“The Community Zone is the best place of all at PASS Summit, you run into so many people, have so many conversations. It’s a chance to rejoin and have a reunion with the #SQLfamily”.
– Monica Rathbun, Consultant at Denny Cherry and Associates.
Monica perfectly sums up the purpose of the Community Zone at PASS Data Community Summit. It’s a place for attendees to come together in a relaxed and social setting to build relationships that can help you grow professionally and advance in your career, but more importantly, it’s a place to form friendships.
This year, we are expanding the value of the Community Zone further. As well as being a comfortable and open space to take time out or mingle with likeminded attendees throughout the day, you’ll also find a range of sessions on topics from professional development to beekeeping (to name just a few). These informal sessions will be run by the community, for the community, with hosts who can offer first hand tips from their own experience.
In this blog, we aim to provide you with everything you need to know about the Community Zone:
You’ll find the Community Zone on Level 3, in the light and airy Terrace Lounge. It’s located directly beside both the elevator and escalator, making access nice and easy.
The Community Zone opening hours are as follows. These timings are also listed in the Schedule at a Glance:
Connect, share, and learn with fellow attendees and community leaders in this friendly, interactive space.
In our Community Conversation sessions, attendees can hear directly from their peers on topics that have helped them develop professionally. This could include advice on how speakers grew their career, and how they grew their network within the wider data community. There will be a designated seating area assigned in the Community Zone, and the sessions will be held daily during the lunch breaks.
This year in the Community Zone we are hosting Q&A style discussions directly after some of the non-technical sessions, to enable the speaker and attendees to follow on the conversation in an informal and relaxed setting.
Hobby Huddles are new to PASS Summit this year. Hosted in the Community Zone, these sessions are a fun way for people in the community to showcase their passions and hobbies. There will be a designated seating area for you to join these highly entertaining and informative back-to-back mini sessions.
Join your fellow attendees for the opportunity to meet Community Group Leaders from around the world. This informal mingle will run directly after the Community keynote and will give attendees the chance to chat with one another and find out more about their local user groups.
Throughout the day the Community Zone is your place to hang out. Whether catching up with friends old and new, or just enjoying some chill out time on a comfy bean bag. There will also be a range of games available for you to play, along with interactive displays and a few surprises.
We don’t want to give everything away though, so you’ll just have to come and visit to see for yourself.
In this blog post, we meet a couple of PASS Summit 2023 first time attendees (who are returning for 2024!). Here’s what they had to say about their experiences…
Elena: ‘Honestly, it felt like a bit of a long shot! I applied to be one of the new-ish speakers last year, and to my complete surprise—I got selected! I didn’t really know what PASS Summit was all about (which is probably for the best, because if I had, I might’ve chickened out). So there I was, stepping onto a stage for the first time ever in-person as a speaker. Talk about diving into the deep!’
Alex: ‘Since COVID, there have been limited opportunities to share SQL Server knowledge through live in person events. I feel that person to person interaction and networking is a valuable component that can sometimes be overlooked in the IT industry.’ 
Elena: ‘It was such a rollercoaster, in the best possible way. I went from total panic—”Oh no, it’s my first session ever!”—to being absolutely thrilled to share my knowledge with the world and meet the incredible folks in the data community. The whole week felt like a dream. By the end, I was running purely on adrenaline but also left with a ton of incredible memories. I came back home completely energized, like I’d just unlocked a whole new level of excitement for what I do.
And on top of that, I made connections that have since turned into both collaborations and lasting friendships. The value of networking here is just incredible—it’s more than just learning, it’s about building your community.’
Alex: ‘Last year I had the pleasure of attending PASS Summit and I had many positive takeaways. I was able to share my knowledge, form lasting connections with people in the industry and received the opportunity to work with the Microsoft SQL Server team in testing and reviewing the JSON data type, which should roll out in the next version of SQL Server.’
Elena: ‘Definitely meet people and have some fun! It can be a little overwhelming, especially when you’re trying to rush from session to session. My advice? Plan your agenda ahead of time so you can take some moments to relax in between. You’ll have access to incredible sessions, no doubt, but don’t forget to connect with new people and enjoy the experience. The data community is full of amazing humans—make those connections!’
Alex: ‘I would suggest that first time PASS attendees put careful thought into building their schedule. There are many sessions available for every timeslot so attend the ones that would be most valuable in person, since all sessions are recorded and will be available to view after the sessions end.’
