This time was/is different... Probably the most said sentence in crypto in the last couple of months... 🙂 Well, this HIVE meetup, the #HiveOpenDays, Alicante was completely different than any other... for me... It began just a few weeks after the end of the last @BuzzParty in Graz, Austria... At the beginning of June last year, the day was set, the city was picked, the rest was to be prepared and announced... This time, I was on the organizing team, as the event took place close to my city of residence...
Was it a good experience or a bad experience? It was different... I did organize 2 meetups in Serbia in the last 2 years, still, those were just small gatherings of people, nothing on the level of #HODAlicante, with a venue, speakers, presentation, catering, excursions, prizes, etc. But, all in all, it was worth helping organize it! Of course, all kudos go to @tibfox, who did most of the work and made sure everything went smoothly as in previous years... The least I could do was to pick him and his lovely lady (@machamorag2) up at the airport when they arrived in Alicante! I said it before, and I'll say it again, I can't think of any other Hivian who could do this better than him! Thanks, man, for the great job you did! 🙏
As usual, after everyone else published their posts about the event, I will do my best to show it through different goggles, with a different point of view... Sit comfortably and enjoy the ride... 🍹
Day -1
If we exclude dealing with boxes of HIVE stuff, lost packages, HIVE merch, and similar, for me, the event began a day earlier as some of my HIVE friends already arrived in the area... We (@mipiano and I) were not just hosts for the event, but we also had one Hivian staying at our home with us! We have invited @edje to visit us whenever he wants, and he used that ticket for this event! 😃 We were happy to have him, and he was of great help with sharing some of the organizational responsibilities with us (carrying bags, boxes, drinks, etc. 😂).
Another two Hivians were already in Alicante, @livinguktaiwan and @sinochip, so we decided to take all of them to the area where we lived for 12 years! As MP had some rehearsals and private classes there, I have offered our guests to be their tour guide, to show some of the beauties of Costa Blanca! Luckily, we had almost perfect weather conditions, and we all enjoyed the nature, and of course, the great company! We have a lot of history together, not just on HIVE, but IRL too, and to be honest, I would say maybe even more "off HIVE"! Met on multiple occasions, had drinks around different European cities, and had a lot of laughs and fun...
First, we went to eat at the Chinese restaurant, which was evaluated with the same note from both of our "experts"... After that, we visited the old town of Guadalest, went down to the dam to take a few photos (which I didn't do as I forgot and got distracted by showing them around 😃). Later in the evening went to the seaside, and had a pizza together when MP finished her duties...
It was already getting dark when we left our friends in the hotel in Alicante and headed home to rest... All with some high expectations for the first day of the event, where we will meet some of our old friends again, and meet some new ones!
Day 0
I call it Day 0, but this was the first official day of meeting at #HiveOpenDays. As the stand, the big banner, and some other stuff were with me, @edje and I went to the Ulab (our Hive meetup HUB and the main venue), 2 hours before the official hour, to help out with preparing everything... After sorting out "the stage", along with @tibfox, we went to purchase water and soft drinks at the supermarket near the venue... To our surprise, in the small local shop we met @honeydue and exchanged a few words with her while shopping... 😀 She came to the event with @godfish, and with them, I also have a longer history... We met recently in Prague, before that, I think it was Graz, Split, and Amsterdam with @honeydue, and so on... I would agree with her words from her post, whenever they are around, the meetup has that "school reunion" vibe, being among old friends!
Among the first people to arrive, there was @reiseamateur, who came with 2 big bags of coffee filters as he was one of the sponsors for coffee drinkers at the event! We met in Graz last year, when he was one of the organizers of the event, and probably because of that, we didn't have too much time for a talk... This year, the sides were switched, and I completely understood how it was for him last year... 😃 Thanks for the coffee!!!
What was interesting to see was that most of our "new Hivians" were punctual, and they arrived among the first when the official event started! Believe me, seeing that in Spain IS a big deal! 😃 Among Hivians, there was @igormuba, whose face I did remember from somewhere, and that was clarified when he mentioned being in HiveFest in Amsterdam! It was nice to see him again, and this time, we had a couple of talks over the weekend... He had an interesting story to share, which I have already retold a couple of times, IRL, but also here on HIVE in one of my recent posts... It is great to have you around, Igor, and your input regarding HIVE and techy stuff is very much appreciated and valuable!
