A few weeks ago I found myself on stage at Codegarden with my fellow podcast host Emma Burstow, getting our words confused between “Codegarden” and “Codecabin”. Despite the name mixups, we think the Candid Contributions episode is worth a listen!
The verbal mistakes did inspire me to compare the two events. They are both highlights of my calendar every year, but so very different.
Codegarden is the three-day, multi-track Umbraco conference, drawing over 600 attendees to Odense in Denmark, and many more online. This year was its twentieth anniversary, and it has always been organised by Umbraco HQ, the commercial entity behind the open-source CMS.
Codecabin is a three-day Umbraco unconference in the Peak District (North of England), with only 20 or so participants. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, an unconference has a much looser structure, usually with the attendees deciding on the topics themselves to ensure maximum engagement. Codecabin has been running since 2016, and is organised by community members.
I first went to Codegarden in 2012, and have been lucky enough to attend every edition since. It's a tech conference that embodies our friendliest community. I had a look through the various posts that I’ve made about the conference over the years. “Inspiring” is by far the most common feeling I’ve left with every time.
And it appears to be exactly the same feeling I had after past Codecabins too!
One thought I've often had after a Codegarden is that there was never enough time: so many interesting-looking sessions, so many folks to meet. If you started a good conversation with someone, you’d be cutting it short to go to the next talk.
That’s where Codecabin shines. With only around twenty people for the three days, you have plenty of time to get to know the other attendees and make meaningful connections. You can sit in the sunshine geeking out on your different approaches to backoffice extensions, you can get your laptops out in the snug room and step through some code, you can even go on a hike across the beautiful hills of the Peak District and talk Umbraco upgrade approaches or even just life in general!
There are group sessions for discussing various topics throughout the event - but these are all suggested and voted on by the participants in the weeks building up to it. There’s also plenty of time for making real progress on that idea you’ve been percolating on, perhaps with another Codecabiner. I collaborated on my first ever Umbraco package at the 2019 Codecabin with some patient guidance from Lee Kelleher.
At Codegarden it’s possible to blend into the background, perhaps keeping to yourself between sessions or skipping the evening socials (although please know that you’re really missing out if you do). At Codecabin, however, shared meals and experiences means it’s a lot harder to hide. And while this might sound intimidating to some, I promise you that as organisers we put a lot of effort into making the experience as comfortable and inclusive as possible. You can skip a session and do some solo hacking, or take yourself off for a walk: just be back in time for Lucy’s famous Yorkshire puddings! If you do feel anxious about attending please read Andy Boot’s blog post from CC23. We’ve seen lots of folks like Andy, perhaps relatively unknown in the wider Umbraco community, quietly arriving on the first evening only for them to leave a few days later full of confidence having realised the value that they can bring to the community and the benefits to themselves and to their companies from being more involved.
For me personally, the two events have had a key thing in common: at both I started as a ‘mere’ attendee but now help to organise them. Having recently joined the Developer Relations team at Umbraco HQ, helping shape Codegardens is part of my job. And back in 2022, myself and Karl Tynan were invited to join the organising team of Codecabin. It’s one of the activities I’m still incredibly proud - and grateful - to put my “community hat” back on for!
If you would like to join this year’s Codecabin you’ve only got a couple of days left to apply - the deadline is this Thursday, July 10th. The following week we’ll let you know whether you’ve been successful and, if so, you’ll be invited to a Slack channel so you can start shaping the event with us. We aim to put a good mix of people together in terms of Umbraco experience, community involvement, new / veteran Codecabiners etc, so please don’t be disheartened if you’re not accepted, there’s always next year.
And if you need any help convincing your boss, please send them a link to this PDF!