Sorry to ask what are probably silly questions, but: how do I, uh, find these people? Like where do they gather? Should I look up local businesses in my area, call them, and talk about their problems?
I know that sounds snarky, but that's really that's all there is to it. Once you find your way into a local dev community, you'll quickly find more and more connections. Good luck!
The organizers of that event probably know of companies in Vancouver who are looking for Python developers. You could also comb the attendee list and try to figure out what companies they are working for, as they'll probably be using Python.