If you’re in Toronto and into tech then BarCamp is an event worth checking out. It happens the weekend of August 26-27 in Microsoft’s offices at Adelaide & Yonge. As described on the wiki:

BarCamp is an ad-hoc un-conference born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from attendees.

This event is part of the TorCamp phenomenon, started last November. It’s grown from about 50 at TorCamp 1 to over 140 at the last TorCamp DemoCamp.

The topics and people at these things run the gamut of tech, with a tendency to skew towards web and online stuff. I’ve been to the previous two BarCamps in Toronto and got a lot out of them. Though, you should be warned that you very much get out what you put into these events, there’s definitely no spoon-feeding. The official rule says:

All BarCamp attendees must give a demo, a session, or help with one.

If that all sounds a little much, then attending a DemoCamp might sound interesting. Democamps are free, monthly events that sprang out of the BarCamp Toronto (aka TorCamp) community. The format is that 5-6 people demo some working tech, ranging from hacked disposable camera harware to enterprise security systems, with a lot of web 2.0ish stuff sprinkled throughout. Democamps are also a great place to get to know the community, without the requirement that everyone be as actively involved.