism Speaks Canada, see http://www.autismspeaks.ca/. At Autism Speaks Canada, our mission is to change the future for all who struggle wi...

As we previously wrote , signup for our free Sponsor Workshops is open and the schedule has now been completed! While registration isn't required, it helps us plan for room sizes and for drinks and snacks, so head to Eventbrite and choose as many as you want! Wednesday morning gets under way at 9 AM with a team from Elastic taking attendees through the popular Elasticsearch distributed search engine. Honza Král will introduce the various Python clients for working with Elasticsearch, and will be joined by Logstash developer Pier-Hughes and Peter from their solutions engineering team. The full description is available at  https://us.pycon.org/2015/schedule/presentation/475/ . The 3:30 PM Wednesday slot features Mark Lavin, Caleb Smith, and David Ray of Caktus Group taking the stage to share their knowledge of RapidSMS and Django . We previously wrote about how they've used SMS while building a voter registration system in Libya, so come see first hand how they do it. Th...

While the majority of the greater PyCon schedule consists of events that we've had calls for proposals for, there are two other big pieces to the weekend that are organized on-site in Montréal: Lightning Talks and Open Spaces. Lightning Talks are five minute talks that take place at the beginning and/or end of the day in 30 or 60 minute blocks. We've had some amazing talks packed into such a small slot, either by people who planned them ahead, or even some that were conceived at lunch that day. The Django project was first introduced to the public in a lightning talk at PyCon 2004. Docker was first demoed in a lightning talk at PyCon 2013. It's definitely an event you don't want to miss, and there are five sessions worth of them: one Friday, and two each Saturday and Sunday. If you're interested in giving a Lightning Talk, be on the lookout for the signup boards near the registration desks that you'll need to get your name onto. Unlike last year, we're...

Explore Montréal Sponsored by Caktus Group PyCon 2015  is in the center of an exciting city full of  great food , culture, and history. It would be a shame to not check it out while you're in town! In addition to the conference's five tracks of talks, there will be a  sixth track  – an opportunity for you to explore Montréal.  These events are open to all PyCon attendees and those traveling with them to PyCon.  What When Free guided tour of  Old Montréal Friday April 10h, 10:30am - 1pm Free guided tour of  Plateau Mont-Royal Saturday April 11th, 10:30am - 1pm Your own discovery of Montreal using  Duckling Sunday April 12th, 10:30am - 1pm Guided Tour of Old Montréal (Friday) The conference venue is adjacent to  Old Montréal , the historical part of the city. This tour will take you through narrow cobblestone streets lined with buildings that date as far back as the 1600s. We'll pass by many souvenir shops, gal...

Our Sponsor Tutorial schedule has come together and we've opened registration on Eventbrite ! Running Wednesday and Thursday April 8-9, these free tutorials are offered by several of our generous sponsors. While registration for these tutorials is not required, it helps us plan for food and room size. Check out the schedule at  https://us.pycon.org/2015/schedule/sponsor-tutorials/ . Each tutorial is 1.5 hours, and free ! We kick off Wednesday with David Gouldin of Heroku walking through building and deploying applications on Heroku. After lunch, Eric Feng of Dropbox introduces the Dropbox API and will take attendees through authentication to reading and writing files. There are two other open slots on the Wednesday schedule, and we'll update this post once those are known. Thursday's schedule begins with Steve Downer and Chris Wilcox showing off how to build a Django app on the Microsoft Azure cloud. The folks at Code Climate are going to be talking about a numbe...

Got a couple of hours to give? PyCon is organized and run by volunteers from the Python community. This year we're looking for over  300 on-site volunteer hours  to help make sure everything runs smoothly. Everyone who is attending PyCon is welcome to volunteer, but you  must be registered  to volunteer. All help is very  much appreciated . Thank you! Pro Tip:  Sign-up to be a Session Chair or Session Runner – it's a great opportunity to meet the speakers! Volunteer Sign-up When Session Staff Session Staff sign-up Fri - Sun Registration Desk Registration sign-up Tues - Sun Handout Swag Bags Swag handout sign-up Fri - Sat Swag Bag Stuffing Just Show Up! Stuff 10 bags! Thur (3 - 6pm) Tutorial Support Tutorial support / hosts sign-up Wed - Thurs Miscellaneous Help Miscellaneous help sign-up Tues - Sun Session Staff Volunteer:   Please read and understand the duties before you sign up to be a session chair/runner. Follow the links b...

While the cost of PyCon includes breakfast and lunch as well as coffee and snacks, dinner is on your own, and for good reason. It's Montréal! Get out and enjoy the city, find some good food and drink, and hang out with new groups of people. To make it even easier, this year we've organized another series of PyCon Dinners , one led by Jessica McKellar and one by Brandon Rhodes. These events are a great way to wrap up the first day of PyCon, taking place Friday April 10 at 6 PM, with a great three course meal with new and old friends. As 60% of attendees surveyed last year stated it was their first PyCon, these dinners are a great way to kick off the weekend and make new connections and setup plans for more dinners or other late night festivities. Jessica is a director of the Python Software Foundation and has been instrumental in outreach efforts around the Python community, especially when it comes to PyCon. She's also a contributor to Twisted and has worked a lot with ...

We are pleased to announce the speakers/talks for the   2015 Python Education Summit , held during   PyCon  on Thursday   April 9th, 2015 , is a gathering of teachers and educators focused on bringing coding literacy, through Python, to as broad a group of audiences as possible.  We invite educators from all venues to consider joining the discussion, share insights, learn new techniques and tools and generally share their passion for education. We are looking for educators from many venues: authors; schools, colleges, universities; community-based workshops; online programs; and government. Talk Schedule Please take a look at the full list of talks .   If you are interested in joining us please visit our  registration page . We hope to see you there! Note:   All Scheduled Speakers are eligible for 'Early Bird pricing' for attendance at PyCon.  Two Rounds of Lightning Talks In addition to the scheduled talks, we will have two ...

