Here’s hoping your 2023 ended well, and wishing you nothing but the best for 2024.
2024 is going to be the first of two big years for the Amiga community. The growth and resurgence of the user group community, large scale events, as well as the creation of a multitude of game-changing hardware and software solutions for our machines is set to make this year a milestone for bringing even more Amigas out of the loft and back into regular use. Kickstart has at least three events planned so far for 2024 (two already announced), details below:
One of the things we really wanted to get in the diary for 2024 was a barbecue. The annual barbecue was a mainstay of the Kickstart Amiga Group annual diary, providing a great social environment as well as the fun of a regular meet.
We are pleased to confirm that we have booked Saturday 22nd June 2024 for the Barbecue meet. Ticket price includes the barbecue and tickets are on sale now, along with a few remaining tickets for our February 2024 meet:
Key Information
When: Saturday 22nd June 2024
Where: Ottershaw Village Hall, Brox Road, Ottershaw, Surrey, KT16 0HG
Time: 9am-9pm
Cost: £14-16 per person (price includes BBQ lunch, snacks and soft drinks throughout the day)
If you were not able to join us in October, or are thinking about coming in February, here’s a few pics from the October event to give you an idea of what a Kickstart meet is all about.
Hot on the heels of the success of our first meet, we are pleased to announce the date and details for our second meetup. Following a survey of members coming to our first event, we have confirmed Sunday 18th February 2024 for the meet. Tickets are on sale now, so please be quick as we did sell out of table spaces for our first meet.
Key Information
When: Sunday 18th February 2024
Where: Ottershaw Village Hall, Brox Road, Ottershaw, Surrey, KT16 0HG
Time: 9am-9pm
Cost: £14-16 per person (price includes lunch, snacks and soft drinks throughout the day)
Kickstart is a non-profit event. The price we are charging is purely to cover the cost of renting the hall for the day and for the cost of the refreshments. If by some miracle, we have money left over, 100% of it will be put towards the cost of booking the hall for the next meet.
We are now full for our inaugural October 2023 meet. A big thank you to everyone who has responded positively to the relaunch of Kickstart, as well as everyone who has bought a ticket to come to the day on 15th October, we really appreciate your support.
With Zzap Live done, the UK Amiga community is now more aware than ever that Kickstart is back and that we are hosting our next event in October and at the time of writing we have just two more tables left for the October meet.
Ahead of our next Kickstart meet in Ottershaw in October, Kickstart will be on the road in August and September, popping up at some events and supporting some of our friends at their user group meets.
On 12th August 2023 we will be heading to the Holiday Inn Kenilworth (it’s about half way between Warwick and Coventry) for Zzap! Live 2023. It’s a hands-on show celebrating all things Commodore, from the early 8-bit days right the way through to the Amiga and even Commodore’s difficult history as a PC maker. We are there in conjunction with our friends at the South West Amiga Group, helping to populate the Amiga area. Some of the Kickstart team will be there showing off some modified and updated member machines, showing how you can make the most of the Amiga in 2023.
Zzap! Live 2023 will feature over 50 interactive exhibits, representing the entire history of Commodore computing from the humble pioneering days right up to the present. Not only will there be plenty to play, but other ways to spend your time and your money while you socialise!
Places at the 15th October 2023 Kickstart Amiga Group meet are in high demand, so much so that we only have two table places left at the time of writing this post. If you would like to join us and need a table for your computer, please grab a ticket now while you still can.
A few non-table tickets are still available for people wanting to come but who are not bringing a machine.
We’ve also added an option for a few “Bring Your Own Table” tickets. If you have a fold up table (ideally around 4ft, no bigger than 6ft) that can take the weight of your Amiga and its bits, you can bring it with this ticket. It’s the same price as our costs are the same whether we supply the table or you do, but you still get access and everything else included in the day like every other ticket holder, including refreshments.
Now Includes Lunch!
Thanks to the enormous amount of support and the size of the turnout for this meet, I am so happy to say that we can afford to add a bit more value to your existing ticket. In addition to the snacks and soft drinks we will be providing for the day, we will also be providing a sandwich buffet lunch for everyone.
Just a quick update to thank everyone who has bought a ticket for the Kickstart 15th October 2023 meet. The response has been fantastic so far and we really appreciate all the support in bringing Kickstart back as a user group.
There are still a few table tickets left and we would really like to see you there. You can buy your ticket here:
After considerable input and interest I am excited to announce we have booked a venue for the first Kickstart Amiga Group meeting of the new era!
Rather than September, we’ve opted for 15th October to avoid clashing with other Amiga user group events and so we can welcome many of our friends from other neighbouring user groups.
Kickstart is a non-profit event. The price we are charging is purely to cover the cost of renting the hall for the day and for the cost of the refreshments. If by some miracle, we have money left over, 100% of it will be put towards the cost of booking the hall for the next meet. Yes, there will be more of these!