Day 1
I thought I could narrate this post chronologically, but I realized with so few photos, I can't remember what happened when... But, let's try to proceed and don't mind when I jump back and forth...
The main day was Friday, May 1st, when the day began with a presentation at 10 AM, which meant we had to be there at least half an hour in advance... This was the second day, but already 3rd for me, and I suppose on this day, my body has broken... I didn't sleep well for the previous 2-3 nights, without doing my siesta (yes, I do them... religiously... 😃), but somehow I did go through the day...
As @tibfox was "running the show" and taking care of the live stream, I was the person responsible for playing presentations for our lovely speakers... And oh boy, I did badly until I got into it... 😃 Poor @alessandrawhite... After the opening speech by Tibfox, she was the first speaker... I don't know what happened, but the clicker was skipping 3 slides instead of 1, and she was trying to get her presentation done, as nothing happened!! I still can't believe how great she managed to do it, as I would freak out at the stage if something similar happened to me...
I was so unprepared for the job that I completely forgot to take photos of Alessandra during her speech! (Sorry, Alessandra!) 😱 Luckily, before the next speech, MP gave me the camera and reminded me to use my "privileged position" to take photos of speakers!
The next on the stage was @palomap3! Love this photo! It just shows how Hivians take care of each other... After finishing her presentation, Alessandra was preparing Paloma for hers, under Tibfox's watch to have everything in order... 😃
For Paloma, this was the first "big" Hive meetup, and I was so happy to see her enjoying every single moment of it!
And regarding her presentation, she did it so well that I had to take a microphone and give my thanks for such a good job! Btw, if you are a newbie, I would suggest you check out the live stream recording and listen to Paloma's presentation as it will help you a lot!! Check it out here (it starts around 1h 15min)!
photo by @haastrecht
Next on the stage was @livinguktaiwan with her talk about communities, and how to build one... She shared some interesting numbers in her presentation, and some good and bad practises for community creations...
During her presentation, she even lured me out of my "IT cave" as she shared quote from one of my recent posts, where I was celebrating 7 years on HIVE! As I was so deep in the work, I didn't even realize those were my words until she shared the line at the bottom of the slide!
photo by @haastrecht
Thanks for doing it, Pauline! 🌹 I didn't expect something like that, and I do appreciate it a lot! Things like this remind me of my first steps on the chain, when I began my journey, creating posts and thinking how nobody reads them... And then, slowly, I noticed people commenting, quoting, asking questions, sharing similar (or opposite) opinions... When that happened, I realized the real power behind HIVE... and the rest is history... 😃
Yes, I do get sick on these meetups, but I do enjoy them a lot... When one is over, I'm already planning and thinking about the next one!
After lunch, Spaniards usually do siesta 😃, but instead of doing a collective sleep at the venue, we got a relaxing, but very interesting and fun concert prepared by our two HIVE musicians, @mipiano and @alessandrawhite! This wasn't just a spontaneous concert that happened on the spot; these girls had prepared it properly, practicing before the event! Alessandra visited us a few weeks before the event, and stayed in our town, just to practice in a duo with MP! Okay, we did have more fun too, but that's for another post... 😃
As a result of bad lighting, my camera was acting a bit strange and many photos finished blurred, but this one is one of my favorites... 😃
Preparing for these concerts requires a lot of dedication and also synchronicity between performers... Thanks, girls, you did a great job and the audience had a lot of fun... Well-deserved long applause at the end of the concert!
Next on the stage was our main host and event organizer, @tibfox! This time, he was talking about 3Speak and his Mantequilla Soft team... What has been done, and what are the plans for the future! Also, it was great to see how many things were improved with the platform in the recent months, especially knowing how many issues there were a few years ago... Thanks, guys, for all your work on the platform!