Never tried sprinting at PyCon? Try it this year! As long as there has a been a PyCon, the sprints have been part of it. This year the grand tradition of sprinting will continue with an ever growing list of projects taking advantage of the venue and the right-after-PyCon timing to come together and write some serious code. Sprints have always welcomed newcomers, because both sides benefit - the projects gain from fresh eyes and brains, and the new sprinters usually find that they gain enormous insights into a particular problem or library, into Python, and even into coding in general. While sprinting has always been a great thing to try, this year we're adding some features to make it an even better experience for first time sprinters. First of all, we'll be holding an "Intro to Sprinting" workshop on Sunday night before the sprints start. Presented by the folks from Open Hatch, this session will help bring you up to speed on what to expect while sprint...

We're once again excited to offer our free tutorials for kids! Called " The Young Coder: Let's Learn Python ", we invite kids 12 and over to join us for a day of learning how to program using Python.  We first offered the Young Coders tutorial at PyCon 2013 in Santa Clara and it was an immediate hit. The followup blog post from that event is the most popular post in our blog's history. Kids came from all over to attend it. One flew from South Africa and helped teach other kids. I gave my laptop to a girl who took the tutorial and wanted to attend Richard Jones' PyGame tutorial the next day. Overall, it was so awesome to see kids so excited about learning, about computers, and about Python. Last year, our second year offering the tutorial and our first year in Montréal, the tutorial was offered both in French and English. We're going to be offering the same this year: a French version of the tutorial will take place on Saturday April 11 , and an Englis...

A guest post by  Geek Girls Carrots . Django Carrots – PyCon Edition  is a one-day, intensive, free programming workshop for anyone who wants to learn how to code. When:  Monday April 13th , at  PyCon 2015 Where:  Palais de Congres  in Montreal More information:  Workshop description Cost: Free! Organized by  Geek Girls Carrots  (GGC), the Django Carrots curriculum emphasizes individual contact between the student and mentor (before, during and after the workshop), a horizontal structure (students learn from mentors but also from each other), and sharing general knowledge about communities, organization and internet resources to help our participants after the workshop. How can I sign up? ​Please fill out this  registration form .  Registration is open from February 2nd to March 1st . Everyone who registered should get a response before March 5th. You do not need a ticket for PyCon to attend the Django Carrots wo...

Each July, the launch of the upcoming year's conference website is a huge moment for the PyCon team and community. It's a beacon to everyone that another PyCon is on the way, and a sign that the various teams that shape the event are already hard at work to prepare for it. For yet another year, we have a beautiful site in front of us: https://us.pycon.org/2015 , designed and implemented by long time sponsor Caktus Group . As with years past, the site is built on Django and Symposion, a conference management framework in use by several conferences in the Python community and otherwise. Caktus' prior involvement with that combination of technologies meant "we were able to concentrate on bug fixes and small features that make a big difference to the conference organizers," according to Rebecca Muraya, Caktus' lead developer on the PyCon 2015 site. Having been around the block with that stack has resulted in a higher quality site, and left more time to spend on ...

A guest post by  Django Girls . Django Girls  is a non-profit organization that organizes free, one-day workshops to teach women who have never programmed before how to build their first web application using Python, Django, HTML and CSS. You are invited to the  PyCon 2015 Django Girls Workshop  on  April 9th , just before  PyCon 2015  starts, at the  Palais de Congres  in Montreal. As a Django Girls workshop attendee, you will be provided a free ticket to PyCon which takes place from  April 10th to  April 12th , so you can dive deeper into the wonderful world of programming and get to know our amazing community. You don’t need to have any programming experience - All you need to do is bring your laptop and your motivation to learn. You will work at your own pace in groups of 4 (3 attendees and one coach) Your coach will walk you through the Django Girls tutorial ( http://tutorial.djangogirls.org ) If you would like ...

The wait is over: PyCon 2015's schedule is available! The tutorial schedule has been available for several weeks now, and we made poster selections a while back as well, but we've completed the biggest part: scheduling 95 talks across three days in five rooms. https://us.pycon.org/2015/schedule/ It takes a lot of people to come up with this schedule, starting with those of you who submitted the 542 talk proposals we received. PyCon has always been a "what you make of it" sort of event, with so many people to talk to and things to do that it'd be hard to replicate the same experience twice, and that starts with these proposals. Thank you to everyone who submitted proposals this year. Another huge year for submissions means another great crew of volunteers gave a lot of their time to evaluate them. As with all things PyCon, a mixture of returning veterans worked with a set of first-timers, giving a lot of different viewpoints to bring us to this schedule. L...

A guest post by Stephen Jacobs . How many of you would be interested in a Friday night Passover Seder at PyCon? PyCon  overlaps this year with an eight day-long Jewish holiday ( Passover ) that commemorates the Biblical exodus of Egypt. For those of you who’ve never been to one, a  Seder  is a table-side, family run service with a period of story and prayer, a big meal and a shorter wrap up section interspersed with song and wine. The Seder is a teaching service, so you don’t need to know what to do before you get there. Non-Jews welcome :-) If we went forward with this, we’d try to hold it at the Hyatt (walking distance from the  Palais Du Congress ). It would be more expensive than the other  PyCon Dinners  (Kosher food and wine for the Seder raises the price considerably). A similar one held in San Francisco a few years ago ran about $80 a head, and that had sponsors defraying the costs. We can’t set it up, or cost it out, until we know how ma...