Toxic BBQ

 Stats for DEF CON C&E: 300 hackers 1 park denizen on a razor scooter 1 roadrunner 116 degree heat 200 burgers and dogs Thus concludes Toxic BBQ's 15th year and 5th with DY and the_bozo at the helm. A lightning bolt, a klaxon, a true set of shockwaves, and the hacker world was riven in two! Our beloved crank-to-lift grill was replaced this year by the Clark County Parks Department. Though less squeaky, the one was still serviceable and a little larger. The grill was staffed by three crews that rotated through over the 6 hours to feed the horde of over 300 hackers. As in previous years, each received a commemorative bit of swag for their service.  This year, it was the Cheeseburger Patrol Patch . As many of the typical crew could not attend, it was great to see a new crop of volunteers step up to fill their capable shoes. Food safety improved by adding 4 meat thermometers to the kit, and all burgers, chicken and sausages were properly temped before coming off the grill. We also

  This text originally appeared in the  Toxic BBQ Retrospective Zine, Grow your own Sideshow . The path from “there’s this thing we do...” to conference-legend can be rocky. We’ve collected tips from our notes and interviews into a firehose of recommendations for you and your team. We hope these will nudge you from `wishing` to `holding` your “thing-apart” for everyone’s enjoyment. - the_bozo and DuncanYoudaho Location Where? Make yourself easy to find. Stick close to your parent venue. If off-site, provide relative directions from the venue. Also give out an absolute location/address for taxis, an information desk, or maps app. Control the Space Reserve the site for your group’s exclusive use. Whether a con booth, suite, or off-site, ensure you can enforce crowd size limits, CoC, closure, and clean-up. Understand the Rules Be an expert on the rules of your venue so your guests don’t have to be. Is glass allowed? How loud can we be? When do w

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