DebConf12/Dates

DebConf12 will be in July 2012. The exact dates for DC12 are now decided to be July 8-14. Below are the possible dates with their advantages and disadvantages.

Local holidays and festivities

• July 19th: Revolution Day. It's a national holiday (banks and shops are closed), the main celebrations take place in Managua (in Plaza La Fe, aprox. 1.5km./1 mile from venue). None of the proposed dates are actually on July 19, so there should be no problem for DC12, but it can be interesting for those planning to stay a bit longer after DebConf.
• August 1st-10th: Saint Dominic Festivities. The celebration lasts ten days, but only August 1st. and 10 are local holidays in Managua (banks and most shops are closed). It's a religious festivity that has evolved into a colorful, sometimes pagan/heavy-drinking celebration. Anyways, there are still a lot of traditional elements with the procession of Saint Dominic and the horse parade (passes aprox. 100mts. away from the venue). One of the proposed dates includes August 1st. We can organize the Day Trip that day so it wont affect DebConf. Of course, those who want can stay in Managua and enjoy the festivities.
• Overall, July 19th may be more problematic for DebConf (national holiday, more difficult to get a reservation on those dates if we don't make reservations on time).
• Municipal elections will be held in November 2012 (usually on the first week of November). As the election day comes closer, there might be more political activity in Managua (rallies, etc.).

Proposed dates

• July/August are the coolest months of the year in Managua.
• Average temperature is 27/27°C (81/81°F).
• Average low temperature is 23/23°C (74/74°F).
• Average high temperature is 30/31°C (87/88°F).
• Average number of days with precipitation is 15/16.
• Average precipitation is 193/207mm (7.5/10.6 inches)

Option A

• DebCamp from Sun.1st/July to Sat.7/July
• DebConf from Sun.8/July to Sat.14/July
• Debian Open Day Sunday 8 July (first day of DebConf)
• Pros: No local holidays in that period.
• Cons: The date is close to July 19th. Many activities take place on those days, including a lot of political rallies, though the main activities occur after DebConf.
  • it puts the return squarely around the time that the olympic athletes are pouring in, so will make flights scarce/expensive at least for the UK people, and possibly for other Europeans as well (if athletes fly first to Frankfurt or whatever for connections).
  • might be a bit early for typical university/work vacations

Option B

• DebCamp from Sun.22/July to Sat.28/July
• DebConf from Sun.29/July to Sat.4/August
• Debian Open Day Sunday 29 July (first day of DebConf)
• Pros: August 1st (holiday) is Wednesday, we can do the Day Trip that day. People who don't want to leave Managua can stay in the city for the Saint Dominic festivities.
• Pros: would keep Europeans far away from the Olympic craziness in Europe.
• Cons: August 1st is local holiday in Managua. Some establishments are closed (including all banks).

Option C

Checking with the venue, they have a construction fair on the first days of August, so this option won't work for us.

• DebCamp from Sun.5/August to Sat.11/August
• DebConf from Sun.12/August to Sat.18/August
• Debian Open Day Sunday 12 August (first day of DebConf)
• Pros: The local holiday will not affect DebConf, only DebCamp - maybe that's not a big issue?
• Cons: August 10th (Friday) is a local holiday in Managua. Some establishments are closed (including all banks).

Option D

• DebCamp from Sun.12/August to Sat.18/August
• DebConf from Sun.19/August to Sat.25/August
• Debian Open Day Sunday 19 August (first day of DebConf)
• Pros: No local holidays in that period.
• Cons: Date closer to November (municipal elections) and there might be more political activity in Managua (rallies, etc.). Also, could be problematic for students (classes starts end August).