DrupalCon Portland 2022 Recap

And that’s a wrap on DrupalCon!

The first IRL DrupalCon since the start of the pandemic was a busy blast of seeing old friends and colleagues, making new friends along the way, talking to prospects, and being around all things Drupal.

While overall attendance was lower than the last in-person 2019 Con, those who did attend this year wanted to be there. The expo floor was full of the leading Drupal agencies and technology partners in our ecosystem, and prospects attended to learn more about the various experts in the space.

This year, we had some fun by creating DrupalCon’s first-ever non-fungible tokens, NFTs. We hired Rei “Medeio” Misiri, an artist we love, to make them and have all proceeds from the auction go to the Drupal Association. We were so impressed by the NFTs that we flew him in to paint an original, large-format version, so the Drupal Association would have something to hang on their wall. This became the talk of the conference.

Here are the key takeaways from our onsite team:

"It feels good to be back in person at a large-scale event and see organizations investing in Drupal. Our team was all over the conference, engaging in the ecosystem, attending sessions, and talking about contributions. The Acquia and Drupal Association agency dinner was a fun night full of great conversations outside of the conference. The Low Brow Lounge is our new favorite dive bar in Portland."
- Justin Emond, CEO

"I attended an excellent session about the Rain distribution, which I'm hoping to take a closer look at soon. I also had a great discussion with Lingotek; they provide translation services that supposedly have a seamless integration into Drupal.
- Brandon Stumbo, Engineering Manager

"Beyond getting to hear Dries himself walk through the future of Drupal, I had the opportunity to sit in on some sessions centered around accessibility, privacy, and DE&I in the open-source community. It was a blast getting to make new friends, see old ones, and meet some of my fellow TAG co-workers for the first time!
- Eliana Doering, Senior Digital Strategist 

"Watching the NFT get painted live was an incredible experience! What a way to blend artistry and tech. I also found Pantheon's shirt printing machine way too cool. The old 2000s computer design with "DrupalCon Portland" will live in my t-shirt collection to life, and getting a custom pet tag and collar printed for my bunny, Ozzy Osbun. Seeing the wide breadth of technology partners attending the conference was my favorite part!"
- Sophia Katsikas, Senior Account Executive
 

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