Event Kit

How to organize a Hacktoberfest-themed meetup

Step-by-step

Craft an event agenda.
Set a date: Confirm that your preferred venue and any co-organizers, speakers, and facilitators are available.
Promote the event: Invite your community to attend. And don't forget to add your event here.
Facilitate the event: Create an open, inclusive, and welcoming atmosphere.
Share special moments on social media. (Please remember to ask attendees for permission to use their photos.)

Who to invite to the meetup

Anyone interested in learning about and/or contributing to open source.

When's the best time to host your meetup?

Preferably the first half of October to give participants time to complete four pull requests!

Where to host your event

An easily accessible, inclusive location with reliable WiFi and a comfortable space that is workshop- and live-coding friendly. For example:

A classroom at a university or code school
A coworking space
An incubator/accelerator
An office of an open source/tech company
Anywhere that will have you!

Sample agenda

This is merely a suggestion — feel free to customize it to suit your community!

Welcome — Set a welcoming, open, and inclusive tone. Thank everyone for attending, tell them about yourself, give an overview of the programming, and remind them of the code of conduct.
Intro to Hacktoberfest: the celebration, prizes, and instructions — It's important to mention the key points of Hacktoberfest. For example: "This is all about encouraging meaningful contributions to the open source ecosystem — for beginners and veterans alike." See Intro to Hacktoberfest for details.
Intro to open source — See Resources section for inspiration.
Workshop — how to contribute to open source — See Resources section for inspiration.
Demos [optional; before/after hack time] — 3 to 5-minute demos by anyone interested in sharing their open source projects.
Hack time — Facilitate the formation of groups by interest and hack together.

Speakers & facilitators

You and your co-organizers are encouraged to facilitate the workshops! (You got it!) If you’d like extra help, invite open source project owners/maintainers, leaders passionate about open source, and computer science educators who support open source in your community to speak or help with meetup attendees. If there is an open source enthusiast in your community, reach out to them via email or on Twitter! The worst that can happen is they’re not able to attend.

Photo sharing

Encourage event participants to share photos on social media using the hashtag #hacktoberfest. (Please be mindful of photo preferences of attendees — don’t force camera-shy individuals into photos!)

Food & drinks

Provide something delicious that your community will enjoy! Bonus: one or two items that add a festive fall/autumn or Oktoberfest mood. Remember to account for food allergies, preferences, and local alcohol consumption laws (if alcohol is served).

If you don't plan on serving any food/drinks, that's OK too! Make that clear on your event invitation so guests come prepared.

Other fun ideas

First pull request of the evening to receive [insert prize].
Raffle off 3-5 prizes to be given away at the end of the evening.
Wrap up the event by inviting participants to share what they learned/worked on.

Event code of conduct

Hacktoberfest events are welcoming, open, and inclusive. Include this line on your event page: "Please read our Events Code of Conduct before attending. Happy hacking!"

Promoting your event

Share the event via email, social networks, and/or printed flyers. Consider posting on channels that are popular with developers and open source enthusiasts in your area, including but not limited to:
- Eventbrite
- Meetup
- Twitter
- Facebook pages
- LinkedIn groups
- Google groups
- Newsletters, websites, and social media accounts that share startup/tech events regularly
- Local code schools an universities
Add your meetup event here.

Logos & branding

Promote your event

Logos, banners, posters, and more! We kindly ask that you adopt Hacktoberfest Brand Guidelines as you share your event/content.

Download assets here

Sample copy for your event page

Event name ideas

Hacktoberfest Open Hack Night
Hacktoberfest Open Hack Day
Hacktoberfest in [Your City]
Hacktoberfest Open Hack Fest!

Description

It's Hacktoberfest 2019! Let's celebrate open source over food, drinks, learning, and great company!

Agenda

[Time] [Topic]

What's Hacktoberfest?

Hacktoberfest — brought to you by DigitalOcean in partnership with DEV — is a month-long celebration of open source software. Maintainers are invited to guide would-be contributors towards issues that will help move the project forward, and contributors get the opportunity to give back to both projects they like and others they've just discovered. No contribution is too small — bug fixes and documentation updates are valid ways of participating.

Can't make it to this event? Hacktoberfest is virtual and open to participants from around the globe. Sign up to participate today.

Rules and prizes

First, sign up on the Hacktoberfest site at https://hacktoberfest.digitalocean.com. To qualify for the official limited edition Hacktoberfest shirt, you must register and make four pull requests between October 1-31. Pull requests can be to any public repo on GitHub, not just the ones with issues labeled Hacktoberfest. If a maintainer reports your pull request as spam or behavior not in line with the project’s code of conduct, you will be ineligible to participate.

Connect with other Hacktoberfest participants by using #hacktoberfest on your social media platform of choice.

New to DigitalOcean? Receive USD $50 in infrastructure credit at https://do.co/hacktoberfest50.

Resources

Git

How To Create a Pull Request on GitHub
GitHub Training Kit: Open source slides, workbook, and cheat sheet courseware for teaching Git and GitHub classes
Understanding the GitHub Flow
Patchwork: Casual, mentored workshops for beginners to Git and GitHub

Open Source

Where to find open source projects to work on?

Find more resources and useful tips for participants on the Hacktoberfest site.

Event organizer webinar

Learn best practices for planning and running a Hacktoberfest event, handling challenges you might face, and creating the best collaborative environment.

FAQs

Why organize a Hacktoberfest-themed meetup?

Increase awareness of open source in your community.
Enjoy contributing to open source in a social setting.
Meet project owners, maintainers, contributors, and community members in person.
Learn about the open source ecosystem, from how to start an open source project to marketing your project, sustaining growth, and troubleshooting and maintenance.

Organizers: Set the tone for your event based on what most benefits your community! Feel free to focus on any combination of the above and more!

Who can organize a Hacktoberfest-themed meetup?

Anyone can, as long as you celebrate open source at the event and follow the Hacktoberfest Events Code of Conduct!

Will Hacktoberfest t-shirts be given out at the event?

No. A Hacktoberfest t-shirt will be mailed after Hacktoberfest ends to participants who make four successful pull requests on GitHub between October 1 and October 31.

How do I sign up for Hacktoberfest?

When can I start?

You can sign up anytime between October 1 and October 31.

Who can participate in Hacktoberfest?

Hacktoberfest is open to everyone in our global community!

What are the rules?

To win a shirt, you must sign up on the Hacktoberfest site and make four pull requests on GitHub by October 31st. (Pull requests do not have to be merged and accepted; as long as they've been opened between the beginning of October 1 and the very end of October 31, they count towards a free t-shirt.)

Where can I make pull requests?

Pull requests can be made in any GitHub-hosted repositories/projects.

Have questions?

Get in touch with our team by sending an email to hacktoberfestevents@digitalocean.com.