We sent this press release to local and state media yesterday
For Immediate Release
May 21, 2018
9th Annual WordCamp Fayetteville Set for Late June
Local WordPress conference seeing several ‘firsts’
Quick Look: WordCamp Fayetteville will be June 22-24 in Fayetteville, Ark. WordCamps are community-based events held all over the world for users of the content management system WordPress. WordCamp Fayetteville attracts small business owners, non-profit leaders, bloggers, designers, developers, and professional content writers from throughout the three-state region and beyond. Tickets are $20 for the entire weekend with new opportunities for participants to provide micro-sponsorships with their ticket purchase choices.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.—The 9th Annual WordCamp Fayetteville will be June 22-24, 2018, with a full day of sessions on June 23 at the Don W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development on the Fayetteville campus. This year’s event is a month earlier than the last few years.
WordCamp Fayetteville 2018 includes:
- A Kick-Off party 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Friday, June 22, at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Fayetteville. Hot dogs will be provided, speakers who are able to attend will be introduced, and ticket holders will have the chance to check-in for registration.
- A full day of one-hour sessions start at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 23, at the Don W. Reynolds Center for Entrepreneurial Development on the University of Arkansas campus. The last session will begin at 4 p.m. Door prizes will be given at the end of the day. Winners must be present to win.
- An After Party will be Saturday, June 23, at a location and exact time to be determined.
- A Jam Session (help session) will be 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sunday, June 24, at StartUp Junkie Consulting. Participants can come to get help with their sites or start putting into practice what they learned the day before.
This will be the first year for Scarlett Isbell in her role as lead organizer.
“We’re keeping the atmosphere fun and the content fresh! WordCamp Fayetteville 2018 will be better than ever,” she said, adding that this year’s theme is “carnival,” which is expressed in the event graphics with a few fun touches throughout the weekend, including the tagline “More Fun. More WordPress.”
Rebecca Haden returns at speaker wrangler this year. She promises an exciting line up of 2018 speakers, both new and familiar to WordCamp Fayetteville.
“This year we have speakers from Alabama, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee joining our local WordPress experts. We’re bringing in new topics like online reputation management, in-depth social media integration, and A/B testing,” she said. “Our sessions are packed with exciting choices of presentations. You won’t want to leave early.”
The sessions range from no technical knowledge being required, to several advanced knowledge sessions. The keynote speaker is Dave Navarro Jr., a popular WordCamp speaker from Topeka, Kan.
This is the first year in several regards for the organization’s fundraising efforts. WordCamps are part of the global WordPress Foundation with local community groups organizing individual events. WordCamps are partially sponsored by what are known as “global sponsors” who sponsor a certain amount for each event. The majority of the funding, however, comes from local sponsorships and ticket sales, explained Jamie Smith, who is new in her role as sponsor wrangler.
“We’ve been amazed at the record number of local sponsors who have chosen to invest in our local WordPress community,” she said, adding that more sponsors are being sought to help cover expenses or to provide in-kind donations to make WordCamp Fayetteville 2018 a success.
“To me, they are not investing in a just a tech conference,” Smith said. “They are investing in an event that empowers small business owners, non-profits, and people from various industries to do their jobs better.”
This is the first year that the WordPress Foundation is offering participants the chance to give back to the WordPress community through micro-sponsorships. Participants can choose a general ticket or one of three micro-sponsorship or “enhanced” ticket options that pays for the general ticket price plus a small, additional amount.
This is also the first time for any WordCamp to offer a “fundraiser” event where people can come for free WordPress help and are encouraged to sign up for WordCamp at the end. The first event was earlier this month and the next one is June 2 in Fayetteville, Smith said.
Tickets are on sale now and are $20 per person. The Early Bird Tickets are available until 11:59 p.m., Saturday, June 9. Early Bird Tickets include all the Friday, Saturday and Sunday events, as well as a guaranteed lunch and commemorative swag.
General Admission Tickets are available starting June 10 and include only the three days of events. Tickets often run out before the event so interested participants are encouraged to register as soon as possible.
The website for WordCamp Fayetteville 2018 is wcfay.com, which redirects to https://2018.fayetteville.wordcamp.org
For more information:
Scarlett Isbell
Lead Organizer
479.220.7743
Jamie Smith
Committee Member/Sponsor Wrangler
479.531.1685