UPDATE 2: Minnestar has announced Saturday, September 19 as the rescheduled date for Minnebar. There will also be a virtual (mini) Minnebar on April, 25 (the original date for the unconference). The virtual event will feature speakers such as Jam Lemoi, Dan Lew, Adeel Ahmad, and more. Full details and tickets are available here.
Our original story on the postponement is below.
In response to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak and with recommendations from health officials, Minnestar has postponed its April Minnebar event until later this year. This is the latest in a long list of unfortunate — but understandable — cancellations and postponements due to the virus.
In an email announcing the postponement, Maria Ploessl (Executive Director of Minnestar) said the organization will continue to work closely with host location Best Buy and other key partners to develop a new plan for the rescheduled event. No date was announced.
Minnebar has been a staple of the Minnesota tech and software community since 2006. Organized as an “unconference,” the event eschews the traditional structure of keynote speakers or formal workshops for a participant-driven lineup of sessions and what still will be one hell of a live podcast.
We’ve reached out to Minnestar and will update this post if we receive additional information.
UPDATE 1: Maria Ploessl said Minnestar was tentatively looking at a late-summer or early-fall date for the rescheduled Minnebar but stressed that the situation was still ongoing and actively being strategized. Ploessl offered these thoughts:
“As an organization that is focused on people, the safety and well-being of our community is always our number one priority. We have been monitoring the situation closely for the last few weeks, and made the difficult decision based on current recommendations from public health officials.
When coordinating an event like Minnebar, which is uniquely a participant-led and community driven experience, as you can imagine there are many moving pieces in play. We are grateful to this community for their understanding and support and look forward to collaboratively creating an event that is safer and better than ever.”