Before forgetting, it was great to see @mightyrocklee again! Last time when we met, he was at the meetup with his mother, and this time we met his wife, @susieisclever. It was nice to meet you two! I know we will meet again as we are addicted to meetups, aren't we? 🤣
The last speaker for that day was @ninaeatshere! She was presenting the @Worldmappin project, the latest developments, and the future plans for it... It is one of the biggest communities on HIVE, and probably one of the most active...
Speaking of Nina, she was the person to "blame" for picking Spain as a destination for the Hive Open Days! When we were in Graz last year, she planted the seed into Tibfox's brain about it... 😃
After talks
photo by @edje
If you attended any of HIVE meetups in the past, you probably know that the best fun is happening behind the cameras, in breaks between presentations, and especially when the "official" part is over! Everyone is more relaxed, especially those who had to take care of presenting things, so the real fun can begin!
Our two community leaders in one photo!
...even I had time to take some photos... 😃 @iamkaye and @elsurtidor checking out the food... 🙂
some used breaks to catch up with online stuff... - photo by @reiseamateur
...others were eating and got by the camera of @haastrecht 🤣
photo by @mipiano
During the event, @schmidi was asking for volunteers to say a couple of words about HIVE on camera for his video series... I hope the video looks better than how I look in this photo... 😂
Speaking of @schmidi, he was one of the people that I met IRL for the first time during this event... I remember promising him to visit the Vienna Hive meetup once when I'm on the way through Austria, but unfortunately, that still didn't happen... However, I had some great talks with him in Alicante, and I really like his "vibe", so I have no doubts our paths will cross in the future!
The party for that day continued in the local bars, and later that evening, a nice dinner! I have to mention a couple of people around this table... On the walk to this bar, or toward the restaurant, I have used the time to have a nice talk with @haastrecht, our "unofficial photographer" at the event... As I like to take photos (when I'm a bit more focused on that... lol), it was great to hear some nice tips regarding photographs, and also, a different perspective toward photos... As he is living in Spain, I suppose we will have more chances to meet again in one of the next event(s)...
Day 2 - La Mala Buena (02-05-2026)
Unfortunately, from this day on, my health state changed for the worse... I caught a bug, probably a virus, which didn't let me enjoy all activities with other Hivians... As a matter of fact, I'm still recovering, but luckily, just with an occasional cough...
I missed the boat trip to Tabarca, but with the help of a couple of pills, I did manage to come to the bar La Mala Buena, and to have a bit more time with my favorite people! 😃 It was great to hear stories about the excursion from @ratona, the person who was onboarded by us last year in Graz! She was excited to attend another event, and it is always great to see the happy faces of our friends... 🙂
As the bar was small, we had a very loooong table, so it was almost impossible to talk with guys on the other side... Maybe next time we will have more chances to talk, @m31, @lemony-cricket, @curangel... Also, I was a bit numbed by the pills that I took, so even having @nonsowrites in front of me, we exchanged just a couple of words...
Oh, let me tell you a bit more about the guy who is hiding behind the bottle... He is another Hivian that I met for the first time at the event, which I wanted to meet a long time ago... Despite living in the center of Spain, our paths didn't cross before... He was attending a few HIVE meetups in Madrid, which I wasn't able to participate... We had a nice chat in the bar, and made arrangements for a small detour for the next day...
Oh, what's this? 😂 Well, there is a story around this screenshot (literally screenshot (photo) of my TV where my son was playing a game that morning 😃)... When I saw this character, it immediately reminded me of @alessandrawhite, so I had to share it with her that evening in the bar... 🤣 It has everything... The clarinet, the small stand, and of course, the same hairstyle! 😃
No, there weren't only girls in the bar that night... 😃 At the same table with me was also @bitterirony, whom I have met multiple times, but still, we didn't have occasions to talk a bit more... This time, we fixed that, and hopefully will have more talks in the future... As I didn't feel too well, we left the bar before others, as we had to wake up early the next morning...
