So you’ve decided to come to Open Source Bridge in Portland, Oregon this June 21 – 24, but you’re coming from out of town, don’t know the area all that well, and need a place to stay? Don’t worry, we have some options for you near our Eliot Center conference venue.

We put together a comprehensive listing of lodging options near our conference venue on our wiki’s Lodging section to help you research. There’s also a map so you can see where these are.

We have secured discounts for our attendees through local hotel sponsors during the week of the conference. You will find details about these hotels and their discounts in our wiki’s Hotels article. When booking or while staying at these hotels, please thank them for providing discount sponsorships for Open Source Bridge.

For those on a budget we can recommend a couple of really good options:

First, there is Couchsurfing.org, a travel web site that matches travelers with hosts in cities around the world that are willing to put a verified person up for a few nights’ stay. If this is the option you’d like to try, you should first sign up for Couchsurfing.org, read their getting started tips, make a profile, get verified, and read the tips on how to be a good couch surfer. Portland has its own Ambassador of Couchsurfing, Ms. Lolly Rae, check out her profile and contact her with any questions you have about the Couchsurfing.org community. Although she can’t put up all of you, she can give great tips on using Couchsurfing.org in the Portland area.

Next, we have some local hostels. The Northwest Portland International Hostel & Guesthouse is closest to the conference venue. The Portland Hawthorne Hostel is across the river, but easily-accessible by Tri-Met bus. You can also check the Hostel World web site for any other deals they may have.

Still looking for something else? You can try the usual travel sites, like Kayak.com, Lonely Planet, Orbitz, Priceline, or Lastminute.com. Or keep checking back to this blog post or our Open Source Bridge Wiki for any updates on travel and accommodations. We look forward to seeing you here in June in the beautiful Rose City to join us for Open Source Bridge 2011.

During the conference, your Open Source Bridge badge gives you access to all of the museum galleries. This includes all of the open exhibition space within the Mark Building itself, home to the Jubitz Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, as well as the galleries in the main building itself.

For the entire month of June the Portland Art Museum is pleased to offer Bridge participants a 20% discount to becoming a member (use Promo code ‘OS10′) . Members enjoy free admission to the galleries, 10% off purchases made in the Museum gift store, invitations to members-only events & exhibition viewings, as well as discounts on lectures, films, art making classes, and other special programs.

For a complete list of membership categories and benefits visit http://portlandartmuseum.org/join//membership/

Promo code: OS10 valid through 6/30/2010

Now, it’s time for the Summer Coders Social, sponsored by Stephouse.

Summer Coders Social is the outdoor, sunny, sibling of Winter Coders Social (photos). The goal is a very casual, geek social event. BBQ, games, and conversation. This is a family frienldy event so be sure to bring the kids and significant other. We have plenty of space so all user groups are welcome (just be sure to sign up for the potluck).

Why are we telling you? Because this time, they’ve scheduled the Summer Coders Social to fall on the Saturday after our conference, June 20.

And that means you’re invited!

Honestly, there’s no better way to get a feel for the Portland open source and tech scene than to join us for a potluck. (Don’t worry. If you’re coming from out of town, you don’t have to bring anything.)

Here’s hoping you can extend your stay and hang out with us for another day.

For more information, see the Summer Coders Social wiki. To RSVP, visit the Summer Coders Social on Upcoming.

(Image courtesy Aaron Hockley, official Open Source Bridge photographer. Used under Creative Commons)

We are a community of creative types who enjoy experimenting, finding art in technology and pushing the limits of whatever is in front of us. We meet on an regular, informal basis every other week, but you can find out more on our meetings page. We occasionally hold larger events, so sign up for the mailing lists to find out what’s going on.

Sounds interesting doesn’t it? Well, if you’re in Portland a bit early for Open Source Bridge, you can head to Dorkbot PDX on June 14. Heck, you might even want to plan to be here early so that you can participate.

