Macworld Expo 2008 is fast approaching (it takes place in San Francisco from Jan. 14th to the 18th) and people's social and conference calendars are filling up. If you don't get a chance to cram enough Mac talk in during the conference itself why not stick around for a Mac centered BarCamp called MacCamp?

BarCamp, in case you aren't familiar with the term, is a type of 'user generated' conference. There is no set schedule, no set speakers. Attendees make up the schedule as the event goes along, creating sessions that they want to participate in and attend. MacCamp is a two day event starting around 6pm on Friday, January 18th. The schedule isn't set, but you can see who will be coming at its Upcoming page (sadly I fly back to Philly Friday afternoon) and check out more on its wiki page.

MacCamp is not the camp your parents shipped you off to every summer when you were a kid. MacCamp is twice-yearly, three-day, Mac-centric, Mac Users Group members-only retreat held in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains of Silver Falls State Park in the great Pacific Northwest, about a half hour east of Salem, Oregon.

MacCamp was the brainchild of PMUG, the Portland Macintosh Users Group, and they've been holding it for more than twenty years now. You don't have to be a member of PMUG to join the retreat, though - members of other MUGs are welcome too, and the cost to everyone is minimal - less than $200 for a weekend that includes lodging with all the comforts of home, no less than 6 classes in a variety of subjects, invaluable social interaction and all meals and snacks during your stay. The best part is that although the four cabins have no outside Internet connection, they are still networked together by the campers themselves when everyone arrives Friday afternoon, with their Macs in tow. In addition to setting up Airport for wireless, the lodges are physically wired together with ethernet cabling, which is no small task in the woods. The network is then used for iTunes, iPhoto and other media sharing, LAN gaming, chatting, etc.

The lineup of classes this time included photography, working with Photoshop and Illustrator, running Windows on an Intel Mac, podcasting and fun productivity applications.

Rob "Mac OS X Hints" Griffiths spent only a day at MacCamp, hosting the above-mentioned productivity app session, and he was impressed. He tells a bit more about his experience on the Macworld Editors' Notes blog.

PMUG sounds like a shining example of a Mac Users Group and I wonder how many other MUGS hold similar events. If you're a MUG member, raise your hand! And if you're not familiar with your local MUG (and I bet many of you don't even know if you have a local MUG - I bet you do), now might be a good time to get acquainted. You can search for one serving your area on Apple's User Group Locater.