Elena: ‘This year, I’m part of a learning path: Creating Impactful Data Visualizations with Power BI, and I’ll be sharing a session called Accessible Insights & Inclusive Design. I’m so excited to come back and see everything from a new perspective. Of course, I’m pumped to share my passion and insights, but I’m especially looking forward to reconnecting with the data community again. It’s the people that make this experience truly unforgettable for me and PASS Summit holds a special place in my heart.’
Alex: ‘I am most looking forward to sharing the knowledge and solutions I have learned over time. This year in my Deep Dive, SQL Server Performance Tuning, from Zero to Hero, I will cover costly performance problems in daily SQL Server activities and demonstrate how to fix and prevent future performance problems.’
Well, first of all, welcome and thanks for choosing PASS Data Community Summit – we look forward to seeing you on-site next month!
Don’t forget to check out Edwin Sarmiento’s first-timer guide and catch up on Denny Cherry’s Attendee Briefing – these are both great resources that come with lots of advice on how to make the most of your time at the event.
By Mala Mahadevan,
As a long-time PASS Summit attendee, breakfast has been among my best memories of PASS Summit from 2008-2017.
Walking into the large breakfast hall with the fragrance of fresh coffee, the fantastic spread of food and fruit that Washington State is known for, and the friendly faces all around make for a pleasant memory I will treasure for a lifetime. The present PASS Summit does not offer complimentary breakfast, but there are still ways to create those experiences and save $$$ on food. Below are some options that may interest you as an attendee. They are rated from least expensive to most:
Complimentary hotel breakfast (free): Check if the hotel you are staying at offers a complimentary breakfast. Sadly, most hotels around the convention center do not offer this. But if you are at one, that’s the best, cheapest option.
Vendor-sponsored breakfast (free): Some of the morning sessions sponsored by vendors between Wednesday and Friday offer breakfast for free. Look for announcements from PASS Summit in this regard. Vendor breakfasts are usually good but fill up quickly. It is also considered courteous to sit through their session if you happen to eat breakfast on them.
Wednesday, November 6:
Thursday, November, 7:
Friday, November 8:
Make your breakfast ($): If you are staying at a rented apartment or facility with a kitchen, this is easy. If not, request the hotel to install a microwave in your room. Most bigger hotels already have a minifridge. With a microwave, this should make a kitchenette that works fine for cooking a decent breakfast. Remember that hotels only carry a limited stock of microwave ovens, so the sooner you make this request, the higher your chances of getting one are. There are plenty of good groceries and stores around the convention center where you can shop for breakfast items. My choices are the grocery at Target (open until late at night and stocks oatmeal, eggs, milk, and some packaged breakfast items) and Pike Place Market for fresh fruit.
Starbucks Breakfast options ($$): Starbucks cafes are on every street corner near the convention center. There is also a café attached to the Hyatt Place hotel. They have some quick and easy breakfast options, which are not the cheapest but readily available. Some are listed in this article. My favorite, which I often use during travel, is the blueberry oatmeal – a light but easy, affordable option.
Other paid options ($$-$$$)
Some other paid but reasonably priced options are below. Please be aware of when these places open before walking to them. Also, outside food is disallowed in Seattle Convention Center, so you may have to eat at the restaurant before going there.
Biscuit Bitch
Uwajimaya Food Hall (Asian supermarket)
I’ve recently learnt that there’s Monorail Espresso in the conference building (Summit, Seattle Convention Center), and there will be a breakfast concession cart in the morning from November 6-8, 2024, where attendees will be able to buy provisions on-site, including coffee and breakfast items.
A healthy breakfast is an excellent start to a productive day of learning and networking at PASS Summit. Be sure not to skip it. There may be more options (community-sponsored breakfasts, various influencers offering a group dining option on some days) in the days closer to the conference and during the week of PASS itself. Stay tuned, and enjoy the conference.
Swing by the Exhibit Hall to mingle with sponsors, check out their cool products and services, snag some awesome swag, and join in on the fun raffles!
