pouët.net

MountainBytes 2021 - February 19th - 21st, Cham, Switzerland

category: parties [glöplog]
WE ARE BACK.

After a six-year break, Echtzeit and the organizers of Buenzli/Demodays are finally continuing the Swiss Demoparty-tradition.

Stay tuned for more information as well as the invitation later this year, and mark

February 19th - 21st, 2021
Cham, Canton of Zug, Switzerland


in your calendars.

There will be snow (visible on the mountain peaks in the distance), there will be old friends and new.

We are looking forward to welcoming you back to Switzerland!

www.mountainbytes.ch

(Due to the current situation and the likeliness that countermeasures will still be imposed, we will apply all necessary precautions as set by the BAG (Swiss Federal Department of Health). The health of you, our organizers, families and friends takes first priority.)
added on the 2020-04-11 23:43:26 by Shana Shana
BB Image BB Image BB Image
added on the 2020-04-11 23:45:14 by psykon psykon
Awesome! I'll be there! <3
added on the 2020-04-12 00:10:13 by v3nom v3nom
aaaaand correct url:
https://www.mountainbytes.ch/
added on the 2020-04-12 00:11:03 by maali maali
\o/
added on the 2020-04-12 00:51:44 by las las
\o/
added on the 2020-04-12 01:03:17 by psenough psenough
! ! !
added on the 2020-04-12 01:28:14 by algorias algorias
Das finde ich sehr gut!
added on the 2020-04-12 02:08:56 by mbb mbb
I'm redeemed. Thank you for getting this started, lovely Mountainbytes-folks <3
added on the 2020-04-12 10:58:03 by unlock unlock
Well. Someone still has to get the OHP-compo organized. We may talk about redemption afterwards. <3
added on the 2020-04-12 15:48:13 by Shana Shana
For the unlikely case of MountainBytes having to take place online, I'm really looking forward to do the OHP competition from my basement.
added on the 2020-04-12 21:10:59 by unlock unlock
Hey there!

We were pretty busy for the past couple of months, so it got a bit quiet. But it was certainly worth it:

We've worked on a "demoparty" Safety and Prevention Concept, and added some features and services to hopefully do justice to the situation.
Our hope is that with enough effort and ideas as well as a bit of luck, we can make the difference between postponing/canceling and actually seeing you guys again, moving forward from online events. Feel free to chime in, give your opinion, issues you see or further ideas.

We also struck some pretty good accomodation deals, already starting at 20 CHF (19 Euro)/night, to give more sanitary options than sleeping in the hall.

Head over to our homepage for more information and an introduction to our country, the location and the neighbourhood!
added on the 2020-06-13 23:37:58 by Shana Shana
Most excellent! snow and demo = :)
added on the 2020-06-17 18:05:11 by DaD1916 DaD1916
Big news, ladies and gentlemen!


We are finally starting our presale, and we finally published the Compo Rules.


Head over to www.mountainbytes.ch to preorder your ticket, accommodation and T-shirts.

Also, as you can imagine art funds are pretty busy with artist emergency funds this year, and sponsorship is a bit of a challenge. So if you can (and want to) muster it, we are also introducing Cowee-Bonds to cover for the party expenses. You can buy them in steps of 10 CHF (around 9€), and would of course earn our eternal gratitude. We would be really glad about anyone who can help us getting "the cow off the ice", as they so fittingly say in German.

Also the authorities received our detail prevention concept and are rather happy with it. We also came up with a couple of new features that will hopefully aid the minimum safety distance, such as deckchairs in front of the bigscreen, opening up the tribune during Compos and moving the Interactive Game Compo to the Gamecorner you may still recall from Buenzli/Demodays. By that, you'll be able to present and play all entries yourself in the loftier foyer. Of course masks will be mandatory in critical spots.
Also, another compo will be outside of the mainhall: Introducing the 3D-Print Compo! We're really eager to see what you are going to come up with on that platform!

