OK, so it’s two days, two chances to win! April 27-28, the Philly Typewriter Weekend, a trip into Typerspace, you might say.
Friday — beer + typewriters X Joe Sixpack = Drinking n Typing, an evening at the nation’s oldest Press Club, the Pen & Pencil in downtown Philly, 7-10 pm. $15 ($10 with working manual typewriter) includes includes a beer tasting and snacks with Joe Sixpack. We will pair craft beers from the US, Italy and Germany with typewriters from the same countries, then scientifically examine our prose styles to see if they change with various combinations of beers and typewriter! It’s my belief that this is a first, which may open an entire new field of recreational research.
details right here.
Saturday — the Spring Type-IN, and first meeting of the Philadelphia Typewriter Congress, where we’ll consider plans for a Large Fall Typing Event (LFTE)
At Fergie’s, 1214 Sansom Street, a lovely traditional pub where, BTW, youngsters like Mr. Cidoni are welcome. That’s Sat., 2-5pm, FREE, with working manual typewriter or stamped envelope. This event will hew to the standard International Type-IN Format, which includes a Speed Typing Competition with measly prizes, a Letter Writing Session and a Typewriter Swap.
phillytyper 
They both look incredibly fun, I wish I could be there.
may I use the same format here in Rome, Italy? Do you have suggestion for a successful type-in event? thanks Antonio
Certainly, I may be the humble originator of the first Type-IN, held Dec. 18 , 2010 in Philadelphia! You, however, are from the Italy–the country which originated the Olivetti Lettera 22 Typewriter, the Bialetti espresso-maker, and the Campagnolo bicycle derailer–and that’s just in the 20th Century!
It would be an honor to know there was a Type-IN in Rome.
Some tips–make a nice poster which clearly states the date/location, “manual typewriting”, and what people will find/do etc, at the event. 2 or three hours is a good amount of time total. Put FREE in big letters.
Do it at a cafe, a bookstore or a cafe/bookstore! Somewhere with an owner who has a sense of humor and sturdy tables! (good lighting helps)
Cast your net wide: send the poster and a 1-page press release to: journalists, poetry and writing departments of colleges, second-hand stores, designers, architects, anybody who might have a typewriter lurking in their closet, cafes, bookstores, music studios. If you can find a typewriter repair tech, invite them to come as a consultant. Send out lots of emails, and if there are places that sell second hand typewriters, make sure they get posters, email, etc.
Make sure you have sturdy table, and at least 3 good working typewriters in case no one brings one. Bring nice paper, stamped envelopes. Select a one-page excerpt from a good author or poet… make 10 or 20 copies for the Typing Speed Competition… bring tape, so you can use some bottles or something to hold the paper up for people to type from. Have some little prizes for the winners… Wite-Out, typewriter ribbons, postcards, etc.
Write a short agenda, showing what people should/could/might do in the first 30 min, the next 30 minutes, etc….
Have a good typist sitting at a machine to take everyone’s name down by typing it…
Here’s how to do a “Roller Call”. Start with people seated at machines… Have them type their name and a sentence and the name of the machine they are typing on. Then they take the paper out and move to the next machine. When they are done, their paper has traveled through several machines and they have typed on several different machines…
And etc.!
Take pictures, make little 30 Second videos, post on web. Presto!
Feel free to ask any other questions, etc.
Great to hear from you, please keep us informed about your event.
–Michael McGettigan / trophy bikes philadelphia
aka http://www.phillytyper.com
I’ve a meeting next May 30th with an important cafè/pub here in Rome. I’ll introduce the type-in concept. I’ll let you know and if works…
Va Bene! Good luck and just show them some Olivetti Letteras for encouragement.
cheers
phillytyper
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