With building and solving problems at its core, ETHDenver 2022 not only attracted web3 developers, ETHDenver, the #BUIDLathon (aka hackathon) also attracted creators, politicians, business minds, artists, collectors, investors and - of course - curious newcomers.

A free and accessible event at its core, SporkDao, a decentralized group of crypto enthusiasts taking on the planning of the event, did all they could to enable a transformative experience for the masses. Participants received free t-shirts, a spork, a map for an interactive event game, a bottle opener keychain, a long list of possible speaker/workshop sessions and free food truck tokens, not to mention the priceless opportunity to connect with thousands of like minded individuals IRL or digitally in the virtual castle venue that was created in the metaverse to mimic the actual venue.

Some on-lookers and eager late arrivals may have been upset by the long COVID testing line or sold out registration slots but if you were prepared enough to have registered within the time frame, waiting in line was presented an opportunity to banter and connect with other blockchain protocol enthusiasts. Long lines indicate that there’s something worth waiting for!

Over 25,000 people gathered over 5 days to debate, connect and code the future of decentralization. With tons of sponsored satellite events, a 24/7 arcade, comfy hacker/coder areas, free childcare, a poker tournament and even a yoga/puppy recharge room, there was something for everyone. The event raked in 138 sponsors, 7 official media partners and hype from their rare NFT collectibles including their 10,000 Bufficorn Buidl Brigade utility based NFT PFP community.

The abundance of energy from so many passionate and smart individuals bounced off the walls, through our hearts and into our digital devices as new telegram connections, Twitter followers and/or discord friends. On the top level maker space you could walk up at any hour to find a group soldering together arduinos, wires and mini screens into handmade mini monitors that would be able to showcase your unique NFT once github code is added.

Eth Denver is an off-spring of the thriving SporkDao community that organizes and produces the annual event. They curate community events in the Colorado area including Colorado Jam, smaller networking events and of course the largest and longest running Eth event in the world, Eth Denver. SporkDao has also announced $SPORK, the community rewards token, that enables holders to potentially receive a portion of the profits from Eth Denver, Bufficorn Ventures or the Colorado Jam Incubator in the future as well as vote in the governance of the community through proposals.

The event really started weeks ago when collaborators gathered in online channels in the Spork Dao Discord server. On the server you could “find a team” and pair up with people of complementary skills to work on an idea together during the build days at Eth Denver. Teams would hack as much as possible during build week and present to a panel of judges and the public at the end of the week. This year we were all lucky to see Ethereum’s very own Vitalik Buterin emerge from a Buffericorn suit as a hidden judge.

Vitalik, Andrew Yang, Aya Miyaguchi (the executive director of the Ethereum foundation), and Kimbal Musk, were just a few of the 100’s of speakers that shared their knowledge live and virtually through the metaverse live stream. The sessions and workshops over the two weeks covered everything from Solidity Bootcamps, NFT Basics to Navigating the Web3 Workforce as a BIPOC, Queer, Marginalized Individual, as well as the more nuanced discussions around topics like why decentralization matters to more technical sessions like threshold networks and the wonderful world of threshold cryptography.

There was something for everyone at ETHDenver and if you didn’t get a chance to participate in any of the fun, you can go back and watch some of ETHDenver’s live streams, listen to the Weavers of Web 3 mini series produced by PodTechs or attend a future web3 event this year. This year the Ethereum community is looking forward to ETHAustin , ETHBarcelona , ETHAmsterdam and Devconnect.

After so many months of remote work and little real human interaction, the non-stop human conversations and connections may seem exhausting. And yet, reflecting on the week, it felt so energizing and fulfilling to brainstorm about what we are collectively trying to achieve and the best ways to collaboratively get there.

One of the best way’s we can help is by amplifying and disseminating the stories of the builders and creators on the ground. While in Denver PodTechs had the opportunity to connect with 16 weavers of web3 that has been turned into an 11 episode mini-series.

PodTechs helps you build your community through sound and motion. Send us an email about an event or project you need help with and we’d be happy to see what’s possible if we were to collaborate!