Winter in Europe can be grey and boring, and FOSDEM is too short to satisfy our need to meet Debian people; isn't this a good time to spend near the italian lakes, where the weather is dry and relatively warm, for an event in the SunCamp style?.
As the SunCamp, this is not going to be a (Mini)Conf, but a DIY ?MiniDebcamp.
Contrary to the SunCamp, we are going to be hosted by a small hostel, with less facilities, and we are going to be the sole occupants for the duration of the event.
Contents
Details
Announcement: <announcement URL>
Location: Ostello Casa Rossa, Laveno (VA), Italy (Hostel website)
- Start: Thursday, 22 February 2018
- End: Sunday, 25 February 2018
Organisation and discussion
Organisers: Valhalla and LocalGroups/LIFO.
IRC channel: #SunCamp in OFTC.
Mailing list: https://france.debian.net/mailman/listinfo/dsc2016
Planning
What to expect
- A small, cozy hostel in a recently renovated farmhouse surrounded by a park.
- A moderately touristic town on Lake Maggiore, surrounded by low mountains.
- Room to sit with your laptop.
- Internet access through the hostel.
- A small event with a great atmosphere.
- Italian food, drinks and weather.
What not to expect
- Any kind of sponsorship. You have to pay any expense directly to the hostel.
- If your team wants to do a sprint here, you might be able to get some funds from Debian, but you have to do it yourself.
- Swag. Unless somebody comes with a box full of goodies to give away, there will be no t-shirts, stickers, bags, mugs, or anything like that.
- Pre-scheduled talks.
- An assistance team. We cannot help with visas, put signs in the airport, come to save you if you get kidnapped by Swiss pirates on the lake.
What to bring
- warm, layered clothing (winters in this area are mild, but in the night temperatures can easily be as low as -5°C)
- PGP slips for keysigning
Badges/lanyard keychain (very simple paper badges and a sharpie will be provided because the organizer is horrible at remembering names , but you need something to keep them in)
- Extra ethernet cables should never hurt
- Sunscreen (not really, unless you want to go hiking on snow-covered mountains)
Pricing
Because we need to reserve the whole hostel, the even will only happen if there are at least (~)15 people who are registered and will stay at the hostel. The go/no go date will be at the end of December 2017.
The price will depend on the number of participants, as we will have to cover the cost of the whole hostel (400 € / day), so you can expect something around 25 € / day (or less, if more people are staying), excluding food.
How to register
To register for the event add yourself to the table on this page.
The go/no-go date is at the end of december: if by that date there are at least 15 people registered as staying at the hostel the event will happen, and you will have two weeks to pay your stay in advance directly to the hostel, probably by bank transfer (details will be provided later).
If you have any dietary requirements or other specific needs please let the organizers know ASAP, by writing to valhalla-d@trueelena.org.
Rooms will be assigned by the hostel on a mostly random basis, so you should probably try to find a group of roommates you're happy with and communicate it to them.
Location details
wi-fi
TBD
How to get there
Laveno is served by two train stations with trains from Milan and from the Malpensa Airport. Additionally a commuter line from Bellinzona is currently served by buses because of renovation works that are supposed to end in December 2017.
Timetables for both stations can be searched on http://www.trenord.it/EN/ Choose "Laveno-Mombello (all stations)" as the destination to be sure not to miss potentially better connections, but if everything else is the same Laveno Mombello Nord is closer to the location.
FAQ
What is the weather going to be?
Official weather forecasts (Italian only): http://www.arpalombardia.it/siti/arpalombardia/meteo/previsionimeteo/meteolombardia/Pagine/default.aspx and http://www.arpalombardia.it/siti/arpalombardia/meteo/previsionimeteo/meteolombardia/Pagine/Province.aspx?codeprov=VA
Another local source of weather forecasts (Italian only): http://www.astrogeo.va.it/meteo.htm
Swiss forecasts (also in English): http://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/home.html?tab=overview (look for Lugano in the south)
Are meals provided?
Included in the price of the hostel we have access to their kitchen (but no catering service), but we are looking for restaurants that are reachable by foot and are willing to provide us with a fixed price (still TBD).
On saturday evening we plan to organize a dinner were we'll also invite people from the local FLOSS community.
Can I sleep elsewhere?
Yes, you can sleep elsewhere and join us during the day.
You will however be counted in the maximum number of people, but not in the minimum number required to book the hostel (and the people who stay to sleep will have to pay a bit more), so please be considerate in choosing this option. If you can afford it, a partial contribution to help share the cost of the hostel would be great.
Is the site wheelchair accessible?
Yes, but probably only if you come by car.
The common area, toilets, and some of the rooms are wheelchair accessible, and one of the parking areas is quite close to the entrance.
However, there is a steep incline to get from the street to the hostel, and the safe way to reach the town center includes a stair (the alternative is a trafficked street with no sidewalk), so you would need the car to reach the restaurants for most meals.
Participants
Name |
Arrival |
Departure |
Booked |
Sleeping at the hostel |
Saturday's Dinner |
Comments |
valhalla |
22/2 |
25/2 |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
diego |
22/2 |
25/2 |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Reports
Please add links to reports, blog posts, photos etc about the event here:
Useful links
?Debian Booths HOWTO