In those moments, I wasn't aware that that would be my last time in the company of other Hivers, so we didn't have a proper farewell moment... 😔
Day 3 Calpe (03-05-2026)
As MP plays piano every Sunday in Calpe, we invited other Hivians who want to go with us for a small guided tour in other parts of Costa Blanca... In the official agenda, there was an Alicante tour guide by @ninaeatshere, but it didn't start until 11 AM, when we were on the way back... Anyways, not many were into waking up at 7 AM the day after drinking in the bar (obviously 😂)... @palomap3 and @enraizar accepted the invitation, but only one made it to the meeting point that morning... The alarm clock wasn't loud enough for Paloma... 😂
So, along with @enraizar, we went for a walk around Calpe and Albir, during that cloudy, but luckily not rainy, Sunday morning... On the way back, we left him in Alicante, where he joined other Hivians, while MP and I went back home...
Days 4, 5, and 6 05-05-2026
I think on Monday, after the event, I stayed at home all day... Trying to recover, but still having @edje with us to talk about HIVE 0-24... 😂 I suppose having him around helped me to not fall into bed sick as I was...
photo by @edje
In the following 2 days, we went to visit a couple of places around our town, but also, in a different area too... We had an idea to check out @livinguktaiwan and @sinochip in Murcia as they headed to check that city, but in the end, we decided not to stalk them...
photo by @edje
photo by @mipiano
We visited Amadorio lake, close to Villajoyosa...
photo by @edje
Belly IN, ready for a photo! 🤣; photo by @edje
...checked out Benidorm to break some stereotypes about it... (didn't succeed 😃)
Enjoyed views from the old town Finestrat...
... and were unlucky with the schedule for visiting the chocolate museum in Villajoyosa... maybe next time...
You may have noticed that I didn't mention any specific presentation or dive deeper into it; instead, I kept my focus on people... Topics come and go, but people and friends are the ones who are there to create new ones... Keep your focus on people, and you will be OK!
I suppose that would be the best "advice" to our new Hivians onboarded during the event! @hivevive, @marinasalvi3, @iamkaye, @nikaradeva, @anamz, @juanmatrader, @dimrad, and @gissse, don't be afraid to create content and comment on HIVE! Keep it simple, respect other Hivians, and have fun!
Thank you for your time.
--ph--
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Signal
Type: original post | Authentic: authentic | Importance: important
Topic: Meeting of several Hive users at the Hive Open Days
Tags: #hive #blockchai #meeting #technology #progress #alicante #espana
Claim: The user reviews his experience in Alicante Spain and tells us about the various presentations of the users
Stance: support
00 — The user wanted to focus on the shared experiences and the moments lived during the event
Why it matters: This type of meeting between Hive users strengthens us more as a community. Making Hive known starts with the human value of the people who are part of it
Posted via First Context
It is one of your creator traits, @ph1102, to be the last to take a turn. I adore that about you.
As they say in American football 🏈, you left it all out on the field hosting us all on your turf! 🏟️
At first, it feels like we have all the time in the world to hang out together and get in to conversations. But the time goes quickly, once we get going.
I’m heartened that you understand the sense of feeling behind and also having an intense desire to get caught up with things.
I’m so grateful to you & @mipiano for all your generous encouragement, especially your kind hospitality. You fed me—REAL FOOD (sin mantequilla!). 😂
@bitterirony look forward to seeing you two again soon. Know you always have a place to stay in Leeds, right on the River Aire!
Thank you very much for your kind words! 🙏
It was a pleasure having you at our home, and you are always more than welcome to come again... We will have enough food to feed you! 😂
Luckily, we do have these online tools to have a chat, or a talk... It is different when it's IRL, but good enough to keep us connected to the next meetup! 🙂
England is on the agenda for visiting, the only thing we need is a bit more time to do it... We will see how this summer will go...
Always a pleasure to spend time with you and Devin, and I really enjoy every minute spent with you guys! 🥂
Hahaha, we fed you with real food indeed hahaha. I made a similar dish from the oven for our other guest but it was not as good as when you were here 😉
That ginormous dish you made was so incredible!
I described it to the @creativeworkhour crew and @shadowspub totally had experience with preparing family meals that way with @artemisnorth.com when growing up.
