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Drones, VR, and brisket collide (peacefully) at Digital Trends’ TechPop Drone Show

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As hundreds of thousands of pilots can attest, flying a remote-controlled drone is an absolute blast. For 20 fleeting minutes, you get to glide through your city capturing views hitherto reserved for birds and Superman. But unless you’ve paid hundreds of dollars for one, or get to
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review them like us, you may not have had the privilege of trying one.

We’re trying to change that!

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Digital Trends just launched a pop-up event series dubbed TechPop in its hometown of Portland, Oregon. Every month, we’re opening our gadget toy box and putting cutting-edge tech into the hands of our readers, granting them time with the kind of gadgets you usually get to … well, read about on Digital Trends. It also gives DT writers and reviewers a chance to connect with avid readers over a couple beers. Digital Trends is all about helping people discover tech they’ll fall in love with, and finding new ways to enjoy the tech they already own.

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After two smaller TechPop events this past summer, Digital Trends opened the floodgates for its third event, dubbed the Drone Show, with an entire outdoor rooftop reserved for all things tech, including specific focuses on drones and virtual reality. It wouldn’t be a party without grub and tunes, so we recruited Koi Fusion and Slick’s Big Time BBQ for food, and Case of Bass brought the jams. Two professional drone companies, Hooperfly and Aerial Technology International, helped us with the aerial show.

And let’s not forget VR. Anyone more interested in escaping reality than flying above it could step inside our double-wide canopy housing HTC’s Vive and try out the hottest VR hardware out there.

Four hundred fans packed the rooftop of Hotel deLuxe’s parking garage, making the Drone Show our biggest TechPop yet. With gorgeous views of Portland’s downtown in plain sight, as well as a front-row seat to a color-filled sunset, TechPop was a harmonious blend of curious tech fanatics, smokey brisket, and high-flying drones.

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Dan Baker/Digital Trends
Dan Baker/Digital Trends

And we’re only getting started. Digital Trends is planning on hosting a family-friendly event, giving kids a chance to mess around with futuristic stuff, just around the corner. We also want to connect with local tech enthusiast groups, makers, tech companies, and small businesses in terms of potential partnerships and collaborations. Stay tuned or learn more at TechPop.com!

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