Frequently Asked Questions

A one-day unconference. Nobody hands you a schedule. The people who show up build it that morning: anyone can pitch a session, everyone votes with stickers, and the ideas with the most votes get the bigger rooms.

Philadelphia’s BarCamp launched in 2008, which makes it one of the longest-running BarCamps still going. For the longer version, read What is an unconference?

Neither. The first BarCamp, in Palo Alto in 2005, was an open alternative to Foo Camp, an invite-only tech retreat. Programmers use “foo” and “bar” as placeholder names, so the open version became BarCamp.

Saturday, October 17, 2026, from 8am to 5pm.

Jon M. Huntsman Hall
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
3730 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

• 8am Doors open. Arrive early to pitch your session.
• 9am Voting starts. Sessions with the most votes get the larger rooms.
• 9:45am Opening remarks
• 10am, 11am, noon Morning sessions
• 1pm Lunch on your own
• 2pm, 3pm, 4pm Afternoon sessions
• 5pm Closing remarks

No. Come for the morning, the afternoon, or all of it. Voting on sessions runs through the morning and lunch, so that’s when you get a say in what lands on the board.

Tech shows up every year, but it’s often only about a quarter of the board. Past sessions have covered impostor syndrome, ultimate frisbee and retro gaming. People have also led meditation, played live music and done standup. If you care about a topic, it belongs on the board.

No. Plenty of people spend their first BarCamp listening and voting. And if an idea hits you over breakfast, you don’t need a title or a slide deck to lead a session.

Arrive by 8am to watch the board come together, and talk to people over breakfast. That’s where a lot of sessions start. Vote for anything that catches your interest, use the Rule of Two Feet freely, and ask any volunteer if you’re not sure where to go. What is an unconference? explains the format in more detail.

Yes. Kids are welcome, and kids as young as 9 have led sessions at past BarCamps. Every attendee needs a ticket, kids included, because everyone goes into the building’s security system.

Anyone under 15 needs a parent or guardian with them. Parents and guardians are responsible for preventing disruptions, helping their kids follow the code of conduct in the SafeSpaces Policy, and judging whether a session’s content is right for their kids.

General admission is $20. Your ticket is a donation that keeps BarCamp Philly running, and it includes morning drinks and a light continental breakfast. Register for BCP17.

Some are. After 16 events, BarCamp Philly has learned that a small donation works better for this community. It sharply cuts no-shows, and it pays for the continental breakfast from local vendors plus supplies like lanyards, badges and printed materials. Donors and sponsors cover the rest.

Every expense is public on BarCamp Philly’s OpenCollective page. Its admin group is chaired by long-time BarCamp volunteers, and the books are audited by the fiscal sponsor, the Open Source Collective.

Noon on Friday, October 16. Wharton enters every attendee into Huntsman Hall’s building security system by first and last name, and that takes a business day.

Register now so you’re on the list.

No. Every attendee has to be in the building’s security system before the event, so registration closes at noon on Friday, October 16. Skipping door sales also means volunteers don’t handle cash or cards on the day.

Email info@barcampphilly.org. Sponsors and community donations exist so that cost keeps nobody out.

Tickets are non-refundable, but they’re fully transferable. If your plans change, forward your ticket to someone else or update the registration details. No need to ask first.

Email ticketing@barcampphilly.org.

Several SEPTA bus and trolley lines stop near Huntsman Hall. It’s also a short walk from the L1 stops at 34th Street and 40th Street.

Metered parking is on 38th Street and along Walnut Street. Penn also runs a paid parking garage directly across Walnut Street from Huntsman Hall.

Use the main entrance on Walnut Street, directly across from Honeygrow and the parking garage. Inside, turn left at the front desk and follow the hallway to the elevator or escalator down to the lower-level Atrium. Everything BarCamp happens in and around the Atrium.

• The QR code from your Ticket Tailor confirmation, on your phone or printed
• A photo ID
• A refillable water bottle
• A power bank
• If you’re leading a session, the adapter for your laptop and your slides stored in the cloud
• A session idea, if you have one

Bring the QR code from your Ticket Tailor confirmation, on your phone or printed. It’s the fastest way through check-in. No QR code? Volunteers can look you up with your photo ID.

Bring one. The venue may check your identity at the front desk using a photo ID, and it lets volunteers find your registration if you don’t have your QR code.

Yes. You can come and go all day, including for lunch. Re-entry works the same way as your morning arrival: check in with the front desk each time you come in.

Yes, through PennNet. You can register for access when you arrive, using any email address.

Yes. There are power outlets throughout the building, plus charging lockers. Outlets near a session room can fill up, so bring a power bank too.

Write your idea on a card, pin it to the board and pitch it to the room. Everyone dot-votes on the sessions they want to hear, throughout the morning and through lunch. The votes decide which sessions get a slot and which room fits each crowd.

Most of the board gets built that morning. The admin collective also accepts a small handful of talks in advance.

No. Pitching puts your idea on the board, and attendee votes decide which sessions get slots and in which rooms. Pitch early so people have the whole morning to vote for it.

