I loved my experience at SXSW Interactive last year, but unfortunately a week in Austin isn’t something my work can afford to send me to every spring. Luckily the Great Plains are apparently becoming a hotbed of conference activity. Here are a few upcoming events I know about in the greater Kansas area:

Free State Social, Lawrence KS, April 29-30

I personally have heard about all I care to hear about from quote-unquote social media gurus, but if you haven’t then you could do a lot worse than attend Free State Social in my hometown of Lawrence, Kansas. Chris Brogan, Jeremiah Owyang, Ellyn Angelotti, Shawna Coronado, Sarah Evans, and Scott Raymond are the all-star lineup of featured speakers. Regular tickets are $295; $395 will get you a VIP ticket and extra access to said all-stars.

Red Dirt Ruby Conference, Oklahoma City OK, May 6-7

I just found out about Red Dirt Ruby Conference this morning. Looks interesting if you’re into Ruby and/or Rails, and they’ve lined up some decent speakers to talk about Rails 3, the NoSQL movement, server stuff, and Ruby stuff. I’m waiting to hear what it costs, but Oklahoma City’s a neat town and worth a visit. (As an aside, I’ve also heard rumblings about a potential Ruby conference in Kansas City. Stay tuned.)

Big Omaha, Omaha NE, May 13-15

I love Omaha, and I love the work being done there to promote creativity, entrepreneurship, and the blending of the two (when in Omaha, check out The Kaneko). The second installment of Big Omaha is coming this May. I have mixed feelings on the speaker selection. I’m a big fan of Scott Belsky’s work; not so much that of Matt Mullenweg. I’ll have to see a more defined agenda (and a price tag) before I decide whether to make the drive north.