Talk about making lemonade out of lemons. That’s what former tech employee Chris Hutchins is doing in San Francisco: He’s hosting “Laid Off Camp,” a loose gathering of techies who’ve been canned in the recent economic downturn.

Billed as “an ad-hoc gathering of unemployed and self-employed people (including entrepreneurs and startups) who want to share knowledge and interact with each other” the gathering’s Web site also mentions one important caveat: You don’t have to be unemployed to attend.

Yes, that’s right, IT managers looking to pick up a bit of somewhat desperate (read: low priced) talent can come mingle with the recently unencumbered by employment types.

The event’s scheduled for March 3, but the organizer(s) are still looking for a venue they hope will be able to host upwards of 75 people. Anybody wanna volunteer their chateau?

Hutchins is also Twittering about the event and looking for help organizing the festivities. So far, the agenda includes:

• Living on a budget
• Building your personal brand
• Finding a job / work in this market
• How to freelance / be a consultant
• Finding co-founders

One hint: Get someone to proof read your site content. “Plannint” should probably be “planning,” especially if it’s gonna be in bold face type …

Tags: employement, job, job market, layoff, networking, tech