Flash and the City is a little less than 3 weeks away, but preparations are being made around the clock to ensure it will be the premier Flash conference in 2010. The conference's main organizer, Elad Elrom, along with Jose Marquez, Jesse Freeman and myself, have worked the equivalents of 2nd and 3rd jobs planning and designing a truly community-driven, out of the box event. Flash and the City is looking to set the standard for future RIA conferences. If you're still not sure about attending, let me convince you with one hand tied behind my back. In no particular order, here are the top 5 reasons you should attend Flash and the City next May 14-16.

1. NEW YORK CITY!
How many cities have had songs written about them by Frank Sinatra and Jay-Z? New York City is widely considered to be the cultural, shopping, and media capitals of the world. Yankee Stadium, The Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Times Square, it's everything that makes the Big Apple the larger than life metropolis we know. Along with our normal conference tracks, we're doing something totally new to conferences by offering a City Track. The City Track allows you to venture out and experience world-famous New York landmarks! No more trying to get a convince your boss (or spouse) for a couple more days so you take some time to check out the host city. Though, if you do need help convincing your boss, we can help you with that. Because of how immersing this city is, we're giving you the option to take a break to explore the sites that define the character and personality of the "City that Never Sleeps." We're putting together a schedule of authentic locations for you to truly experience New York while you're here.

2. The incredible speaker lineup
Never before has such a collection of RIA legends been assembled under one roof. Over 40 of the people who literally helped to shape the Flash, Flex, ColdFusion, mobile and UX design industries will be presenting, helping you to be the most well-rounded developer you can be. As an added bonus, the speakers will be on hand during all of the social events (22nd Century concert, yacht cruise, and more). This is your chance to socialize with the people you follow on Twitter, whose blog and books you read, and whose code you learn from. Some of the best times I have had at conferences have been when I mingled and spoke one-on-one with my "developer crushes." (Term used courtesy of fellow Flash and the City speaker and RIARadio host Garth Braithwaite.)

Think about this: for 3 days, you will get to attend world-class sessions from 40+ mind-blowing presenters such as Peter Elst, Adam Flater, Ben Stucki, Joel Hooks, Chad Udell, Simon Free, Lisa Larson-Kelly, Chris Allen, Dee Sadler, and many, many more! Be sure to check out my personal session, titled: The Next Generation of Flash User Experience as well. [/shamelessplug]

3. The distinctive venue
The 3LD (3-Legged Dog) Technology Center is a facility as eclectic as it is critically-acclaimed. A thriving catalyst in the New York art scene, the 3LD is a living gallery of film, video, audio, photography, high-tech, and live-action stage experiments. Only an award-winning venue this spectacularly diverse could be suited for the uniquely-talented lineup planned for FATC.

4. The awe-inspiring sessions
We've got a main dual track for Flash and the City: Technology and Inspiration. The Technology track is focused on the code and wiring side of application architecture. If you're the kind of developer who has to know the nuts and bolts of how components, frameworks, and design patterns operate, then this is the path for you.

The inspirational track is for those who want to be immersed in a collection of creative and eye-opening sessions. Ignite your design and user experience processes with the enlightening tips and principals presented.

Or, maybe you're a devigner, or just want to use the other side of your brain. Feel free to mix it up!

Flash and the City is also offering 5 workshops on May 13, before the conference officially kicks off. Mobile and Devices, Beginning ActionScript, Developing Flash and Flex Applications with FDT, AIR 2.0 and Flex 4 are the topics to be covered. You'll definitely want to come to Flash and the City a little early to take in these outstanding pre-conference workshops.

5. The Value
You simply cannot find any RIA event packed with this many world-class speakers, at such an incredibly low cost. The great news is, that even after January 1, the tickets are still only $299! If you're a student, the price is even lower at $249! So, needless to say, you need to jump on this deal before the price increases after May 7!

So, needless to say, after a long hiatus, we've brought a major RIA conference back to New York City. Start planning now for Flash and the City, May 13-16 2010!

Read more from Kevin Suttle.