Week in Review — WordCamp Minneapolis and Saint Paul

We had a great week on the road at WordCamp Minneapolis and Saint Paul. For those that may not know, this was the home camp of Mike Demo, our resident brand evangelist. Needless to say, he was excited for this one.

The event started Thursday night with a Speaker and Sponsor event at Modern Tribe. This spectacular event served as a great opportunity for the world to meet “Boldie,” the BoldGrid Banshee. Boldie earned many new fans, and we have already laid plans to hatch a few more of these before our future BoldGrid road trips.

Hanging out with @wpmodder at #wcmpls pic.twitter.com/Ii0UWX6Lq8

— Mike Demopoulos (@mpmike) August 4, 2017

The main event began on Friday morning. We really enjoyed the campus of the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs, who hosted the event. Right on the Metro Transit Light Rail Line, we had direct access to Saint Paul, Downtown Minneapolis, the Airport, and the Mall of America. Super convenient, friendly people, and wonderful campus.

Boldy says to get your free Tide pen at the BoldGrid booth at #WCMPLS pic.twitter.com/i2MOFmgYqO

— BoldGrid (@boldgrid) August 4, 2017

Good thing it was so comfortable, too, because that brought in the visitors by droves. We spend the day connecting with the wonderful people of the Twin Cities WordPress community. We gave out countless more of our ever-popular BoldGrid Tide® pens to our booth visitors. That evening, we tried out a local vegan restaurant with some old and new friend from the event, then hopped on the Light Rail with the gang from SiteLock to visit Mickey’s Diner. For those who don’t know, Mickey’s Diner is a true Saint Paul institution, having featured in a number of movies, including most famously The Mighty Ducks. Saturday brought more wonderful visitors and opportunities to share the word about BoldGrid. We started the day in a Panel about Open Source. Mike Demo sat on the panel, adding his unique perspective and years of experience to an already engaging conversation. Later that day, Mike was at it again, giving his famous Duck Talk.

Mike Demo from @boldgrid explaing the free as in beer construct for open source. Stallman would be proud, brother. #wcmsp #wcmpls pic.twitter.com/gleWIvsoDX

— Shawn Pfunder (@pfunder) August 5, 2017

The day ended with more great connections and new friends as BoldGrid hosted at the Minnesota United match.

BoldGrid is hosting people at the #MINvSEA match. #FOREVERUNITED #WCMSP #wcmpls #wordcamp #WordPress pic.twitter.com/YcLAcbDNO8

— BoldGrid (@boldgrid) August 6, 2017

Overall, the BoldGrid team had a blast, especially Mike (who reveled in getting to participate in his home camp). As always, we would like to thank the many wonderful organizers and sponsors that made WordCamp Minneapolis and Saint Paul not only possible, but a huge success.