VMunderground
VMunderground 2017—Ticketing
We’ve had a number of questions about the availability of tickets for the VMunderground 2017 party; apparently, the Early Bird tickets we made available at the end of April were confused with the General Access tickets that we’re going to make available later this month.
July 26th, 2017 at 8am PDT, to be precise.
As we announced on the Eventbrite site for the party, the Early Bird tickets would be lower-cost than the General Access tickets when they became available. That hasn’t changed, either, and when they go on sale, they’ll be $40US each.
Opening Acts is still a free reservation, just as in previous years, and is really meant to help us keep track of how many to expect in attendance…
And no…we’re still not telling you where things are happening. It’s still our little secret.
#VMunderground, #OpeningActs, and #vBrisket Ticket Release
Eventbrite is all setup. The schedule is set. Here’s what you need to know.
We’ve combined the ticketing process for VMunderground, Opening Acts, and the vBrisket lunch at Opening Acts into a single process. Tickets for all events will be available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/community-events-at-vmworld-2016-us-tickets-26600043446. (If you want the vBrisket VMworld Bus Tour, you want to head over here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vbrisket-vmworld-bus-tour-tickets-25211421039)
Go ahead and head on over to our Eventbrite now to review the FAQs.
Here’s the big part, everyone has been waiting for: Tickets will become available at 2:00 pm PDT/2100 UTC on 28-July 2016. No time is ideal for all parties, so we tried to pick the best time for the majority of timezones. Put it on your calendar. Setup an alert on your phone. Tell the family (work or personal) you have an important commitment at that time.
As a reminder:
- VMunderground will be charging $25.
- vBrisket (lunch at Opening Acts) will be $5.
- Opening Acts will remain completely free, but we still want get a count ahead of time, so please pick up a reservation even if you’re just planning on Opening Acts.
All are limited due to budget and venue restrictions, so be ready at release time!
UPDATE: The first big rush is past, and there are still tickets left as of 1800h PDT. If you don’t have a ticket, it’s worth the click to see what’s available…
Before You Go, 2015 Edition
Here we go: the home stretch before VMworld 2015 US opens in San Francisco, CA— and that means it’s also the kick-off for Opening Acts II and VMunderground. In the short few days before, we thought we’d pass along a few items of note…
Where we’ll be
City View at the Metreon
Top Floor
135 Fourth Street, San Francisco
You can enter from either the Fourth Street or Yerba Buena Park entrances. Take the elevators or escalators up to the top floor.
Opening Acts
We have three sets of two, hour-long sessions running simultaneously and starting at 1pm; doors open at 12:30pm.
You are welcome to move between spaces, but please be mindful of those around you. We’ll be recording and (hopefully) streaming the content, so disturbing those around you will also have…lasting repercussions…
Panel sessions will expect give-and-take from the attendees. Plan to participate.
VMunderground
This is an adults-only party. We will be serving alcohol, and whether you plan to consume or not, it’s the law of the land that attendees have aged 21 years. You will need to provide proof of your age with a government-issued photo ID; driver’s license or passport are acceptable examples.
Wear your name tag! It’s a great way to reconnect with friends old and new.
Doors open at 8pm. Those holding VIP passes will be admitted at 7:30pm, but if we reach capacity after the doors open, your pass won’t guarantee admittance. Fire Marshall’s rules won’t be bent, period.
Final Thoughts
Don’t forget our sponsors! Not only will they be present during the events, but they’ll be around all week at the conference. Let them know how much you enjoyed the events of the day: the more positive feedback they receive, the more likely they’ll be willing to continue supporting us.
See you on Sunday!!!
The Bettering of VMunderground
Every year, we try to put together something new to improve the VMunderground experience. In the past, it’s mostly been based around increasing the number of people we can accommodate, which has required ticketing and venue changes over the years. Last year, we feel we found the proper venue to enable us to bring in the right number of people, with room to still grow. To that end, we were able to eliminate the need for tickets this year.
Last year, we worked with the vBrownBag crew to add an educational component to what we provide. Already having a large venue we simply added additional hours to the venue rental and were able to introduce Opening Acts. This proved to be such a huge success that I ended the event realizing that we couldn’t NOT bring Opening Acts back. Fortunately, the level of success didn’t necessitate too much improvement, so you’ll see some minor tweaks, but they’ll be minor.
A common criticism of the traditional conference circuit is the overemphasis on alcohol consumption. While most of the VMunderground crew are perfectly happy to network over a variety of alcoholic beverages, by no means is that a requirement for any of us. I have great conversations all week at VMworld over coffee, soda and even water, so I am by no means pushing off the fun conversations for when the beer flows. To provide better options to those who prefer (or simply cannot) partake in the “adult beverages” we have added a full smoothie bar to the menu at VMunderground.
