FIRSTFare 2008

In November 2007, we hosted the first annual FIRSTFare at Catlin Gabel. The event was a huge success--around a dozen teams, and 250 people, attended, including both veteran teams, who came to trade knowledge, and rookie teams, who came to discover what FIRST Robotics is all about, and begin learning how to build a robot.

This year, on the first of November we held FIRSTFare again - this time, 400 people attended. Next year, we look forward to an even greater crowd!

Teams arrive in the morning, and many bring their competition robots from past years to show off in the Cabell Center's lobby. This Swap Meet, which was the first part of the conference, consisted of people milling around in the tennis courts, admiring robots, asking questions, and getting acquainted, before heading off to the first panels.

People from different teams, including the Flaming Chickens, hosted a variety of panels on topics ranging from fundraising to pneumatics to software and more. The panels were lively and informative, and nearly everyone left at the end of the day with some knowledge they didn't have before.

Some more information and resources pertaining to FIRSTFare can be found somewhere at the Oregon FIRST site. Also, be sure to check out our gallery of FIRSTFare photos here.