Summertime is the time for camping - but in this case camping involves geeking out and stretching your brain indoors on sunny summer weekends for the good of code. With many of our Cascadian neighbours holding camps in the recent past, I figured a compendium would be appropriate.

My personal Drupal quest took an ill-fated turn with a laborious wait at the border aboard public conveyance. Fortunately for on bus wi-fi and a Nokia N78 I'm testing (thanks to mobile guru Roland Tanglao), I could grouse about the delay via Twitter and check in on other #dcs08 chatter via Twemes.

I finally arrived downtown Seattle in time for the event wrapping up in West Seattle. The good news was I wouldn't miss the after-session beer camp at Pike Street - so I replenished with some Thai curry and luscious iced coffee and trundled with my backpack over to the brewpub.

Over a couple of pitchers, i caught up with the CivicActions and North Studios crew (who were both a big part of DCV's great vibe) and checked in with the other Vancouverites - my co-worker Audrey and Ryan from the ImageX clan - who had wisely rolled down the day before.

After enjoying grog with Drupal pirates, I ended up on more hi-jinks and urban exploration with photographer and developer Matt Freedman and Avi from Victoria but will save documentation of our exploits for another channel (videos: Dead band at Fremont Solstice Parade party, Critical Mass Ride in Seattle, Checking in from Seattle).

Anyhow, this post is to tell you about the camps, the sessions, and all that ... and offer congrats to the intrepid organizers of Drupal Camps in Portland, Alberta, and Seattle and pass along some useful recap resources (and help pre-announce Drupal Camp Victoria) ~ so let's get at it:

I posted a big Drupal Camp Vancouver 08 Wrap-up but am adding a bit here to offer bonus kudos to my Raincity Studios colleagues for top-notch presentations and participation.

It was really great meeting more Drupal enthusiasts from companies who would normally be classified as "our competition" yet, in the spirit of translucency, we openly shared techniques, knowledge, anecdotes and (what other companies would call) trade secrets. Big ups to our new friends, folks from out of town, helpers, fun-loving coders, sprinters, old pals, usual suspects, and everyone else.

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.

Yes you guessed it! Registration for Vancouver's Drupal Camp in open and the wisest ones are already signing up. The event is limited to about 80 attendees/participants and cost $20 to secure your slot.

For the twenty, you'll get a lunch (or maybe two) and an eco-friendly t-shirt out of the deal but the big payoff to this ultra-thrifty event is the knowledge sharing, camaraderie and networking with enthusiasts from many facets of the web dev world including coders, architects, designers and even some business and marketing types. The sponsors represent the hippest companies in town and many of them are hiring too.

A new logo is out and it isn't a contribution from Raincity Studios for once ;-). The new logo is the handy work of Colin Calnan and he really pulled through.