Chris Pirillo brings that bad-ass Gnomedex attitude to the GeekWire radio show. (Erynn Rose photo)

Fans of Chris Pirillo’s Gnomedex conference will be happy to hear that it’s coming back for at least one more year, as a companion event to the new Seattle Interactive Conference in early November in downtown Seattle.

Pirillo shared the news with us on this past weekend’s GeekWire podcast and radio show, and his longtime friend and associate Jake Ludington sent a message yesterday to past Gnomedex attendees with details.

An excerpt from Ludington’s message:

There’s a tradition about Gnomedex I’m guessing many past attendees don’t know about. It started with the very first Gnomedex. No matter how much fun the event is, at the end of each Gnomedex, Chris privately tells me and a few other people close to him that he’s never doing another Gnomedex. After the first Gnomedex, I was a little worried because we’d only done it once. After he repeated this mantra in year two, it became obvious this ritual was a necessary part of Chris’s annual closure around the event.

Last year was different. When Chris announced Gnomedex was over, I knew he meant it. And it made me a little sad. I’m not particularly sentimental, so that’s saying something.

I privately told a few people (Chris included) I was going to convince Chris to do Gnomedex this year, but I wasn’t certain I’d actually be able to pull it off. Thankfully, the folks at Seattle Interactive Conference welcomed us to join them in breaking ground on what is destined to become an amazing annual event.

Pirillo started the conference 10 years ago in his home state of Iowa before bringing it to Seattle. He explained during a break in our show last week that working with the Seattle Interactive Conference frees him up focus on cultivating good content, “instead of having to worry about a million other things.”

I’ve attended Gnomedex most years since it came to Seattle, and the appeal for me has always been its ability to connect the latest in technology with the more human aspects of life, spotlighting interesting people and ideas that might not otherwise get noticed.

Pirillo’s personality also makes it unique, and leads to some pretty hilarious moments.

Seattle Interactive Conference was announced in June. Brian Rauschenbach, the curator of the event and a principal in the interactive media agency Add Three, is aiming to create a signature event for Seattle’s interactive community in the spirit of Austin’s South by Southwest.

Organizers say Gnomedex will be “a great complement to what’s happening at SIC.”

The larger event runs Nov. 2 and 3 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. Gnomedex will have its own stage nearby on Nov. 2.

A ticket for the Gnomedex sessions only will cost $149, including access to Seattle Interactive Conference networking and social events but not the separate Seattle Interactive Conference sessions, which will be running concurrently when Gnomedex is on. Likewise, the standard $299 Seattle Interactive Conference full pass won’t include Gnomedex access — but an overarching $399 ticket will offer access to both.

Speakers for the new Gnomedex haven’t yet been set, but you can track this SIC page for updates.

Note: GeekWire is a media sponsor of the Seattle Interactive Conference, and we’ll be participating in panels and other activities there.

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