Come to PyCon 2009!

If you haven't already taken in a PyCon, you may not know what you have been missing.

Indeed you may not know that PyCon is less a conference than a week-long session of intensive technological play. It is a terrific way to meet the Python community in person, to make new connections, to find Python jobs, and to learn more than you're likely to learn at any other conference -- certainly not while you are having this much fun.

Yes, there will be scheduled talks and an expo hall full of vendors. But there will also be open space (self-organized sessions on topics of mutual interest), lightning talks (5-minute, often spontaneous, sometimes hilarious talks) and the "hallway track" (because hanging around is often the most interesting thing of all).

In addition, there will be two days of tutorials before the conference and four days of sprints -- intensive development days for people collaborating on Python or related open source projects -- after the conference.

PyCon 2009 is happening in Chicago, conveniently near the airport, on March 25 through April 2nd, with the main conference days on March 27-29. It is a low-cost conference designed to be affordable for all.

I hope you will come join the Python community in Chicago. As a regular attendee since 2000, I can assure you that you won't regret it!