WHY
The mission of Flashbelt is to bring together new media designers, developers and enthusiasts to share knowledge, inspiration and build community. It's about professional development and creative inspiration. Dig it.

WHAT HAPPENS AT FLASHBELT
The annual Flashbelt conference brings a few hundred designers and developers together in Minneapolis to get their geek on. Attendees mix, mingle and learn from a cadre of rock-star designers, whiz-kid developers, and best-selling authors. These industry leaders give presentations and lead workshops on an array of timely technology topics. They teach tangible skills, inspire by example and answer lots of questions from attendees. As you might have guessed most of these topics revolve around Adobe Flash and related technologies.Attendees learn about the latest technologies and solutions, and get a glimpse of what's coming down the pipe. Their companies, clients and projects benefit. They meet other people in their field, get to exchange ideas, inform their practices, and create new partnerships and alliances. They also typically make some new friends.Also by design, Flashbelt is laid back and jovial. Bring business cards and dress casual. Attendees are not cattle. Technology is not boring.

Flashbelt 2010 will take place at the Holiday Inn Metrodome in Minneapolis.
Website *warning website with flash*

i've gotta say, it's pretty ironic that their webpage isn't friendly. it disables/ignores things like page down/ scroll with arrows, and doesn't seem to quite fit standard resolutions. i just don't get the whole design aesthetic of i'll make it pretty if you play by my rules, but not if you don't.