Campus Party: Sao Paulo

As I’m writing this, 3,000 nerds "” and I say that in only the most complimentary way, naturally "” are having the best geek-out party ever in Sao Paulo’s equivalent of Central Park, Parque Ibirapuera. Campus Party, a marathon digital entertainment event that began Monday and will last straight through until Sunday, takes place in various cities at different times since its inception in Spain in 1997 and has since been attended by top nerds/VIPs like Stephen Hawking and Al Gore. Participants for the Brazil edition have shelled out about $55 to camp out in tents and take advantage of areas coursing with lectures, workshops and shows led by experts in the fields of astronomy, robotics, modding and more. These include a how-to class on building a binary watch (take that, Tokyo Flash!) and a robot sumo competition, and DJs from the Red Bull Academy here will teach amateurs the keys to the wheels of steel. Like any camp, food stalls and showers will be available to use, that is, if anyone can find the time to pull themselves away from their screens. There’s one pretty huge difference to note though: emergency help on standby comes in two forms, medical assistance for those who sprain their fingers from non-stop gaming and technical help for others whose computers conk out from intense around-the-clock usage playing Second Life. Anyway, sounds like a lot more fun than band camp!