Here’s who’s on the docket for the next gathering:

Andrew S. Parnell

Pieces to be discussed include Semaphore-bot, Tangólumen, and Cardiolumen: a multifaceted exploration of the data we create both consciously and unconsciously and their inherent value.

Andrew S. Parnell is a Portland based digital artist. His work primarily deals with the physical manifestation of digital information using code, image capture, and electronics.

Michael Bunsen

Dome Control: Altering a space via physical and web-based interfaces

Michael Bunsen spends most of his time on the internet but is more interested in nature and the outside world. He developed Urbanedibles.org and began exploring microcontrollers to cultivate his mission of using the computer to get people off the computer.

Dan Gilsdorf

A presentation featuring works from 2006 to the present, including the recent exhibitions Interiotrope, 2008 and SRO Video, 2009.

Dan Gilsdorf is a sculptor and installation artist based in Portland. Using video, sound, and mechanics, his work addresses the mediating effect of technology on physical and cultural landscapes.

For more information or to RSVP, visit Dorkbot PDX.

(Image courtesy Laen. Used under Creative Commons.)

In the interview, Selena and Audrey highlight some of the thinking behind the conference, provide some insight into the unconference portion of Open Source Bridge, and talk about the hacker lounge. Among other things.

On a tangential note, we’re proud to announce that Strange Love Live will be on the floor at Open Source Bridge. During the day, they’ll be streaming interviews with speakers and attendees. And Friday night, they’ll be broadcasting live from the wrap up party.

But you can’t be on the Strange Love Live set if you’re not there. So please register today—or sign up to volunteer.

News flash, money is super tight, and we know you want to squeeze every penny. We get it.

Still, we <3 open source, and we know you do too. So, we want to get you here to enjoy the awesomesauce we’re cooking.

We also <3 Portland, and so do the good people at Travel Command. They want to get you here too.

That’s why they are waiving their fee and offering to do whatever you need–book a flight, rooms at the Hilton (remember, the all-hours hacker lounge is there), a rental car or car service–anything travel-related.

That’s not all. If you need to change your plans for any reason, they’ll also waive the customary fee for that. Sweet.

Being an Intertubes hero, you’re probably confident that you can search around and find the best rates. You’re a self-starter. We like that about you.

But, take it from me, even with all your ninja skills, Travel Command will do better.

Why?

Because they know all the tricks you do, plus they have years of contacts and experience that you don’t. They’re experts.

Sometimes, you need an expert. Just think about your favorite open source project.

Besides, imagine all the the time you’ll save.

Mucking around on the ‘tubes comparing rates takes time, and you know, time is money. So, you’re saving time and money, or more accurately, you’re saving money and money. It’s good for you, and think of all that time you can spend on other things.

So, you’re already registered, right? If you’re not, you should be.

Deep down, you know you should book your travel ASAP because you know you’ll get the best deals.

Don’t wait. Call them right now at 866-319-0384 (or locally at 503-445-2595) and get it done.

You don’t want to be kicking yourself the week before the conference when you’re paying full fare for a flight because all the sweet deals are gone.

As a bonus, if you book right away, you’ll get one of those sweet Portland Perks coupon books, generously contributed by Travel Portland, that you can use to fill your free time here in the Rose City. You might even decide to come early (for some of the Rose Festival maybe) or stay after the conference to take in the sights.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Hockley on Flickr used with permission, all rights reserved. Did you know Aaron will be photographing the conference?

So here’s the deal. You book a room, you get a free Portland Perks coupon book. It’s an 18 page booklet chock-full of coupons. Coupons for places like the award winning, Saucebox Cafe & Bar, The Oregon Zoo (Have you ever seen a baby elephant? We have one.), The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), The Portland Children’s Museum, and Powell’s City of Books. The list just goes on and on…

All you have to do is register for the conference and book a room (the handy button is right over there=>>).

There are a limited number of books, so I suggest you book your room now.

I wouldn’t want you to be sulking while all your friends are out enjoying the splendor of The Portland Chinese Classical Garden for half the normal price.

