There is a free two-day event called "Dog Food Conference 2012" being held at the Microsoft offices in Columbus, Ohio (home to my beloved Ohio State Buckeyes) that looks to be promising. It covers a wide-array of technologies with a Microsoft focus and some other things pertinent to the IT community.

From the site: "This is a local conference by community IT professionals showcasing Microsoft technologies. There will be speakers from MS Gold Certified Partners, MS MVPs, IT authors, community leads, and MS Corp subject matter experts."