The Trenton Computer Festival (also called TCF), founded in 1976, is the oldest personal computer show in the world.[1][2] It is considered to be the first major fair for personal computer hobbyists.[3][4]

It was founded 1976 at Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) by Sol Libes and Allen Katz with the assistance of the Amateur Computer Group of New Jersey (ACGNJ).[5][6] The initial event drew a crowd of approximately 1,500, and featured lectures, vendor tables, and an outdoor computer market, all aimed at the amateur computer hobbyist.[7]

By 1992, it had moved to the Mercer County Community College,[8] and by 1999 it had moved to the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center in Edison, New Jersey.[9] Attendance peaked at approximately 30,000 attendees per weekend around 1988, but by 2003, was down to approximately 10,000 attendees across the entire weekend.[10] In 2005, TCF returned to The College of New Jersey to celebrate its 30th anniversary.[11] In 2015, the event marked its 40th anniversary.[2] In 2020, the festival was cancelled as a result of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey.[12] The 2021 and 2022 events were held virtually.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Soll, David F. "TCF Professional Conference". princetonacm.acm.org. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  2. 1 2 "Trenton Computer Festival in its 40th year". The Signal. 2015-04-01. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  3. ↑ Pitre, Boisy G.; Loguidice, Bill (2013-12-10). CoCo: The Colorful History of Tandy's Underdog Computer. CRC Press. p. 10. ISBN 9781466592476.
  4. ↑ Loguidice, Bill; Barton, Matt (2014-02-24). Vintage Game Consoles: An Inside Look at Apple, Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, and the Greatest Gaming Platforms of All Time. CRC Press. ISBN 9781135006501.
  5. ↑ Gewirtz, David. "Trenton Computer Festival, the early days of computing, and me | ZDNet". ZDNet. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  6. ↑ "Trenton Computer Festival - Definition from PC Magazine Encyclopedia". www.pcmag.com. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  7. ↑ Rensberger, Boyce (1976-05-04). "Low-Cost Computers Beginning to Move Into the Home". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
  8. ↑ CQ: The Radio Amateurs' Journal. CQ Publishing. 1992.
  9. ↑ Amateur Radio. CQ Publishing. 1999.
  10. ↑ Bendheim, Anne (4 May 2003). "Gaggle of computer geeks flocks to high-tech festival". The Central New Jersey Home News. p. 19. Retrieved 2019-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "TCF". www.tcnj.edu. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  12. ↑ @TCFfestival (March 14, 2020). "Breaking News: We regret to announce that TCF2020 has been cancelled due to COVID-19 outbreak in accordance with TCNJ guidelines" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ↑ Hastings, Sara. "Trenton Computer Festival Goes Virtual". Community News. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
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