Nevertheless things may of course change for the worse. We now set the final Go/No-Go date for the party to January 10th, 2021.
This is way before any costs occur for you from booked accommodations. It was important to us that we can plan with you and receive as many preorders as possible, while at the same time ensuring you won't face massive expenses when we have to cancel.
Swiss, SBB and their partners do offer quite good fares a month in advance, so like this we're hopeful that we can keep things flexible for you.

We are really looking forward to seeing you again, trying to create an environment where you can feel as safe as it gets at this time.

Please let us know if you can think of anything else, or have any questions. We're continuing to build as many measures that will hopefully feel more like features to you. :)
added on the 2020-09-28 13:28:27 by Shana Shana
Thanks m'dear. I am and remain hopelessly glöpless.
added on the 2020-09-28 15:45:47 by Shana Shana
My pleasure. Still owe you a drink for the nice face mask (totally forgot that during UC).
added on the 2020-09-28 18:25:39 by RufUsul RufUsul
Hey there! I just wanted to post a huge THANK YOU to everyone who already ordered their ticket with us.

An even bigger thanks has to go out to all the purchasers of Cowee-Bonds, I can't thank you enough for this. Seeing how so many people are willing to support us and jump in especially in the current lack of sponsorship (as venom also mentioned in his Deadline-statement) is just breathtaking...
However, we of course promise that we are still working hard to find more sponsors, and we'll of course be transparent in case of a surplus.

On a related note: WE HAVE TO RESTRICT OUR TICKET SALE TO 100 TICKETS.

We can then only gauge our safety measures again and again to see if we can release further tickets or may have to introduce a waitinglist.
There will likely be no box-office sale due to the information and validation effort we have with the contact tracing. So the earlier you actually order, the more you help us with all of this, and we are able to regularly update our authorities about expected participants.
Additionally, I am of course mortified by the idea of having a waiting list and then chosing who could or couldn't come. Obviously we want to see all of you. <3

Switzerland is and remains comparatively supportive of cultural events in its regulations, but that doesn't mean that things can't change or we as organizers can't impose stronger rules (we do indeed as of now).
Imagine our Canton only gets a mask mandate for shops as of this weekend...

We will of course keep everyone updated, and also reach out individually to ticket holders when we see their countries slipping onto warning lists, finding solutions together with you.
added on the 2020-10-07 09:54:29 by Shana Shana
So yeaaaah, anything interesting happened in the last month...?

Well, just to post an update. We are of course aware that Switzerland is Europe's #5 hotspot right now (considering all countries with a lower infection rate than us just dropped off our own list). We are on the red lists of practically every participating nation, and would of course not expect anyone to quarantine themselves after returning from us.

The good news is that Switzerland just imposed rather strict new regulations, hoping to lower case numbers to get us off the lists during the skiing season. At the end of which of course stands MountainBytes.

So our best hope right now is that we Swiss apply ourselves so we can welcome you safely on time.

We of course remain incredibly grateful for everyone who is already ordering their tickets, giving us a good chance for an educated guess on our final phasegate in January, when the financial risk is getting too high for us (and we of course don't want to have you facing massive cancellation fees or last-minute surpluses on your plane or train tickets).

We remain optimistic that we are going to be able to seeing you again. We'll certainly do everything we can.

We - I - miss you. <3
added on the 2020-10-29 15:01:08 by Shana Shana
Oh, "funny" (haha...) side-fact: our safety concept from September already contains most of the restrictions put onto cultural public events as of now, except for the fact that we could only host 50 people and you would only be allowed to drink at your tables.
That being said, this is of course not the only consideration, and we are still expecting stricter rules for the next few weeks.

