My basic strategy is to pull from the parts that I have been building for my maze solving bot. I feel like I have spent more time creating the event and running from meeting to meeting than I have on building the bot. The nearest event like this is at the RoboGames in SF. At least with my maze solving bot I can go to robothon.
The upside is that this will be the first annual. And there should be a next year.
http://www.pdxbot.org/cms/uploads/media/Artbot_Rules.pdf