Toxic BBQ

This text originally appeared in the Toxic BBQ Retrospective Zine, Grow your own Sideshow . Few were as excited to talk about organizing Toxic BBQ as Sc0tland, Las Vegas Native and early DEF CON attendee, known on Twitter as @level2three . Other than Toxic, she has been involved in Scav Hunt, Toorcamp, and countless other hacker hijinx. She’s eager to share her experiences building an event to be proud of. The following is based on notes from interviews on this very topic. - DuncanYoudaho Before we get down to the nitty-gritty of building your own event, let’s talk about why successful ones resonate and return. As a participant, they may seem to occur spontaneously, but savvy organizers are working behind the scenes to induce and foster community, narrative, and culture of the event by including these aspects: Set the stage and differentiate your sideshow from the rest of the attractions. Adopt rituals and add in relics to unify participants in action and memory. Trim the fat and re

This text originally appeared in the  Toxic BBQ Retrospective Zine, Grow your own Sideshow . DEF CON’s unofficial launch party is a sometimes-quiet cookout that welcomes all, n00b and 1337 alike. This prelude to the cacophony and telephony grew with its host convention to a gathering of hundreds with grill temps and daytime highs to match. If each DEF CON is a hacker carnival, Toxic BBQ is its first sideshow. We celebrated the 15th year of grill and chill (and a hybrid return to DEF CON amidst a turbulent pandemic) by collecting tips and tricks for running a sideshow of your very own. We also caught up with past organizers of Toxic and similar events to get their perspective on building community and culture in the Information Age. We hope that our masticarious adventures delight and inspire you to build (or rebuild) a culture of care and friendship at DEF CON and closer to home. Special thanks to Sc0tland, TheCotMan, EvilMoFo, Deviant Ollam, the @dc_peppercon crew, and many others for

  Toxic BBQ Unofficial DEF CON Kick-off Cookout 16:00- 22:00 Thursday   Sunset Park Pavilion F ( 36.0636, -115.1178 ) The humans of Vegas invite you to the latest inCARNEtion of DEF CON's unofficial welcome party. Hacker Homecoming is happening at DEF CON 30, and Toxic BBQ will be there will bell(pepper)s on (the grill).  Meet your internet friends AFK just like you did in the Before Time. Burgers and dogs are provided; BYO-everything-else (more food, drinks, labor, rides, and donations). Important Times: 1PM - Supply Run Volunteers depart from main Info Booth 3PM - Fires are lit 4PM - IT BEGINS 9:30PM - Clean-up 10PM - Park Closes First time? Check out How Does this Work? Planned Events: Peppercon Homebrew Competition  Bring your finest bitters or ciders and face off against fellow hackers Local Brew Share  Have a favorite local brew? We've saved a place of honor for them at the table Weird Jerky Tasting , Engineered Meat Tasting , and whatever you decide to cook up for u