What music would hype me up for the Big Event?
Dance to the ERG Big Event 2025 playlist on YouTube Music or Spotify. Celebrating ERG's 50th with songs suggested by current & oldERGies! 🎙️ 💽 🎧 ERGie cover band, The Noisy Neighbors, will play a few of these for us to dance to on Saturday night! 🕺💃🪩 Got an ERG-inspired song to add? Share it in ERG Slack!
How are you reducing waste at the Big Event?
Big Event name tags are biodegradable and embedded with USDA-approved, non-GMO seeds. When done, plant the name tag, water daily, and grow wildflowers!
Limited paper use. Encouraged all participants to use our digital schedule on their phones.
Any swag/merch is opt-in, no involuntary giveaways. Current ERG students are selling ERG merch. Any free swag, (like the photo booth!) is optional.
Avoided single-use plastic water bottles and boxed meals for speakers and registrants at Faculty Club.
Is there a lactation station?
We using the Facutly Club's Hart Room for storage and a green room. Other than that, it could be used as a lactation room. Please let Amanda or Chris know if you have a pumping schedule or need the room for feeding.
Where do I get my name tag, drink tickets & swag?
When you first arrive at the Big Event go to the registration table to check in and pick up your name tag lanyard. There will be a table at the Student Show 5/1 6pm, the Welcome Social 5/2 4:30pm, the Annual Lecture 5/2 6:30p and 8:30p, and Big Event Saturday 5/3 8-11am. If you arrive outside those hours, seek out Kay Burns, Amanda Okamoto, or Chris Hyun for assistance.
Things to know about your name tag:
Wear your name tag as your ‘ticket’ for entry to all paid events
The dot on the back of the name tag indicates your dinner choice. You will place it dot side up next to your plate on Saturday night to help the servers.
Your name tag is plantable paper! Stick it in soil and water it at home to grow wildflowers.
Purchase drink tickets & swag at the registration table:
Starting Friday afternoon you can pre-purchase a drink ticket for the ERGie Bar Take-over (5/2 9:30pm, Freehouse) at the registration table.
Starting Saturday morning the students will be selling an exclusive mug they designed and produced. The mugs cost $10 and proceeds support the students’ Spherical Cow fund, which sponsors community building activities such as the camping trip.
How can I share my Big Event photos and videos?
Be ready to take photos and videos with your phone and easily share them to our crowdsourced Big Event photo album here (no app or account needed).
Is WiFi available?
Campus wi-fi is available as Berkeley-Visitor; consider bringing an external battery to stay charged through the day.
Where can I park?
Berkeley parking is tricky, expensive, or both. BART or rideshare is probably best. You can check out this map of the Big Event locations on campus . A list of private/city parking near campus can be found here and campus controlled perimeter parking with public paid use is here. On-campus parking and lots not listed in the links shared above are permit-only; they do patrol and they do ticket.
How can I check my registration and what I signed up for?
If you want to remind yourself of your choices for breakouts, dinner, etc., use the link sent to registrants on 4/28. Many sessions/options are now locked and cannot be changed. Please note that Saturday is sold out so we cannot accommodate any new registrations this week or onsite. Folks who are not registered can check out other ways to participate on this page.
Where are field trip & breakout session info?
Find Friday's Field Trip Info at the bottom of the Schedule webpage.
Find Saturday's Breakout Session Info at the bottom of the Schedule webpage.
How can I join the ERG Slack chat group?
Join the ERG Slack group chat to start connecting with other attendees. A personal invite is coming to your inbox following this email, and instructions on joining Slack can be found here.
How to stay updated about the Big Event?
This Big Event 2025 website is your best source for event information; we are adding new content as it is created and keeping it up-to-date. Your most important tool is the Schedule. The first two pages are an easy to read table with session title, times, and location for each day of the Big Event. The pages that follow provide expanded descriptions of each session and some nice-to-know details. Please have bigevent.ergies.org open in your phone’s browser and consult it as needed during the weekend. We will also continue to use the Stova registration system to send email blasts as needed.
Join the ERG Slack chat group for updates.