This year, we also wanted to improve the ability for community events at both VMworld conferences to obtain sponsors, so we gathered with the teams that put on vBrownBag TechTalks, Spousetivities and vRockStar to put together a series of packages to make it easy for vendors to sponsor multiple of these events in one shot. The feedback (and signup rate) have been very positive. I’m proud to announce the following sponsors have chosen to take advantage of these packages and will be the first to take advantage of this opportunity:
We’d like to give special thanks to these companies for truly getting and appreciating our little community. VMworld simply would not be the same without companies like these. Give them (and all our sponsors) a special thank you before VMworld, then stop into their booths during the show to let them scan your badge and give your appreciation in person!
The UNticketing…
After years of intense development, we’d like to announce that we’ve fully automated the WUPaaS. You now have access to an on-demand community networking event in a frictionless manner.
Translation:
From its lowly origins in 2007, the VMunderground party has grown from a handful of like-minded members of the community to one of the largest community events of the week. In the course of our growth, we struggled to find venues that had the right capacity and location for the crush of attendees while staying fiscally responsible to our generous sponsor cadre. Ticketing was used as a means to provide some control, and each year, while trying to be as fair as possible, we still received negative feedback again and again…
We learned in 2014 that we finally found our perfect venue: it was close, it had plenty of room, it was “in budget.”
So in 2015, we’re going to try something old, going back to our roots…
Ticketing will not be required. The doors open to everyone at 8pm. As long as we stay below the Fire Marshall’s limit for the venue—and venue security handles that, not us—you will be admitted; we’re planning on over 1000 people, and we’ll serve food and drink as long as supplies last. When the last beer or cheesecake lollipop is gone, it’s gone…
VIP guests will still require a “backstage pass” to be admitted at 7:30. These passes are available from our sponsors; if you’re not interested in queuing up at 8pm, reach out to them to get special access.
You will still need to prove that you are 21 years old and are part of the VMworld community: Bring government-issue photo ID (e.g., driver’s license or passport) for proof of age. And seriously: it’s a VMworld social event. Wear your badge; it helps put names & faces back together after 1 or more years for many of us.
If you’re from San Francisco or surrounding “local” cities, you must have a VMworld badge so we know you’re not simply crashing the party…
See you on the 30th!!!
READY FOR #UN
We’re at it again: the #VMunderground and #vBrownBag teams are at it again, preparing for the first, best community-driven events of VMworld!
We have our first sponsor announced and are getting ready to seek your input on the topics for the second year of Opening Acts panel sessions.
Let this serve as your “SAVE THE DATE” notice: OpeningActs and the VMunderground party will be held on Sunday, August 30, 2015. OpeningActs will run from 1pm to 4pm; VMunderground runs from 8pm to 11pm. We’ll be at the same venue as 2014—City View at the Metreon—which is just a stone’s throw from the Moscone conference site.
Keep your eye on this site, as well as the @vmunderground twitter feed for more information…
Getting ready for VMworld 2015 US!!!
That’s right! VMware recently opened registration for VMworld 2015 US in San Francisco, and the VMunderground team is gearing up for another great year.
Based on the success of 2014’s inaugural OpeningActs collaboration with our friends over at #vBrownBag, we’ve started planning that event as well.
There isn’t a whole lot we can share yet, but the most important details—WHEN and WHERE—are known:
OpeningActs, the panel sessions, will run during the early afternoon of Sunday, August 30 at the Metreon City View. Yes, this is the same time and venue as last year!
VMunderground, the independent social event, will run after the Welcome Expo on Sunday, August 30, also at City View.
While some things will be the same as last year, we’re also working to improve; feedback we received from attendees and sponsors will shape those changes, and we’ll be reaching out to everyone—again, like last year—in order to make sure we build panel sessions for OpeningActs that will inform, entertain and delight.
Obligatory “Before You Go” Message, 2014 Edition
Well folks, VMworld 2014 US is upon us. The tweets and –god forfend– private Facebook message groups are awash with anticipation for the week.
There have been a number of questions sent to the VMunderground, #vBrownBag and Opening Acts teams; we’ll try and address them in this post…
Q: Looks like Opening Acts is full. Is there any room?
A: Who knows? We won’t turn anyone away as long as we have room. While we have a huge space (we’re using the same venue for both Opening Acts and VMunderground), a significant portion is will be “off-limits” during Opening Acts to allow for the prep & setup for VMunderground. We set the registration limit at 200 to manage the seating, but the spaces we set aside might hold as much as 2x that number. Additionally, there’s bound to be turnover–a bunch of folks might need to high-tail it over to v0dgeball–so don’t be afraid to come for a 2pm or 3pm session even if we’re packed at 1pm.
Q: I missed round X for tickets to VMunderground. How do I get in?
