We open this guide on how to survive and have fun at OpenFest with the most important question:
How to reach the event location – Sofia Tech Park
By public transport
By trolleybus
Trolleybus lines 3 and 5 – get off at stop “Sofia Tech Park”
Trolleybus lines 4 and 11 – get off at stop “Ploshtad na aviatsiyata” (“Aviation Square”)
By bus
Bus lines 1, 3, 5, 6 and 73 – get off at stop “Sofia Tech Park”
Bus lines 123, 280, 288 and 305 – get off at stop “Ploshtad na aviatsiyata” (“Aviation Square”)
By car
Sofia Tech Park has a paid multi-level parking lot with a capacity of 500 cars. The parking fee is 1 lev (BGN) per hour (the first 30 minutes are free). There is an option to pay with a bank card too at the parking lot payment machines.
Location to put into the navigation: “Sofia Tech Park” or the address – bul. “Tsarigradsko Shose” 111
The John Atanasoff Forum and Incubator buildings are accessible to people with mobility difficulties. If you need assistance or additional information, contact the volunteers with a Team T-shirt.
The schedule at a glance
This year, exhibitions, talks and workshops spread across two buildings- the customary John Atanasoff Forum and The Venue, in the Incubator in walking distance to the Forum. Follow the OpenArt signs to get there.
In addition to being in a new building, this year’s OpenArt program is two days long, with lectures and workshops on free and open art.
The program at the John Atanasoff Forum begins at 10:00 am on Saturday and Sunday and ends at 7:00 pm on Saturday and 6:15 pm on Sunday. Meet 49 speakers and exhibitors, 9 guest speakers from abroad, hear 30 lectures on technology, art, society and participate in 19 hands-on workshops across all the halls.
Don’t miss (but really the schedule this year is full of heavy hitters):
- How to make money in Open Source by Monty Widenius on strategies for building open source projects like MySQL, MariaDB and the working business behind them. Watch on Saturday, 12:15 in Hall A.
- Scaling to 12k Live streams by Vladimir Vitkov on the huge technical challenge of building a system for real-time video capture and monitoring of the results and reporting process on election day. Check it out on Sunday at 4:15 pm in Hall A.
- ‘Don’t Be Evil’ and Digital Surveillance by Christina Kubecka, who opens the festival on Saturday at 10:15 in Hall A with a story about Venezuela and digital surveillance by commonly available means.
Lightning talks
On Saturday and Sunday in Hall B we welcome your short stories about interesting projects you are working on. Sign up on the days of the event at the Reception while slots last.
After Party
The party will be at the Underground club Bunker, in the NDK underpass on Sunday at 20:30. And to get through the entrance gates without trouble, you need an OpenFest wristband- obtained from the kind volunteers at reception.
Lunch
You can have (sandwiches) at the restaurant in the Incubator- Park side, and (burgers) from the food truck located off the John Atanasoff Forum. Climbar & Dinner (Clymbar) (m. Kuro, 111B Tsarigradsko Shose Blvd, 1784 Sofia) and Tavern Mladost (Mladost 1, Dimitar Mollov Str., 1750 Sofia) are nearby.
You might even find beers.
The break for lunch is between 1:00 and 2:00 PM on both days.
You can also get coffee from the carts outside the lecture halls at the forum. They take cash and cards.
Even more useful tips
Questions can be directed to the reception desk at any time, as well as any volunteers you encounter in the halls. You will recognize them by their OpenFest Team t-shirts. They will be in green on Saturday, and wine red on Sunday.
Kids corner
For the pleasure of OpenFest visitors, this year there will be a children’s corner with a craft workshop on both days of the festival, with opening hours from 11:00 to 17:00. Suitable for children from 2-8 years old.
Older children may find the workshops in Hall D on the ground floor of the Forum interesting:
- Electronics and programming with Tinozavar on Saturday
- RVPC – Build Your First RISCV Computer and Build Your First Robot on Sunday.
See you there!
