JoomlaChicago is pleased to announce its plans to host the first ever JoomlaEXPO on May 16, 2008 at the elegant Renaissance Chicago O'Hare Suites Hotel.  The event will focus strongly on technical education, of course, but will also address practical issues related to selection of Joomla! (vs. another CMS) and operation of Joomla! in a production environment.

JoomlaChicago is pleased to announce its plans to host the first ever JoomlaEXPO on May 16, 2008 at the elegant Renaissance Chicago O'Hare Suites Hotel.  The event will focus strongly on technical education, of course, but will also address practical issues related to selection of Joomla! (vs. another CMS) and operation of Joomla! in a production environment.

Delivering all this will be an impressive lineup of Joomla experts including author and entrepreneur Barrie North (compassdesigns.com and joomlashack.com), Joomla! podcaster Tom Canavan (joomlajabber.com), Anything Digital founder, president and CTO Victor Drover, PhD (anything-digital.com), CorePHP's Steve Pignataro (corephp.com), key JoomlaChicago leaders John Coonen (coffeegroup.us) and Mike Carson (itdtraining.com), Azrul Rahim of AzrulStudios, home of JomComment and MyBlog (azrul.com), SEO consultant Steve Burge (alledia.com) and Joseph LeBlanc, freelance developer and author of Learning Joomla! 1.5 Extension Development as well as a number of popular online Joomla! tutorials (jlleblanc.com). 

Not only will you benefit from the information you absorb in the general and breakout sessions, but there will also be opportunities to socialize, network and just have fun!  The Renaissance is known for its cuisine, and you will have a chance to sample it at the luncheon included in the price of registration.  And we mustn't fail to mention the evening cocktail and hors d'oeuvre reception to take place on the Mezzanine from 5 to 9 p.m.

For those of you coming in from out of town (or for you locals who prefer to come in the evening before to get an extra early start), JoomlaChicago has reserved a limited number of rooms at the  Renaissance for your convenience, so be sure to book yours directly with the hotel as soon as you register (mention that you are attending JoomlaEXPO!).

Out-of-town travelers will also appreciate the event's close proximity to O'Hare International Airport.  You can drive to the Renaissance from O'Hare in less 10 minutes, take the free hotel shuttle, or hop on the "El" right at the airport and take it to the Cumberland stop just two blocks from the hotel.  If you're driving, the Renaissance is just off of I-90 (the Kennedy Expressway) and a just a couple of miles from the Tri-State Tollway, I-294.  Complete travel directions are available here .

We'll have a lot more information for you here as May 16th approaches, but don't wait!  Other Joomla events have sold out quickly, and we expect JoomlaEXPO will be no exception.  Attendance is limited to the first 200 registrants, so be sure to reserve your spot now!  "Early Bird" pricing of $100 for the day is available only through Saturday, March 29th, after which the price goes up to $125.

Don't miss it!