LinuxFest Northwest is a free, volunteer-run open-source festival, and it has been since 2000. Everything at the fest — the talks, the expo hall, the livestream, the signage at the door — is made by people who decided to pitch in. Whatever your experience level, there is a place for you here.
LFNW 2027 runs April 23–25 at Bellingham Technical College. Here are the ways to be part of it.
Sponsor
Sponsorship is what keeps the fest free to attend. Your organization gets in front of open-source professionals, IT decision-makers and technologists from across the Pacific Northwest — on the website, at the venue and in our marketing.
See sponsorship levels and download the prospectus, or email sponsor@linuxfestnorthwest.org.
Speak
We welcome proposals on anything open source: Linux, security, devops, cloud, education, hardware, community, and the things we have not thought of yet. Sessions run 30–45 minutes including Q&A. LFNW is volunteer-run and free to attend, so we cannot offer honoraria or travel expenses; sessions may be recorded and shared publicly, and all speakers agree to follow our Code of Conduct.
The Call for Speakers is open now. Submit a proposal through Sessionize — the call closes on 15 January 2027. You can also read what speaking at LFNW involves.
Volunteer
Every part of the fest is built by volunteers: AV and streaming, speaker and guest services, the expo hall, signage, sponsorships, and more. You do not need to be an expert — we run on a mentorship model, pairing every Apprentice with a Lead who knows the role, so you learn it alongside someone and can take it over in a later year.
Tell us your skills, interests and availability and someone from the team will get back to you.
Share an idea
Attended the fest, are thinking about it, or just have a thought about how it could be better? We want to hear it — feedback on a past year, a suggestion for next year, or a note about something that did not work.
Send feedback or join the discussion.
Still not sure where you fit? Choose Apprentice on the volunteer form and tell us what you are curious about, or write to info@linuxfestnorthwest.org. We would be glad to have you.