VIDFest is Vancouver's International Fest for all things around the new and interactive media space and is produced by New Media BC and Telefilm.

KK is on duty as a poster boy for the event - his hoodie sweatshirt and scruffy face adorning magazine ads throughout Cascadia and the event kicking off next week, so here's a quick guide to get you up to speed.

First, be sure you are subscribed to the VIDFest RSS feed and friend up the VIDFest Flickr photostream.

There are several parts to the May 21-24th event - well really, 11 parts when combined with the two-day Vancouver International Game Summit 2008. Here's the official blurb:

VIDFEST is eleven events over four days, including conferences, an awards gala, an international partnering forum, a pitch fest, and a recruiting fair.

As you likely know, Raincity Studios is on board along with other notable Drupal agencies for Drupal Camp Vancouver. The date is set, the space is secured, registration is open and now is the time to rally speakers for peer-taught presentations on all things Drupal from basics to heavy-guru stuff.

While you are expected to be competent and prepared, new presenters are welcome to share their knowledge in this forum.

Please note that non-technical presentations are encouraged (i.e. Decidedly non-technical presentations on how Drupal can benefit a business, non-profit association or community or How open source and community contribution fits into a business plan).

Submission deadline is May 1st!
At which time, the esteemed committee will peruse the entries and create the schedule.

Dale - one of the "tugboats" for the event - posted Calling all Drupal Speakers over at DrupalCampVancouver.org with all salient details - so here's his blurb for extra encouragement and convenience:

Would you like to share your knowledge and experience and raise your community karma points? Jump on board and present a session at Drupal Camp Vancouver 2008!

We're looking for speakers on all things Drupal--the list below shows some examples of what we're looking for. If you have a great presentation that isn't on the list please don't hesitate to submit.

To submit a talk, head over to the talk submission form!

Please plan sessions to accommodate a group of approx. 30-40 people, and last between 45-90 mins. (If there is a special topic you think would benefit from an extended session slot, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate!)

In case you missed it, here's the talk submission form. Topics after the break.

For the second year in a row, Kris Krug is speaking to Federation of Post Secondary Educators at their Annual General Meeting in the resort town of Whistler.

Krug's slot is May 14 at 3:15 and he'll be addressing these educator's interest in how to integrate Web 2.0 into their classrooms and/or into their research. Perhaps he'll post his notes or some snaps from the gig here but in the meantime, it's hard to take a bad photo of Whister.

Here's the blurb from their site:

More to come on this topic but to kick off the news, Raincity Studios President Kris Krug is part of the Juno Awards Host Committee for next year's show in Vancouver. If you are not in the know (or American), the Junos is the annual award program put on by Canadian Academy Of Recording Arts and Sciences - tube socks not required.

Anyhow, KK went to this year's awards show in Calgary to scout the event and came back brimming with ideas on how to engage Canadians and really accentuate the emerging artists throughout Canada (like CBC Radio 3 does). I suspect he'll bring big ideas about involving new media to expand the reach and enjoyment of the show through web communities, user generated content, and participatory culture.

Checking in from the basement of CBC's Vancouver headquarters as we kick off an event which is bound to be quite remarkable - the CBC Digital Development Labs.

This morning was introductions by the entrepreneurial-minded attendees chosen to display and refine their ideas for possible development by CBC. I'm participating as a mentor (along with others) here to advise, gut-check, collaborate with (and learn from) the emerging visionaries.

Our secret lair (which is very cool by the way - set up with a variety of workspaces, conversation breakout areas, Mac labs, gamer stations - feels like jPod) is also loaded with industry types acting more as observers to see how projects come together in the new media paradigm.