@David Bisset -A very good point. If you're relying solely on people coming in form out of town, it might be difficult to achieve the critical mass required to have a successful event. I like the bbRetreat idea but it sounds more developer and designer focused, which isn't necessarily bad. However, one cool thing about BuddyCamp Vancouver was that there were a good number of attendees who were totally new to BuddyPress but wanted to check it out. It was really exciting to see instant new fans of the plugin after just a couple intro sessions. :)