But it certainly shows that Switzerland itself is keen on supporting its cultural life and wants this to be able to continue as soon as safely possible.
added on the 2020-10-29 15:14:24 by Shana Shana
During our last visit, we got the opportunity to look closer at the Lorzensaal's ventilation solution. They were able to install a fully separate inlet and outlet solution including HEPA filters. The one caveat this brings is that they had to crank up the heating for the inlets, since they can no longer recycle the air inside the hall.
So against what one may originally anticipate: pack some light clothing, with all our computers the main hall may become a bit warmer than usual. What's shortening the lifespan of aerosols in the hall, I guess.

We are also looking into rapid test options to comply with potential quarantine regulations for international visitors. However, we of course still ask everyone to lay low a couple of days before and after the party to protect ourselves and our communities.

We are still determined to make this happen, and are glad about all preorders we receive (especially considering the Youth Hostel beds sell out very quickly by entire groups!)

So head over the https://mountainbytes.ch to reserve your spot!
added on the 2020-12-02 10:09:12 by Shana Shana
Also, a bit more insight on the situation in Switzerland: While our second wave was/is rougher than in most other European countries, cultural events up to 50 people remained allowed if they could provide a solid prevention concept. We've sent ours to the local health authority and they were rather pleased to see that most of our measures had already been fairly strict in September, and more or less comply with the current regulations.
Events for up to 1000 people were allowed throughout summer, and after some early superspreader events in nightclubs, the entertainment sector adjusted its rules and started working closely with the health authorities.
Ever since, superspreader events became rare and concentrated on family events, so we are lucky to have great partners that are already experienced with running their facilities differently.
If you are interested, our service public has a pretty neat statistics page about the developments in Switzerland, and they do look very promising right now that we may return to events for 100-300 visitors (what's our aim in the end) by January when we have our Go/No-Go endpoint. We are of course aware that Christmas is going to be a wildcard, especially in a Canton with 30% expats that haven't seen their families in a year.

We will however make some slight adjustments:

There are different national regulations to what happens if you are aware that you may have been exposed, so we will make note of that in our next version's tracing section.

There may be a need to allow eating and drinking (yes, also drinking) only when seated, we'll make sure to have tables with minimum distance at the infodesk/bar area, you're free to eat and drink at your tables, of course.

Tables! Currently, we plan to have a maximum of two people sharing a table, depending on the number of visitors we may even be able to reduce this further, so only groups travelling together anyway can sit closer to each other if they want.
Instead of cuddling up on the floor in front of the bigscreen, the local lido gifted us their deck chairs for a cozy, socially-distant compo-experience for you. We are also opening up the gallery for the compos, the sound experience in this hall is absolutely amazing and you may find that it's even better from up there!

Also, we decided that masks will be mandatory everywhere inside the mainhall. Personally, beside the many cases where masks made the one huge difference, they are a sign of respect and care for others, and we think if parties can happen, then only in this spirit. Just note that we Swiss love our rules, and this "but I've got a pretty nose!"-outfit is pretty much frowned upon... and also fined with up to 300 CHF (250 EUR) now in public transport or shops. It happens, it slips, but if someone tells you to put it back up, do so. And if you really, really don't want to for non-medical reasons? We will have a livestream.

In that sense, we really hope to see as many of you as possible, and do everything we can to come up with decent solutions for the continued situation. If you have any further ideas, let me know. We love to get silly. :)
added on the 2020-12-02 10:38:57 by Shana Shana
Hey everyone, happy New Year!

Or so - well, you know what's coming next: It's been a blast to dream, but with the current infection rates, death toll and lockdowns there is no way MountainBytes 2021 could happen in any good faith.
We won't move the date to summer out of respect to the other organizers that attempt to organize parties this year, we keep our fingers crossed for onScene, Outline, Underground Conference and hopefully many, many more!

Thank all of you for the early orders, the additional support through Cowee-Bonds and for the association, and of course the huge effort from everyone involved.

It won't be for naught - I really hope to see all of you from Feb 18th - 20th 2022 in Cham, Switzerland, rest assured the venue and Youth Hostel are already reserved!

We miss you. <3
added on the 2021-01-06 13:13:59 by Shana Shana
:(

See you next year <3

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