Photographer: Lia Hollander

You can pick up your Portland Perks when you pick up your badge on the first day of the conference. Coming to Portland early? Fantastic! Once you’ve registered and booked a room, email us at info@opensourcebridge.org and we will mail you the coupon book.

No doubt, you’ve seen some of the other amazing proposals that have been submitted. But what about the keynotes?

So far, we’ve confirmed the following keynote speakers:

• Ward Cunningham, father of the wiki
• Kurt von Finck, Communications Manager for Monty Program AB
• Portland Mayor Sam Adams

And that’s just the beginning.

So, please keep those proposals coming. We’ll keep chasing keynote speakers. And we’ll all have a phenomenal conference come June.

(Image courtesy Simone.Brunozzi. Used under Creative Commons.)

That we can name a conference something a little awkward like “Open Source Bridge”, and no marketing department stops us.

There’s a project called Drizzle, that was forked from a commercial company and a team of what traditionally might be considered competitors ran with it. We can call a project PMS, and my friends will laugh but still review the code.

I’m running this conference because I love free and open source software. I want the way that we write code to dominate software development – I want it to become the default. I want “open source” to be synonymous with “software development”.

And of course, I think everyone should have the freedom to look at and tinker with the source code of the applications they depend on. Ultimately, we’ll prove that it’s better for society, even if we still have some learning to do around how to produce the best software, with the best user interfaces and documentation to go along with our code.

Which sort of brings me to why I think this particular conference is so important. The human aspect of software development — why we do what we do, how we communicate with each other and where we do our work are all critically important aspects of the open source ecosystem.

Portland is an amazing place – we’re overflowing with tech events every night of the week. I can’t keep up with our user groups because there are just too damn many of them. It’s amazing to see our community flourish, and we want to show you how we’re doing it.

Not just to show off. Well, ok. Maybe a little.

We want you to learn from us and go back to your town and start your own crazy tech scene. Set up calendars, meet up with people for lunch, dinner, beer and #afterhours hacking. Make spaces to create, express yourself and publish the code.

Do what we do. But not because I say so. Come see what we’re up to, first-hand.

(Image courtesy Aylaleia. Used under Creative Commons.)

Portland geek volunteers at work

One of the unique things about Open Source Bridge is that it is entirely volunteer run. That’s right. 100% volunteers.

All proceeds—sponsorships, registration fees, and in-kind contributions—go to ensuring that Portland, Oregon, has a one-of-a-kind conference for open source citizens this summer—and hopefully for many years to come.

Why do we do it? Because we love the idea of having an open source conference by developers for developers where they can focus on the topics that are important to them. But more importantly, it just seems like the right thing to do.

But we can’t do it alone. So if you like the idea of Open Source Bridge as much as we do, we’d love to have your help.

We’re looking for folks who can introduce Open Source Bridge to their communities. People like John DeRosa from Seattle, Washington, who took it upon himself to ask how he could help. People like Jeremy Fluhmann of Robert Lee, Texas, who has been helping spread the word. People like Nat Torkington who gave the event some link love. And people like Matt Woodward who are submitting proposals and living to tell about it.

And, of course, if you happen to live in Portland, we’d love to have your help, too.

Perks? Aside from our undying gratitude, we’ll make sure you’re in the loop on all the goings on, we’ll be open to your suggestions and insights, and we’ll do our best to make sure that you’re shown all the appreciation you deserve.

How do you get involved? The easiest way is to fill out the volunteer form. Let us know where you’re from, what your area of expertise is, what you like to hack on, and how you’d like to help. Maybe you’d like to be the Open Source Bridge representative for your local user group? Maybe you’re like to help wrangle speakers? Maybe you’d like to lead a codefest in the hacker lounge? Every little bit helps.

Thanks, in advance, for considering joining the Open Source Bridge team. We’re looking forward to working with you to develop an unforgettable conference.

Photo courtesy day_on. Used under Creative Commons.