Ignite Waterloo

Well, it feels safe to say that the first event was a great success by just about any measure. We had a full slate of 16 speakers (two of whom were last minute substitutions), we had a great crowd, and we had had plenty of cupcakes decorated. The Children’s Museum was pretty much the perfect venue. The crowd was generous and supportive, and everyone seemed to have a great time.

Ignite Waterloo hit this first event out of the metaphorical ballpark. On behalf of everyone behind Ignite Waterloo, thanks to all the folks who came out to watch, to participate, to facilitate, and to otherwise help build this new pocket of community in Waterloo Region.

We’ll get some documentation up soon. In the meantime, enjoy these photos of the evening’s activities.

This is just the beginning. Stay tuned!

We have good news on the ticket front as we approach our very first Ignite Waterloo event this Wednesday.

We’ve been able to configure seating at the Children’s Museum such that we can now handle 150 people at Wednesday’s event, rather than 120. That means that if you were on the waiting list, you should now have a ticket! If you weren’t on the list, you can still sign up and possibly get a ticket. Finally, there’s still the option of showing up on Wednesday and getting in line — we’ll let admit folks without tickets starting at 7:00pm if there’s room.

A related message for ticket holders is to make sure you arrive before 7:00pm if you want guaranteed entry.

It looks like we should have a great first event. The slides have all been delivered, and our speakers have been busy rehearsing and otherwise preparing for their talks.

And then there’s the cupcakes…

Registration is now open for our first event on November 25. From exploring community, through solving  Rubik’s cube, through solar energy, there’s a great variety of topics to be enjoyed. There’s even a cupcake decorating contest if the talks don’t grab you. Space is limited, though, so be sure to sign up soon if you hope to attend.

We’ve made great progress in finalizing our lineup of speakers for the first Ignite Waterloo event on November 25. From communities online and off, to designing and making things, to environmental issues, it’s going to be an evening of diverse and engaging talks. We’ll announce information on how to get tickets in the near future. Meanwhile, have a look at the lineup and let your friends know about Ignite Waterloo.

The organizational group has been busy in the last few days – we have selected the date for our first Ignite Waterloo event (Nov 25, 2009) and we’re still finalizing the location. We’re hoping to have the venue booked and signed for by the end of September, but as soon as we have a venue booked, we’ll post it here.

Also, we have 3 of our 16 speakers booked, and once we have an initial list confirmed, we’ll post it to the site here.

In the mean time, if you’re interested in helping us organize, then please join our Google Group, and if you’re interested in speaking, then please fill our a speaker application, and finally if you just want to know what’s going on, click the Subscribe link at the top of this page to subscribe to updates, or follow us on Twitter at @ignitewaterloo.