A digital schedule goes up on barcampphilly.org the morning of the event, once the board is built. It’s updated throughout the day as rooms and times change.

Each block is 60 minutes. Session leaders plan for about 45, questions included, so everyone has time to check the board, take a break and get to the next room.

A track that’s new for BCP17, borrowed from BarCamps around the world. The admin collective schedules commercially oriented sessions there: product demos and workshops tied to paid coaching or consulting programs. If you came to see demos, you’ll know exactly where to find them.

Yes, in DemoCamp. The admin collective schedules product demos and sessions tied to paid coaching or consulting programs into that track, so people looking for them know where to go. The rest of the board belongs to community members sharing what they’ve learned or leading conversations.

Yes. That’s the Rule of Two Feet, BarCamp’s most important principle. If a session isn’t working for you, walk to another one. Session leaders know it going in, and nobody takes it personally.

Bring the adapter for your own laptop and keep your slides in the cloud so they’ll load on the classroom system. Wharton’s classroom AV is well maintained, and the most common delay is a missing cable. Projectors and whiteboards are in the rooms.

Slides are optional. Panels that come together the morning of are some of the day’s favorite sessions. How to Lead a BarCamp Philly Session covers the rest.

Only with the session leader’s consent, asked in advance. You’re always welcome to record your own session. BarCamp Philly doesn’t record or stream sessions.

Your ticket includes morning drinks and a light continental breakfast, first come, first served. It includes vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. The vendors work to prevent cross-contamination, but nobody can guarantee how food was prepared or transported, so plan accordingly if you have a serious allergy.

Bring a refillable water bottle. There are refill stations throughout the building.

Lunch is on you, from 1pm to 2pm. It’s a BarCamp tradition to head out with people you met that morning, and University City has plenty of places to eat within a few blocks. Check in with the front desk when you come back.

Yes. Every space reserved for BCP17 is fully accessible, and wheelchairs, mobility devices and service animals are welcome. Penn’s PennAccess map for Huntsman Hall (PDF) shows accessible entrances, elevators and restrooms. Email info@barcampphilly.org if you’d like help planning a route.

Yes. A low-stimulation room is set aside for anyone who needs a break from noise, crowds or screens. The room number is posted the morning of the event. Ask at registration or any volunteer (blue-and-white badge).

Yes, in Huntsman Hall and across Penn’s campus. Penn’s All Gender Restroom Map (PDF) shows where they are.

BarCamp Philly is run entirely by volunteers, so live captioning and ASL interpretation aren’t provided. Session leaders are asked to welcome your own captioning apps, hearing devices, screen readers and other assistive tech. Sit wherever works best for you, front row included.

Yes, optional ones at registration. Everyone’s name and pronouns are to be respected as stated. That’s part of the SafeSpaces Policy.

Masks aren’t required, and anyone who wants to wear one is welcome to.

You’ll pick one at registration to show how you feel about photos and video: green means go ahead, yellow means ask first, red means no photos or recording. Please honor everyone’s choice. If you can’t see someone’s lanyard or tell the colors apart, ask before you shoot.

Email info@barcampphilly.org before the event so there’s time to sort it out. The full Accessibility page has more detail.

Yes. BarCamp Philly is committed to a harassment-free day for everyone. By attending, you agree to the SafeSpaces Policy, so please read it before you come.

Volunteers wear blue-and-white badges on their lanyards. Members of the admin collective wear yellow-and-black badges. Either can help you or find someone who can.

Badges are separate from the green, yellow and red lanyards, which only signal photo preferences.

Tell any volunteer (blue-and-white badge) or admin (yellow-and-black badge) right away, or email info@barcampphilly.org. Every report is taken seriously and handled with discretion.

Wharton sponsors Penn Public Safety and Penn security staff for the event. They’re at the front desk and on patrol throughout Huntsman Hall.

In an emergency, call Penn Public Safety at 215-573-3333 (or 511 from a campus phone), or 911.

Yes. Merch is an add-on contribution this year, ordered from the online merch store through October 21. You don’t need a ticket to order. Attendees asked for the change, and printing on demand keeps costs down for a community event and cuts waste.

Orders ship directly from the print-on-demand vendor. Most take 10 to 14 business days, so an order placed now will likely arrive after the event.

Got the wrong size? A swap shop session is set aside for trading shirts with fellow attendees.

Post your slides, notes and ideas from the day to r/BarCampPhilly or the #bar-camp-philly channel in the Philly Dev Slack. That’s also where to look for sessions you missed.

The Philly Dev Slack is members-only. To request an invite, email info@barcampphilly.org with a link to your portfolio site, your LinkedIn profile or other links that show your work in Philly’s tech community.

Most shifts last about an hour, and you pick the ones that fit your day. Sign up for a shift, then read the Volunteer Hub before the 17th. Volunteers need a ticket too. Email info@barcampphilly.org to request a complimentary volunteer ticket.

There’s no official one. People usually self-organize and head somewhere together, often with a few new friends in tow.

Email info@barcampphilly.org. And if you’re posting about the day, use #bcp17.