Elizabeth Naramore has posted a wrapup of this year's PHP Appalachia (un)conference held in North Carolina, including some pictures.

3+ days of collaboration, exchanging information, hiking, building campfires, and basically getting silly is now on my "highly recommended things to do before you die" list. Not only does a gathering like this provide you with an outlet to expand and share your knowledge on a professional level, it gives you an opportunity to relax with like-minded people and just plain have a good time.

Twelve developers made their way out this year for three days of hiking, talks, and just enjoying the camaraderie of being with fellow developers. She also mentions a few other topics that were talked about, spur of the moment (true to the form of the (un)conference).

Ben Ramsey has posted "live" from the PHP Appalachia (un)conference on his blog today, and talks about the "community of diverse backgrounds" that's come up there at the conference.

To me, it's always very interesting to hear to the pre-PHP stories of other PHP programmers-the days before they programmed in PHP, what they did and how they came to call themselves PHP programmers. The stories vary greatly from programmer to programmer, and almost none begin with: "I was working toward a degree in computer science …."

In fact, the more people I talk with, the more I'm convinced that the typical PHP programmer, in fact, sort of got to where they are by an odd arrangement of life circumstances we call coincidences. Almost none elected to be where they are, but nearly all enjoy the work they do, many to a great degree of passion.

He talks about the conversation serveral attendees had, mentioning some of their backgrounds (anything from marine biology to organizational behavior).

Elizabeth Naramore has been kind enough to let us know that the schedule for this year's PHP Appalachia conference has been posted over on their site.

The schedule includes plenty of relaxing time spent camping, hiking and even a few PHP-related discussions thrown in, just for something different. Two official speakers are giving their talks first thing on Day Two and Day Three:

• Ben Ramsey on REST
• Chris Spruck on Regex

There will also be some Lightning Talks for those interested during Day Two. Check out the full schedule for everyhting happening in this great three day event.

On her blog, Elizabeth Naramore has posted some thanks to the sponsores out there that are helping out with this year's PHP Appalachia event and some last minute details for those attending.

I wanted to give a quick acknowledgement to our sponsors for the event, as posted by PHP Appalachia site. We have so many sponsors, and so many door prizes to give away, a good time will definitely be had by all. Their donations are really helping our grass roots gathering come together, and we all greatly appreciate their efforts. I also want to give a quick thanks to Cal Evans who also personally donated numerous t-shirts and goodies as well.

She gives a rough schedule for things, including how the talks will run and links to some info on the area to let you prepare for your trip.

Both Ben Ramsey and Elizabeth Naramore have commented on the new IRC channel they've formed for the upcoming PHP Appalachia conference on the Freenode network.

We now have an IRC channel for the PHP Appalachia conference - Freenode - #phpappalachia. Come join us!

You can access the Freenode network with any IRC client and can join in on the channel at any time. Come find out others who are coming and get the latest on the conference.

Ben Ramsey has a reminder posted about the PHP Appalachia event happening in September in Cherokee, North Carolina.

This is just a reminder to let you know that the extension for reserving your campground spot for PHP Appalachia will expire soon-on August 1, to be exact. After August 1, you will still be able to reserve a spot at the campground, but you will not receive the group discount, nor is there any guarantee that your campsite will be placed with or near the rest of the group. So, sign up today!

If you want more information about this gathering of fellow PHP enthusiasts, you can check out their website. It's the whole "unconference" idea, letting things flow naturally (as they should in this setting) and PHP-related topics come up ask they will.

So, come on and join in for a different kind of conference - get connected with other PHP fans, stay connected with wireless internet, and enjoy just getting out of town for a while.

The PHP Appalachia event has gotten together some door prizes for those attending the conference this year (September 27-29th), a few little items from giftsforengineers.com.

Everybody knows a good conference gives stuff away. But since we're on a budget here at PHP Appalachia, we decided to make our prizes a little more "not so fabulous". The folks at www.giftsforengineers.com (read: me) have donated some door prizes that will be given away to one random attendee per day. So, all you have to do is just show up and you'll be in the running.

The prizes are:

• a Geek Man Action Figure
• the Circuitboard Tic-Tac-Toe and Coaster Set
• and a computer lock.

The only thing you have to do to win one is show up, so head on over and register for the event - it's only $15 USD!

Ben Ramsey has posted this reminder for all of those wishing to attend the upcoming PHP Appalachia conference about signing up.

PHP Appalachia is an informal gathering of PHP enthusiasts who just want an excuse to get together and enjoy exchanging information in a relaxed, beautiful setting. There is no set agenda, no formal speakers. Just 3 days of camping and sharing PHP ideas and experiences with people just like you.

The event takes place September 27-29, 2006 at the Cherokee/Great Smokies KOA in Cherokee, NC. To receive the group discount for your camping site/cabin, you must reserve your spot with the campground before July 5! See the PHP Appalachia Web site for more details.

He also mentions two other things:

• a post on the conference site asking those coming to the conference for "topics of interest" they'd like to hear about
• a brief "rant" from Ben with a "chicken and egg" scenario - problems getting sponsors because of current signup numbers, and problems getting signups because of the lack of sponsors (and what they can pay for to make it free for attendees).