We’re going online
There’s no need for a preamble here; everyone knows what’s going on around the world, but for future readers, here’s the gist of it: the COVID-19 pandemic is making it impossible for us to make Solskogen 2020 – our last Solskogen ever – in the regular way.
We’ve been following the status of the Coronavirus situation for a long time now (it feels like forever), and for a long time we thought we might be lucky enough to still host our last party in the way we envisioned.
Travel restrictions (mandatory 14-day quarantines for anyone travelling into the country), health and social distancing restrictions (room for fewer people in the hall etc), as well as the financial realities (people having suffered a loss of income, less incentive to travel) plus many, many more complications (including the final straw which was the announcement from Norway’s Minister of Culture today (in Norwegian), made it apparent that we would need to think differently about our final hurrah.
So, one last Flateby adventure is not going to be possible for Solskogen. Reality check: done.
On the upside, Revision online has shown that it’s entirely possible to create an incredible party atmosphere even under these conditions. We’ve spoken at length with the Revision organizing team (as well as internally in the Solskogen crew, of course) and we’re working on our own plans for what an online edition of Solskogen might look like.. And we think it’ll actually be super fun!
We are currently working on two potential solutions: one that’s fully virtual, like Revision, and another that includes a “show up at location X and be part of one final night of Solskogen, albeit in more of a hang-out / bar setting than a traditional demoparty”. We’re still investigating our options here, and we’ll be sure to update you when we know more.
Rest assured, we’re not letting go of our last Solskogen!
In the next few days, everyone who has purchased a ticket will get an email with information about refunds, as well as an option to partially refund their ticket and convert the rest to an online ticket with compo voting rights (like Revision did). We are looking into whether we can still make and ship t-shirts, and there are some positive signs there as well. Obviously, all food tickets will also be fully refunded.
We want to thank everyone for their patience with us in dealing with this situation, which has not been ideal for anyone. We know that our little demoparty pales in comparison with everything else that goes on in the world today, but on the flip side, we also know that many of you were really looking forward to this (we sold out in just a few days after all).
Stay safe, and we’ll be in touch. Solskogen 2020 is on (line!)
PS: if you have any questions, you are more than welcome to join our Slack community and ask us in the #general channel. We might not have answers at the ready, but we’d love to hear from you – concerns, ideas, thoughts – we’re there.
