REST Fest is a community event focused on the REST network architectural style and RESTful implementations of the style. Based on the OpenSpaces model, REST Fest puts developers front-and-center with a handful of selected speakers, "open mic" style Lightning Talks where anyone can present about anything, and access to a "Hack Space" where people can get together and work on whatever interests them.
REST Fest will encourage developers who have direct experience building RESTful applications for the World Wide Web to share their successes and their frustrations in an informal atmosphere. Talks that emphasise practical solutions will be favored over theoretical presentations. Showing your code is encouraged! The event is platform and technology agnostic with a leaning toward Open Source and OSS-friendly environments.
All attendees are encouraged to submit a title, short abstract (250 words or less) and an indication of the "level" of the talk (beginner, intermediate, advanced). "How To..." talks are encouraged as well as "How Do I?" talks. A small number of talks (about five) will be choosen as a "Featured Talk" with a format of 30 minutes plus questions. All talks are automatically accepted for the "Lightning Talk" section (Five Slides in Five Minutes). If you want your talk to be considered only for one category (Lightning or Selected), indicate that on your proposal. We're going to be collecting speaker info on our wiki on GitHub.
REST Fest includes a full Hack Day where attendees can get together and work on any project they like. The Hack Rooms will be open throughout the event with power and wireless access provided. Attendees are also encouraged to propose talks that result in Hack Room participation including frameworks and library authors who are looking for help coding open source libraries.