As you know, I don’t cook. I just thought those pans were just extra accessories! 👩🍳
I can imagine how exhausting it is to host or co host an event. Plus you missing your siesta, no wonder you become ill. And of course you were a tourist guide as well, thank you so much for taking us around. We wouldn't have visited so many nice places by ourselves, especially the spring water, it was so fresh. I have yet to post about that day.
I hope you have fully recovered now.
Btw, I'm wondering, which is your favourite photo.... 🤔
Recovery is still on, and unfortunately, people around me got sick too... But, we are slowly getting out of it... 😂 Soon-to-be healthy... 😃
I'm glad you enjoyed the days before and after the event... It was so much fun to go around places with you guys... ;)
And regarding the photo, I meant the first one... 😃 I did a similar photo with MP on it, when we were visiting Malaga...
Like a troll doll😁
😂
😱
😂
You have no idea how totally bummed I am right now. I live in Vancouver, Canada but have been in Alicante Spain for the past 5 days and am writing this from the AC Hotel Alicante right this moment. I totally missed out on a Hive meeting I would have totally loved to see.
.... (sigh)...
But I'm not exactly in the loop which kind of sucks.
Ah well, someday I'll know in enough time to make preparations and meet other Hivians until then I'll just have to look at your pictures and think... Ohh.. I saw that place just a couple days ago :)
Hey there!
The event took place at the beginning of May, so I suppose you weren't around in those days... There will be another big HIVE gathering in September in Barcelona, for the yearly HiveFest! If you are still around in Europe, don't forget to check that out too...
Enjoy your holidays and have fun in Spain!
Alicante from May 11-16, Murcia until the 23rd then back to Canada. As for Barcelona... It would be cool but its hard to justify two trips to Spain in one year :)
Ohhhh man what an event and a big thank you goes out to you for handling all the packages, driving the things (and people) around and your help in general! I am still a bit out of my mind haha hope you got better already :) Hope to see you soon!
It was great to help out with stuff on the spot... A bit too stressful, but it was worth doing! I can't imagine how it was from your point of view, as you had a lot more "additional" stress to handle...
Thanks once again for organizing the meetup, and I think that everyone had a great time! 💪 Mission accomplished! 🍻
The motto of the event was "Let's go with everything" and you did it, you even gave your health. Every second we shared was worth it, thank you for everything you did to make those days even better than I had imagined.
I really liked seeing the pre and post event. Being a little bad, I'm glad the chocolate museum was closed. I don't know if I could have resisted seeing it. 🤣🤣
The photo of the musical girls waving is great!! 🙌
Maybe that was the problem... Going with everything, and pushing the limits... It happened in the past, and it looks like I will never learn my lesson... 😂
😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
See you in Barcelona! 🥂
That was a lot of information and photos in one post lol, but it was worth the scroll. I don't think you have share anything about that meetup since it happened? I'm not sure, just saying if you had, then this is probably the longest you've shared about it.
Hehehehe... This was my only post about the meetup... I was sick until recently and had no strength to write it before... and yeah... maybe I overdid it a bit... Not sure that many will read it all... 😂
Good morning @ph1102... only one word comes to mind: thank you so, so much!! And one wish: I hope you are now enjoying good health.
A very big hug!
Thank you very much! It was my pleasure, and a great morning walk and talk!
See you soon again! 🍻
😊🍻
I can imagine the fun and buzz of it all. Meeting new and catching up with old friends plus visiting all these interesting places.
It's a pity you got sick along the line and missed out on some part, things like this happens. It's nice to read that you're recovering well. Do so faster. 😅
Despite getting sick, it was a lot of fun! When everyone left, my body decided to shut down a bit... hehehe... It was time to get rest and to gain power for the next one! 😃
Thanks for your wishes! 🙏
Thx, for the Event in Alicante!! I loved!!
And for this recap!! My Videos comes in next Times!!
Cool Location, Cool People all was fine!!
Hope we see us at the next Openhivedays ....
Cheers 🤠
Happy to hear that you had fun, despite your wife getting sick... Btw, I hope she has recovered, and you are doing well!
