Organizing a meetup on PyLadies Vancouver

Where things live

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Here’s where everything lives and what we use it for.

What	Where	Used for
Website	github.com/pyladies-vancouver/pyladies-vancouver.github.io	Our site, built with Hugo and the Hinode theme, deployed via Netlify
Luma	luma.com/pyladiesvancouver	RSVPs and event pages (our primary platform)
Meetup	meetup.com/pyladies-vancouver	Announcing events; we point people to Luma to RSVP
Sessionize	sessionize.com/pyladies-vancouver-meetup	Call for proposals and managing speaker info
PyLadies Vancouver donations	Donate	Supporting our local chapter
PyLadiesCon donations	Donate	Supporting the global PyLadies community
Email	vancouver at pyladies dot com	Getting in touch with the organizers
Slack	#city-vancouver via slackin.pyladies.com	Where organizers and volunteers coordinate

We also share updates on LinkedIn , Instagram , Mastodon , and Bluesky .

Pick a date and venue

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

We aim to confirm a date and a venue host first, since the venue is usually the longest lead time.

What We Need From a Venue

The bare minimum we need from a venue host is a space that fits our group and a projector/AV setup for the talks. The PyLadies organizer still handles all the coordination. See the full Host a Venue guide for what we ask of hosts.

Speakers and call for proposals

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

We collect talk submissions through Sessionize. Our call for proposals lives at sessionize.com/pyladies-vancouver-meetup .

Talk Formats We Accept

Lightning talks — 5 minutes
Standard talks — 15–30 minutes
Workshops — up to 2 hours

No experience is necessary to speak — we welcome first-time and seasoned speakers alike. Point prospective speakers to the Speak at Our Meetup guide.

Create the Luma event

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

We publish each event on Luma, which handles RSVPs, reminders, and a subscribable calendar. Build the description from the confirmed Sessionize talk and speaker details.

Use the Luma Event Template as your starting point.

Tips

Luma’s API requires a paid Luma Plus plan, so on the free tier we create events through the web editor. Luma supports Markdown, so the template pastes in directly.
Luma supports only two heading levels (# and ##) — keep the description to those.
Add the speaker photo(s) from Sessionize as the event/cover image.
Double-check the date, start/end time (leave room for cleanup), location, and capacity.

Once published, the event automatically appears on our Events Page and homepage, which embed the Luma calendar.

Announce the event

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Once the Luma event is live, announce it on Meetup and across all of our social media channels, pointing everyone to Luma to RSVP.

Post the event to:

People can also subscribe to our Luma calendar to get upcoming events in their own calendar app automatically.

On the day

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

On the day, the organizing team runs the show:

Doors & check-in — welcome attendees as they arrive
PyLadies intro & community updates — kick things off and share announcements
Introduce the speaker(s) and keep the program on time
Q&A after each talk
Fundraising — tote bag sales, conference swag, and pointing people to donate

Follow the venue’s access and conduct rules throughout, and make sure everyone is aware of the PyLadies Code of Conduct . Day-of venue access details live in the private organizer document for that event.

Wrap-up and recap

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Wrap Up the Venue

After the event, reset the space to how we found it:

Return furniture to its original arrangement
Clean up tables, dishes, and any food
Sort garbage, recycling, and compost per the venue’s rules
Follow the venue’s closing/security checklist exactly

Following the wrap-up steps carefully is what keeps us welcome to come back. The specific closing steps for each venue are in that event’s private organizer document.

Updating the website

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The site is a Hugo project using the Hinode theme, in our GitHub repo . Changes go through a pull request and deploy automatically via Netlify once merged.

Blog Posts

Blog posts live in content/blog/ as Markdown files with front matter (title, author, date, description, tags, thumbnail). Event photos and banner images go in assets/img/.