Exhibit Hall Hours
6:00 – 8:00 PM (Exhibitor Reception)
10:45 AM – 11:30 AM
2:00 – 4:00 PM
3:20 – 3:45 PM
Formerly known as the Scavenger Hunt, the Expo Expedition requires you to visit designated booths and get your badge scanned for a chance to win some top prizes. Complete your card, and you’ll be automatically entered into the prize draw, which kicks off at 3:20 PM at the Exhibitor Help Center. Use the game card in the PASS Summit mobile app or the Attendee Portal home page to track your progress.
10:00 – 10:20 AM
Join this year’s Exhibitor Raffles by stopping by the participating booths and entering their exciting draws. There’s some fantastic prizes to be won! Be sure to check out all the sponsors hosting raffles and see what you could take home. The draws will take place in front of the Exhibitor Help Center during the morning refreshment break.
SolarWinds
SolarWinds is a proud Silver Sponsor of PASS Data Community Summit! Stop by to say hello to our All-Star Booth Line Up featuring Kevin Kline, Soaring Eagle’s Jeff Garbus, Robert Mandeville, Ash Recksiedler, Cody Loeper, & Michael D’Spain. You know ’em…we ❤️’em!
In addition to our always informative booth custom demo’s, we’ll also be featuring The Hat Bar! Pick a Hat, Pick a Patch, Hang out while we customize! We can’t wait to see you in Seattle!
DH2i
Star Wars and DH2i go together like SQL Server and containers… Completely cohesively with the same level of HA you expect in your instance deployments. That’s why we’ll be in the exhibitor hall demonstrating the ways of the force with our SQL Server Operator for Kubernetes. If you feel ready to wage battle against the dark side and its excessive licensing costs, clunky clustering, and resource inefficiencies, join us for an in-booth demo.
DH2i In-Booth Demos:
Dbvisit
Dbvisit returns to PASS with magical Danny Orleans to entertain & demystify DR. New merchandise to be seen in and a grand prize that every DBA will be wanting to win.
Redgate
Celebrate our 25th birthday by playing our claw machine for the chance to win a $250 cash prize every day. Pick up 2 new Lego collectibles at our stand, and help Lego Grant navigate the skies in our TDM flying game to be top of the leaderboard to secure a prize.
Test out Flyway using a sample project designed to help you and your team experience a complete database development and automated deployment process with minimal setup. Visit our dedicated Flyway booth at PASS Summit, pick up your exercise book to guide you through, and claim your Lego Ryan.
We are excited to introduce the Redgate Hub booth this year, where you can book a one-to-one meeting with Kathi Kellenberger, a Redgate Customer Success Engineer, and talk through your own specific challenges. Book now to guarantee your appointment and pick up your Lego Kathi.
Power BI Sentinel
Power BI Sentinel will be showing off our latest release that includes new functionality and our new templates. They include:
DBHawk
Spin the wheel of fortune and see if you’re a lucky winner. Prizes include cool t-shirts and fidget spinners!
Percona
We will have our raffle going on for a chance to win a Raspberry Pi 5 Starter Kit, and on demand demos for our software platform Everest.
JetBrains
The DataGrip team will be at the booth. We’d love to show you what’s new in the product, share our future plans, and hear your feedback about working with the JetBrains IDE.
Unable to travel to Seattle this November? We’re excited to unveil how you can join in virtually around the world!
Nothing beats an in-person connection, and if you’d like to join us on-site at PASS Summit 2024, there’s still time to register before the final price bump comes into effect on October 23.
If you’re unable to travel to Seattle this year for any reason, we’re pleased to announce that you’ll be able to join in virtually from the comfort of your own home or office.
Here’s how:
Learn at your leisure with on-demand access, and benefit from the incredible educational program at PASS Summit 2024 for almost an entire year. Non-attendees can buy on-demand access for $1,295, this price grants you:
More information on PASS Summit on-demand can be found on our FAQs.
Click here to buy on-demand access for non-attendees.
Yes! All 3-day attendees automatically have access to on-demand footage as part of their ticket until Friday, January 31, 2025. 3-day attendees can click here to extend their access until Friday, October 31, 2025 for just $149.
Whilst other attendee types do not have on-demand access automatically included as part of their ticket, they do have the option to purchase on-demand access for a small fee.
Registered attendees can buy on-demand access here.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly Customer Services team by emailing info@passsummit.com.
General session recordings are now available to view in the Attendee Portal.
To view available session recordings simply:
Yes! We’ve recently announced a free livestream offering a handpicked selection of 15 sessions for you to choose watch remotely. Click here to find out more.
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