Lisa Melegari, lead organizer of WordCamp Orlando, confirmed earlier today that the event is cancelled due to hurricane Matthew. Rosen UCF campus, the venue where the event was to be held announced that it is under a mandatory order to remain closed until Sunday, eliminating the possibility of having sessions this weekend.
Those who purchased tickets are encouraged to fill out the following form to request a refund. Refund requests will be collected until Friday, October 14th and will be sent to WordCamp Central for processing. Those who purchased tickets more than 60 days ago will be contacted by WordCamp Central to arrange a refund. Ticket buyers can also carry over the ticket price.
“We are considering other options so the months of planning WCORL 2016 are not in vain,” Melegari said. “If you believe you will be interested in a future WordCamp Orlando event, you have the option of carrying over your ticket price to the next event.”
Although ticket buyers who commented on the announcement were disappointed, they expressed their understanding and praised the event’s volunteers for their efforts. WordCamp organizers have a lot to plan for but hurricanes in October typically don’t make the list. WordCamp Orlando 2016 is the first WordCamp in history to be cancelled because of a hurricane.