We’re gearing up for the big GeekWire Ping-Pong & Anniversary Bash later today at the Showbox SODO, and we’re excited that more than 600 of you will be joining us for this one-of-a-kind event. Our team has put together a great lineup for the afternoon and evening — not just the centerpiece ping-pong and foosball tournaments but also an array of activities and prizes from our sponsors, plus great food and drink.
Tickets are still available. Here’s a quick rundown of the key details if you’re going.
Time and location: The event will take place from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 6 at the Showbox SODO, at 1700 1st Ave. S. in Seattle, just south of Safeco Field. Here’s the map.
Parking: Although there is no validated parking for this venue, there are various parking lots and street parking (if you are lucky) surrounding the Showbox SODO. We recommend the Safeco Field parking lot as it has 2,000 spaces. It is just south of the ballpark, entrance is off of Edgar Martinez Drive. Come prepared with your cash/credit card for this prepaid lot.
(One of our event sponsors, ridesharing service SideCar, is offering $20 off to the first 20 people who use the app to book a ride to the GeekWire Bash, and $10 off to everyone else who books a ride to/from the venue. Just book a ride to the Showbox SODO for the event and the credit will be automatically added to your account.)
Players: Doors will open early (at 3:30 p.m.) for registered ping-pong and foosball players, and the tournaments begin at 4:15 p.m. Players, check out this FAQ for additional tournament guidelines. We’ve also updated our post from yesterday with the latest versions of the brackets.
Attendees: From the Conversation Lounge to the hidden ping-pong ball hunt, we’ll have a wide variety of activities throughout the afternoon and evening for all attendees, with prizes and lots of great food and drink. See a list of activities below.
GeekWire Members: Look for the express line at registration to pick up your special member badge and (if you don’t have it already) your secret decoder keyring. And look for a special bonus in that badge, just one of the perks of being a member.
What to wear? Casual clothing is best, but don’t forget the Spirit Prize. We’ll be giving away prizes to the folks who fly their geek flags most proudly, supporting their teammates in the tourney, promoting their companies, or just having some cosplay fun.
Hash tag: Posting to Twitter? #gwbash
A big thanks to our sponsors: Filter, Budweiser, F
Activities
Conversation Lounge: Not in the mood to watch ping pong or play foosball? No worries. This year, our wonderful sponsors at Filter and Knoll are constructing a Tron-themed conversation lounge in the upper bar area. Perfect for networking, or sipping on the signature cocktail brought to you by Vertafore, you might just find your future investor or star engineer hanging here.
Corn Hole: Budweiser, our fantastic foosball sponsor, will be busting out this special bean bag toss game and giving away tons of prizes to participants.
Ping Pong Ball Hunt: Think of it like geocaching, just with ping pong balls. Back by popular demand, we’ll be hiding dozens of ping pong balls — branded with the logos of sponsor WhitePages — throughout the venue. Find a sleeve of balls from WhitePages, and you might just win a special prize.
Spirit Prize: We’ll be giving away prizes to the folks who fly their geek flags most proudly, supporting their teammates in the tourney or just having some cosplay fun. Yes, last year someone showed up in a very bizarre unicorn costume. Many others adorned the colors and T-shirts of their companies. Decision time.
Warm-up and Casual Play Zone: If you’re looking to play some ping pong or foosball in a more casual setting than the Balls of Fury-intensity that we sometimes see exhibited in the main tourneys, make sure to stop into First Tech’s open play area near the registration table. We’ll have two pong tables and a foosball table on hand, so you can informally challenge your boss or rival. Let the duels begin!
Beer Pong: Thanks to our sponsors at Tableau Software we’ve purchased an 8-foot long portable beer pong table that will be rolled into the Barokas beer garden. (Yes, it’s like a mini Oktoberfest in March!).
Virtual Ping Pong: Don’t care for the physical version of ping pong? Don’t worry. AT&T will be setting up a special booth where you can play some virtual ping pong, or foosball, with a chance to win a tablet when you tweet #ATTSeattle.
See you tonight! Email us at events@geekwire.com with any questions.