Who can I contact about the Big Event?
Reach co-ERGanizers Chris Hyun and Amanda Okamoto at bigevent@ergies.org. The Faculty Club front desk number is (510) 540-5678. For truly timely needs you can text or call Amanda at the number sent to all registrants in email on 4/28; your discretion in use is honored.
What should I wear?
On Monday 4/28, the weather app predicted highs in the high 50s and low 60s for next weekend. Pretty cold. Keep your eye on it; the forecast has been vacillating for May 1st - 4th. But even if we get lucky with higher temperatures, you’ve lived in the Bay Area and know the drill - you are going to want layers. The nights cool down, and fog (and even drizzles) can make an appearance any time.
Which days of the event require paid registration?
Not part of paid registration - Thursday, most of Friday, Sunday
The annual Student Show is scheduled for Thursday May 1st and the Annual Lecture is on Friday May 2nd so that alumni who can make a longer trip out of their visit to Berkeley can take part in these wonderful ERG traditions. These events are held annually and are open to alumni every year, and this year is no different. No paid registration is required.
To take advantage of the fact that we are all together the Big Event team is coordinating field trips during the day Friday May 2nd and cohort gatherings the day of Sunday May 3rd. There may be incidental costs associated with any particular event, but many will likely be free or potluck. You do not need to be a paid registrant to participate in those days.
Paid registration required - Friday Social and Saturday
We are planning a kick-off happy hour Friday evening before the Annual Lecture so that people can pick up their registration materials, have a light bite, and start to hang out with old friends
Saturday May 3rd is a full day of programming for paid registrants only.
Can I attend some events and not others?
All the events of Saturday May 3rd require full paid registration. There is no separate pricing for half days or particular events. You can certainly join us during that day only for the times which are convenient or interesting for you, but the pricing will be the same.
You can join any of the other programming on Thursday, Friday, or Sunday at your discretion. We hope you can take advantage of all the opportunities, but if you can only make it for some of the events that is okay and encouraged. Details and sign ups for these events will be shared in advance of the Big Event.
How much of my registration fee is tax deductible?
Tax laws indicate that some items are “goods received” for your registration (e.g. sit-down meals) and the portion of your fee that covers that cost will not be deductible. You will receive a donation thank you letter from UC Berkeley sometime after the event designating the rest of your fee (which covers expenses like venue, programming, etc), and any gift you may have added during registration, as a donation to the university for ERG.
How will my gift donation be used?
During checkout you will be given the opportunity to make a gift to ERG. This donation is in support of the discounted pricing structures we put in place to increase access. The net price per person, if we have 300 attendees, will be well in excess of $200 a person. However, we have offered $65 tickets for current students ($135 discount), given current students the opportunity to take a 2-hour volunteer shift for an additional $25 off, and offered a discount for volunteer leaders with major time commitments ($75 off). By donating one of those suggested amounts you are making up the full cost of a ticket. It is not, however, a one-to-one donation to an individual person. If 40 students sign up by the deadline for their discounted pricing but we get 20 $135 donations we will still honor all 40 student registrations.
How did you set your registration price?
Pricing was determined by community response and cost of the program.
The planning team sent a survey in fall 2024 to which 131 people responded, and it indicated that appetite to attend dropped off after the $200-$250 ticket price so we did not want to exceed that range.
Our projected cost for the full Saturday of venue rental, meals, AV, etc is in excess of $60,000. If we sold 300 tickets at $200 a head we would almost break even. However, after (the campus required) credit card fee overhead we in fact only retain about $172 per full price early bird ticket, plus we increased accessibility for students and some volunteer leaders with reduced registration prices. The ERG department will in the end defray a large portion of the cost of the day. Which it is happy to do to celebrate the 50th Anniversary and our awesome community!
What is the refund policy?
Email bigevent@ergies.org if you need to cancel your registration. We can offer a full refund minus a 30% processing fee through 3/1/2025. (The 30% will cover the fees charged by the credit card processor, registration site, and central campus on every transaction.) Starting 3/2/25 deposits will have been made and we will handle requests on a case by case basis.