A: As of this writing, there are still nearly 100 tickets available. Hop on over to vmunderground.eventbrite.com and grab one. Keep in mind: if you have a conference badge, tickets are NOT required for entry! Tickets get you first access to the party when the doors open at 8pm, and are required for anyone without a conference badge (this is a VMworld community event, not a San Francisco community event).
Q: I have a ticket/wristband. Do I need to bring my conference badge?
A: Please do! This is a social event, and conference badges do a good job of helping people connect faces and names. Include your Twitter handle on your badge! Lots of people in the community are known by their Twitter handles rather than their IRL names; if your handle isn’t printed on your badge, find someone with a Sharpie or label maker and add it!
Q: Dude. That’s an insane amount of restrictions. What’s up with that?
A: In past years, limited space has made it…challenging…to keep an even, fair opportunity for everyone in the community to get access to the party. Every restriction listed is based on somebody in the community trying to take advantage of the then-stated-rules to get more that what we–the VMunderground team–consider to be a “fair share” of the tickets. Yes, it sucks to have so many rules, but there are some of those among us who consider themselves…”first among equals.” Let’s just leave it at that.
Q: I’m in like Flynn for the party. I love the sponsors and I already have a wristband (awesome, too, btw. I’m going to wear mine all week!). Do I need to bring anything else to the party?
A: Yes. Please, please, PLEASE bring a photo ID from a legitimate government to prove your age if you want to be served alcohol. California–like most of the US–requires anyone being served alcohol to be aged 21 years or more. By default, you should be that age as a participant in VMworld, but as they don’t check and the legal working age in the US is 16… Just do us and yourself a favor and bring your ID.
Q: I know where the Metreon is, but can’t figure out where City View is. A little help, please?
A: CityView is on the fourth floor of the Metreon. It’ll be easiest to access if you enter the Metreon from the Yerba Buena Gardens entrance, as opposed to 4th street. Take the escalator or elevator to the top, and there you go.
Q: I’ve got my backpack with me; will it be safe, or do I need to keep lugging it around with me?
A: Although you’ll need to keep track of it yourself during Opening Acts, we will be providing a coat check/bag drop during VMunderground. However, we won’t be accepting liability for loss/damage whether using the coat check or not, so please use your judgement if you carry a laptop or other personal electronics. A backpack full of expo swag should be just fine…
Q: I live in the city/rented a car and plan to drive. Where is parking?
A: We have no special arrangements for parking. Most attendees will be from out-of-town, and we explicitly chose a location near Moscone to make it more “walkable” than last year. If you do decide to drive, please have a designated driver. We’re also working with Uber to provide some “getting home safe” discounts, so please consider a cab or other ride before choosing to drive; we’ll have more info on that at the party
Party Ticketing 101
Here we are again: VMworld US 2014 is around the corner and as excited as everyone is for the conference, there’s this “little” party that everyone is wanting to attend in order to kick off the week just right.
Q: How do I get into The Party?
A: You’ll need a wrist band for entry (a second wristband may be required to be served alcohol).
Q: Okay, I’ll bite: How do I get a wrist band?
A: There are three ways to get a wrist band:
-
- Sponsor give-away
- Sponsors have wrist bands; show them some love, and they may show some back in the form of a VIP wrist band!
-
- Opening Acts participation
- We’ve posted it and talked about it: Attend Opening Acts and participate and you can earn a wrist band.
-
- Ticket exchange
- Buy a ticket (see below) and exchange it for a wrist band outside the door the night of the party.
2014—The Breakthrough
You’ve already seen the posts about Opening Acts, so it’s finally time to pull back some of the covers on our EIGHTH presentation of The VMunderground. With the genesis of Opening Acts, we see this is a breakthrough year for community; with this beginning, we hope you agree that there are NO LIMITS to what we can accomplish!
We’re happy to announce that this year’s party will be held in the beautiful City View at Metreon (4th & Mission), making it—as promised—conveniently close to the main VMworld 2014 US campus at the Moscone. As in previous years, we’ve lined up a stellar group of sponsors—both new and returning—which will be revealed slowly as we get closer to the big date.
Enough of the tease! Here are the details we’re willing to share at the moment:
Who: Anyone with a VMunderground 2014 Wristband (more on that in a future post!)
What: A social event: food (heavy apps & desserty stuff, but don’t be “that guy”: eat a meal before you come!), beverages (soft drinks, beer & wine), great peers, great conversations!
Why: Shake off the rigors of travel to San Francisco and prepare for an exhausting week of the annual VMware love-fest!
Where: As indicated above: City View at Metreon
When: Sunday, August 24, 2014. 8pm to 11pm
How: Walk up; get checked in; have fun!
Keep an eye on this blog, and follow @vmunderground on Twitter for more information!
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