PRESENTER INFORMATION

Table of Contents

EVENT DETAILS

The Texas Woodworking Festival is held in Austin, Texas each year. This year it is November 9th & 10th at the Palmer Events Center. Friday is our set up day and the event will run from 9am to 5pm on Saturday and 9am to 3pm on Sunday. There will be tool exhibitors, lumber yards, furniture makers, influencers, food, drinks and of course woodworking education. We are expecting this year to be our biggest and best so far!

THE SPACES

Palmer Events Center is a beautiful venue in the heart of Austin just south of the river and downtown. We have over 25,000sf for the festival which includes space for 100 exhibitors, 3 stages, 2 bars and several food trucks.

When it comes to the Education at the festival, there are 3 spaces. On the ground floor in the exhibition hall is our Demo Stage. This is mainly where live music, announcements, product demos, panels and some classes will be held. Upstairs there is a separate conference room area that we have divided into the Theater (3,000sf) and the Classroom (2,000sf). The Theater is mainly for actual woodworking demonstrations and the Classroom is more for lectures and presentations.

EDU TICKETS

TWF has several tickets that attendees can choose from: 

General Admission – This gives attendees access to the exhibition hall and all the activities taking place on the demo stage. There is also a GA Sunday Only ticket.

EDUcation – This gives attendees access to the exhibition hall as well as the Theater and Classroom upstairs. The EDU ticket also includes the Digital Pass.

Digital Pass – New in 2024, this ticket gives attendees access to recorded digital content and courses that take place at TWF. More information on the Digital Pass below.

PRESENTATIONS OR DEMONSTRATIONS

TWF prides itself on high quality lectures and demonstrations given by experts in their fields. Each year we look for structured, well-rehearsed presentations or demonstrations that are unique and interesting to the audience.

All presentations and demonstrations can be 30 – 90 minutes long and should include time for live audience questions and answers.

Demonstrations are considered to be anything where an action is taking place live. Example: Cutting dovetails or applying finish. They generally require material preparation, tools, and/or machines. Demonstrations will mostly take place in the theater and will have multiple cameras for wide and close up, microphones, and tv screens. 

Presentations are similar to lectures and generally do not involve actions or tools. They would cover more theoretical topics such as business, design, social media, etc. Presentations will take place in the classroom and will have a small wide camera, a microphone and tvs.

Panels included multiple people generally in an interview or AMA style session.

Some classes may be more of a hybrid version of a presentation and demonstration and that is ok too.

COMPENSATION

For participating in the Texas Woodworking Festival we will compensate instructors in the following ways.

  • Flight reimbursement
  • Hotel / airbnb booking for the weekend 
  • Teaching payment
    • 30-45m class – $150
    • 60m class – $175
    • 90m class – $200
    • Digital Content Revenue Share – More information in next section

We highly encourage presenters to teach 2 different classes so we can offer one on Saturday and one on Sunday. It often works well to do one demonstration and one presentation.

VIDEO CONTENT & REVENUE SHARING

The Demo Stage, Theater, and Classroom will all have audio and video equipment set up in order to make the experience at the event better for attendees. In 2024, we will begin to record and produce these sessions into video courses that will be sold online after the event. This is in an effort to share the educational content beyond just those attending the event that weekend and to increase our ability to financially compensate the presenters.

Presenters have the option to opt-in or opt-out of having their session recorded. If a presenter opts-in they will receive 50% of revenue from their courses in perpetuity. A Digital Pass (All Recorded Classes) will be sold at a discounted rate before the event, a full price Digital Pass (All Classes) will be sold after the event and individual courses will also be sold in perpetuity

Digital Pass Revenue – 50% to be split among recording presenters and 50% to TWF.

Individual Class Revenue – 50% to the presenter and 50% to TWF.

PREPARATION

We hope that all presenters will take the time to practice and mentally prepare for their sessions. TWF strives for EDU sessions to be high-quality and educational. An outline is highly recommended to stay within the time constraints. If a slide presentation is used, the text should be legible and photos should be high-definition. Demonstrations should be well thought out and fit within the time constraints. Rehearsal time will be available the Friday before the event.

Sometimes will require material and parts to be prepared ahead of time. TWF will send out a preparation survey before the event to get any material or tool requirements before the event.

DUE DATES

  • Sessions form submitted – April 28th

  • Tickets go on sale – May 1st

  • EDU Schedule announced – June 1st

  • Rough outline due – Sep. 29th

  • Final outline due – Oct. 6th

  • Slide presentation due – Oct. 13th

  • Rehearsal – Nov. 8th

  • Texas Woodworking Festival – Nov. 9th-10th

SESSION INFORMATION FORM

If Applicable
A descriptive but interesting name for your session. Try your best but we can help with this.
What are you teaching?
Please include at least 15 minutes for questions
Demonstrations are considered to be anything where an action is taking place live. Example: Cutting dovetails or applying finish. Presentations are similar to lectures and generally do not involve actions or tools. They would cover more theoretical topics such as business, design, social media, etc. Panels included multiple people generally in an interview or AMA style session.
Please refer to the presenter information page for more detail.
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Click or drag a file to this area to upload.
Click or drag files to this area to upload. You can upload up to 3 files.
Please tell us what tools you will be using and what tools we may need to provide
Please tell us what materials you will provide and what materials we should provide and have ready
Please tell us if there is a possible safety concern for yourself or the audience
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