Install Fest Question

[Dan Buhrman]

Hello All,
I do not believe many of you know me, however, I joined the Maryland Team on
Launchpad a few months back.  I have had every intention of attending a
meeting since then, however, the library is a 2 hour drive for me, and work
and college tend to make it difficult to find time presently.

Anyway, I would really like to have an Install Fest in Western Maryland
(Hagerstown area).  I'm not sure if there is anything that needs to happen
with the team, or anyone to specifically contact, however, I was hoping for
some guidance in this area.  What steps need to be taken, strategies that
have worked in the past, etc.

Our area is saturated with people who do nothing more than email, web
browsing, and maybe some word processing on their computers, making them an
ideal target for Ubuntu.  Mix that with the lower average salaries and lower
cost of living (everything is cheaper), and anything with a free price-tag
is a tempting offer to my neighbors.  Also, the Hagerstown area has the
advantage of attracting people from 3 states (the tri-state area).  Since
our outlets and mall is the best for miles around, people from Martinsburg,
WV, Chambersburg, PA, and everywhere in between travel to Hagerstown often
to shop.

My main questions are:

   - Does everyone agree this is a worth-while venture, and ok for me to
   move forward?  I do not want to step on anyone's toes and hope I am not
   doing so.
   - Is there any official approval process that I need to go through with
   this team or Ubuntu in order to have an Install Fest?
   - What strategies have worked in the past as far as attracting people to
   the fest?
   - I was hoping to host this for 10.04, does anyone have any opinions on
   the timeframe for this?  For example, would it be better to have the Install
   Fest close to the release date and kind of combine a release party with the
   Install Fest, or wait a few months afterwards for stability reasons?  (Not
   saying it won't be stable out of the box, but time heals a lot in any
   software, including Ubuntu)
   - Is there anyone else on the team that lives in this area that would
   like to help?
   - Anything anyone else can think of that may hinder the event.

I appreciate all of your consideration in this matter.  I feel the Maryland
Team is one of the more active and innovative LoCo Teams, and hope to meet
most of you soon, and become more active with the team.

Best Regards!

Dan Buhrman
(240) 818-8521
14633 Water Company Rd.
Cascade, MD 21719