Toxic BBQ

For 2021’s Toxic BBQ, I reached out to a number of organizers within the hacker community for stories and advice on staging your own event within an event . Sc0tland told me about an incident that stood out as a good pattern for how to deal with disruptive elements at community events. An issue at BSidesDFW 2021 and its aftermath reminded me of this, so I tracked down someone who was there for a first-person account, metlstorm , “theme/art-director/webs/MC” for Kiwicon itself. Kiwicon was a hacker conference run 2007-2018 by a small group of friends that got together in the early 2000’s scene in New Zealand. Eleven cons in twelve years were marked by growth of the organizers as individuals and the scene as a whole. Looking back, they had a rocky start with aggressive themes: Kiwicon 1 artwork included Goatse, and the second rendition was “Kiwicon 2girls1cup”. As metlstorm put it, “We tried pretty hard over the years to get it right, and i think one of the overlooked bits of our story...

  Old ToxicBBQ.com sites 2017, Last Archive of toxicbbq.com 2016 - Cancelled due to rain; most attendees bivouacked at In-n-Out for the duration 2009, Toxic BBQ Site   Titanium Chef Overview 2008, Toxic BBQ Site 2007, Toxic BBQ 4 Site 2006, DC13, Toxic BBQ 3   Photo Gallery 2005, Toxic BBQ 2 Photo Gallery 2004, Toxic BBQ 1 Photo Gallery HackBus Site:  https://www.hackbus.net/ Archive HackBus but with Explosions:  http://www.hackbus.com/ Archive Old Logos DEF CON Forums Links Many Thanks to TheCotMan Toxic BBQ DEF CON 26: ?  Toxic BBQ DEF CON 25:  https://forum.defcon.org/node/226062 Toxic BBQ DEF CON 24: ?  Toxic BBQ DEF CON 23: ? Toxic BBQ DEF CON 22: ?  Toxic BBQ DEF CON 21:  https://forum.defcon.org/node/748 Toxic BBQ DEF CON 20:  https://forum.defcon.org/node/645   Toxic BBQ DEF CON 19:  https://forum.defcon.org/node/589 Toxic BBQ DEF CON 18:  https://forum.defcon.org/node/506   Toxic BBQ DEF CON 17:  ...

 Stats for DEF CON C&E: 300 hackers 1 park denizen on a razor scooter 1 roadrunner 116 degree heat 200 burgers and dogs Thus concludes Toxic BBQ's 15th year and 5th with DY and the_bozo at the helm. A lightning bolt, a klaxon, a true set of shockwaves, and the hacker world was riven in two! Our beloved crank-to-lift grill was replaced this year by the Clark County Parks Department. Though less squeaky, the one was still serviceable and a little larger. The grill was staffed by three crews that rotated through over the 6 hours to feed the horde of over 300 hackers. As in previous years, each received a commemorative bit of swag for their service.  This year, it was the Cheeseburger Patrol Patch . As many of the typical crew could not attend, it was great to see a new crop of volunteers step up to fill their capable shoes. Food safety improved by adding 4 meat thermometers to the kit, and all burgers, chicken and sausages were properly temped before coming off the grill. We ...

  This text originally appeared in the  Toxic BBQ Retrospective Zine, Grow your own Sideshow . The path from “there’s this thing we do...” to conference-legend can be rocky. We’ve collected tips from our notes and interviews into a firehose of recommendations for you and your team. We hope these will nudge you from `wishing` to `holding` your “thing-apart” for everyone’s enjoyment. - the_bozo and DuncanYoudaho Location Where? Make yourself easy to find. Stick close to your parent venue. If off-site, provide relative directions from the venue. Also give out an absolute location/address for taxis, an information desk, or maps app. Control the Space Reserve the site for your group’s exclusive use. Whether a con booth, suite, or off-site, ensure you can enforce crowd size limits, CoC, closure, and clean-up. Understand the Rules Be an expert on the rules of your venue so your guests don’t have to be. Is glass allowed? How loud can we be? ...

This text originally appeared in the Toxic BBQ Retrospective Zine, Grow your own Sideshow . Few were as excited to talk about organizing Toxic BBQ as Sc0tland, Las Vegas Native and early DEF CON attendee, known on Twitter as @level2three . Other than Toxic, she has been involved in Scav Hunt, Toorcamp, and countless other hacker hijinx. She’s eager to share her experiences building an event to be proud of. The following is based on notes from interviews on this very topic. - DuncanYoudaho Before we get down to the nitty-gritty of building your own event, let’s talk about why successful ones resonate and return. As a participant, they may seem to occur spontaneously, but savvy organizers are working behind the scenes to induce and foster community, narrative, and culture of the event by including these aspects: Set the stage and differentiate your sideshow from the rest of the attractions. Adopt rituals and add in relics to unify participants in action and memory. Trim the fat and re...