Greetings! 🍻
Que bonito, los encuentro de hiver son siempre con una energía especial y maravillosa, aún viéndolos en fotografías se nos alegra el corazón. Que bien en volverse multiplicadores siempre se necesitan nuevos integrantes que aportan frescura y revitalizan lo que nosotros hemos encontrado.
How lovely! Winter gatherings always have a special and wonderful energy; even just seeing them in photographs warms our hearts. It's great that they're becoming multipliers; we always need new members who bring freshness and revitaliz.
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Nos lo pasamos genial en el evento y esperamos haber conseguido que los nuevos usuarios también se engancharan a HIVE... 😃
¡Saludos y gracias! 🥂
This is a fantastic read. So many photos, I am so glad many photos got captured to cherish this event.
Thank you! It's a pity that you didn't make it! Next occasion is in September, HiveFest, Barcelona!
Hope to see you there! 🥂
I wish they would hold events like this in my city; it looked excellent.
I'm so sorry you got sick. Best wishes and success in your new projects.
Thanks!
You can always try to gather around a few Hivians from the area and have fun... I think you have at least 3-4 from your place! Start slowly, and it could grow into a meetup tradition... 😃
Have a great week!
omg, there is another chocolate museum there? i need to go to visit next time. :)
It's not in Alicante, but in another city (could be reached by tram!)
https://www.valor.es/en/chocolate-museum/
No problem, I will ask you when I am close to it again.
Such a nice event for hive people and cool photos.
It was a great event! Hopefully, we will have a similar vibe at HiveFest in Barcelona in September! 🍻
What a party, dude!
Do we know if someone actually did that paragliding?
I am getting updated - it is scheduled for the 24th of May now for @anamz and @ratona :D
Good! So it is likely not a scam :)
It was a mega-party for almost a week... 😃
And regarding paragliding, you got the answer from Tib... ;)
Good recap! I hope you're OK now!
Thanks! Yeah, much better now... It held me a bit longer than expected...
It looks like a great meetup, and so much was planned. It looks like lots of people put in quite a bit of work, and I understand how you might love and hate the process at the same time.
Believe it or not, it was fewer activities than at the first BuzzParty in Hamburg... That was crazy... Hehehehe... Anyway, I enjoyed this meetup a lot! In September is another HiveFest! Gotta prepare for that one too! 😃
Don't want to be rude or nothing... but those roids don't seem to work - maybe you should up your calories or do more lifting 🤷♂
Hehehehe... I wanted to put in the title "on pills", but that would sound a bit addictive and strange... 😂
But, what you said makes sense too... I need to boost my immunity for the next one!
Nice to see you back, posting on HIVE! Any chance to see you in Barcelona HF in September?
No chance :(
I like Barcelona and know the city well, and the off season is the best time to go, and I'd probably have a good time, but I got this new job, which I can't leave at that time.
That being said, the plans of walking the path through Spain are set. Going next year though and much further North.
It's a pity for Barcelona, but I'm happy to hear that you will finally pull out the walking through Spain "project"! I know you have been planning it for years... 💪
I think these kinds of events show how valuable real connections in the Hive ecosystem can be 😉
It does! Hopefully, we will meet at some of the next meetups! 🍻
You are all superstars!
Curated. Thanks for using Ecency!
Hehehehe! Thanks!
I know that you like these recaps!
Have a great Sunday! 🌹
!PIZZA
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Thanks for your curation, @itharagaian! 🙏
Love seeing all the happy faces and smiles!! Hive is definitely not just another community!
Thank you! It was a lot of fun, that's why everyone was happy and smiling... 😃
I hope we will see you smiling at some of the next meetups! 😃
Thank you! 😃
Wow amazing post!!! That's a big community and looks like everyone's having a lot of fun! :)
Thank you!
I counted a bit over 30 participants, including new Hivians... So, it was a nice chunk of people having fun! 😀
Thanks mate. Very nice to meet you. And if you are in the south someday, let me know and I wil look you upp 📸
I will! We like Malaga a lot, and somehow, we finish there every 1-2 years for at least a few days of vacation... 😃
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