On September 26 1998, CLUE and user groups across Canada staged the world's first National Installfest. Open houses were held around the country, to introduce Linux systems to the public and assist with any installation issues that new users might encounter. The event was organized by CLUE Director Matthew Rice.

The event was best described in an article in Linux Journal -- here's an excerpt:

The general consensus is that as a public relations event, the InstallFest was an overwhelming success. It got a lot of people asking questions about Linux, some of whom took the plunge and installed Linux for the first time. However, it was not completely successful as a technical event. By no means is this a reflection on either those who organized the individual events or the volunteers who helped with the installations--they all did a stellar job--just no one was prepared for the magnitude of the response.

If you have any other information, stories or photos of the Installfest you'd like to share, please contact us.