Global Game Jam Meetup-Day 1
2026-01-30 17:00 - 19:00 (America/Toronto) | Fogolar Furlan, 1800 North Service Rd, Windsor, Ontario, N8W 1Y3, Canada
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210) & Online💻👥 Hybrid💲 Free

Hybrid work hours during Global Game Jam 2026 are open, flexible sessions set aside for participants to spend time working on their games together in a shared space, or online via Discord. These hours are all about giving you the room, time, and community to collaborate, experiment, and make progress on your project.

During work hours, you’re encouraged to:

Work actively on your game, either solo or with your team

Collaborate, brainstorm, test ideas, and share feedback with other jammers

Use the space as a focused, supportive co-working environment

Staff will be on-site to open the space and help with basic needs, but these sessions are intentionally unstructured. There won’t be scheduled activities, presentations, or facilitated programming during work hours and staff will not be casually available, as they will be busy completing work. This time is yours to use in whatever way best supports your creative process.

If you’re interested in talks, workshops, or guided events, please see our other events, and consider joining our Discord or subscribing to our newsletter at hackf.org/join-our-newsletter. In-person work hours are simply a chance to come together, settle in, and build something great.

📆 Thurs., Jan 29🕦5-7 PM📍Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave. Unit 210) & Online via Discord

Register for Global Game Jam at globalgamejam.org

GLOBAL GAME JAM Closing
2026-02-01 14:00 - 19:00 | Fogolar Furlan, 1800 North Service Rd, Windsor, Ontario, N8W 1Y3, Canada
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210) & Online💻👥 Hybrid💲 Free

Wrap up an unforgettable week of game making by joining us for the 2026 Hackforge Global Game Jam Closing Party at Hackforge HQ or online via Discord! This is your chance to bring everything together and celebrate what you’ve built.

The afternoon will be focused on getting your game across the finish line. This is the perfect time to squash last-minute bugs, polish gameplay, finalize builds, and make sure your submission is ready to go. Fellow jammers and mentors will be around to offer feedback, help troubleshoot issues, or simply provide moral support as the clock winds down.

Once submissions are in, it’s time to relax and enjoy the results of an intense and inspiring week. At 5:00 pm, we’ll kick off a show and tell session where teams can present their games, share what worked (and what didn’t), and talk about the ideas and challenges behind their creations.

Whether you join us in person or online, everyone is welcome to watch, play, and cheer on the teams. Come celebrate the hard work, creativity, and community spirit that make Global Game Jam such a special experience!

📆 Feb 1🕦 2 – 7(ish) PM📍Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave., Unit 210) & Online via Discord

Register for Global Game Jam at globalgamejam.org

Create Your Own Digital Maps Using QGIS and Geoenabled Data!
2026-03-04 18:00 - 20:00 | Fogolar Furlan, 1800 North Service Rd, Windsor, Ontario, N8W 1Y3, Canada
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210) & Online💻👥 Hybrid💲 Free

Let your creative side flourish during this choose your own adventure style map making tutorial, using the completely free and open source desktop GIS software, QGIS! 🗺️✍️

Join Theo Walschots in a follow-along map making session where attendees are guided through GIS map creation and taught essential cartographic principles. This guided tutorial is not strict and outside the box thinking is encouraged! Many different datasets will be made available, each with their own context and varying geometry. The goal is for every attendee to walk away with wildly different maps, reflecting that individual’s creativity as well as their respective dataset.

What to bringBring a laptop if you have one, with QGIS (qgis.org) installed.Don’t worry if you don’t, we’ll have some laptops available to share.

📆 March 4, 2026🕦 6-8 PM📍Hybrid (Hackforge HQ @ 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210 & Online via Zoom)🎟️RSVP for In-Person attendance below💻Register for virtual attendance via Zoom

Passion Project Lightning Talks
2026-03-12 18:00 - 20:00 | Fogolar Furlan, 1800 North Service Rd, Windsor, Ontario, N8W 1Y3, Canada
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210) & Online💻👥 Hybrid💲 Free

Got a side project you can’t stop thinking about, a tool you’re obsessed with, or a weird tech idea that lights you up? Passion Projects Lightning Talks is a fast-paced, high-energy night of 5-minute talks where curiosity beats polish and enthusiasm is the main requirement.

This event is for developers, designers, founders, students, tinkerers, and anyone in tech who loves building, experimenting, or learning; whether you’re actively working on a project or just want to be inspired by what others are creating.

What to bringBring your curiosity, your passion (and slides if you’re speaking), and an open mind.A laptop is optional, questions are encouraged, and good vibes are mandatory.What you’ll get out of it

Share your passion with a group of likeminded folks

Learn from other folks’ passion projects

Network and find community

You’ll discover new ideas and tools you didn’t know you needed, get inspired to start or keep going on your own passion project, and connect with people who care deeply about building things just for the joy of it.

To sign up to give a lightning talk, please email Bolt by March 12th at 1pm EST at bolt@hackf.org. If you are planning on presenting via slides or media, please share the link(s)/slides in that email. We welcome online and in person talks!

📆 March 12, 2026🕦 6-8 PM📍Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave., Unit 210) & Online via Zoom🎟️RSVP for In-Person attendance below💻Register for virtual attendance via Zoom

Windsor C and C++ User Group Inaugural Meeting
2026-03-19 19:00 - 21:00 | Fogolar Furlan, 1800 North Service Rd, Windsor, Ontario, N8W 1Y3, Canada
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210) & Online Via Zoom💻👥Hybrid💲 Free

The inaugural meeting of the Windsor C and C++ Users Group (WCCUG) will be on March 19th 2026 in-person at Hackforge. This is a new interest group, targeting C and C++ enthusiasts and active users.

To learn more about WCCUG, please visit wccug.org

“What’s your Interest?”We will be discussing plans for what we’d like future meetings to be about!

Feel free to bring projects to hack on, interesting code to share, or topics to discuss. Bryan will be bringing along a space-efficient implementation of the std::any class from the C++ Standard Library to talk about, but any and all digressions will be actively encouraged!

What to bringBring a laptop if you have one.Don’t worry if you don’t, we’ll have some laptops available to share.

Planning to attend? Please let us know! Register to attend in-person using the RSVP form below, or get the videoconference link by registering via Zoom.

📆 March 19,2026🕦 7-9 PM📍In-person at Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave Unit 210) & Online via Zoom

Group Project Kickoff & How to Compile your 1st project
2026-04-16 19:00 - 21:00 | Windsor Hackforge, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A7B4, Canada
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210) & Online Via Zoom💻👥Hybrid💲 Free

The latest installment of WCCUG will kick off with a 30-minute group brainstorming session, where we’ll collaborate on ideas and directions for our first group project. This will be followed by a one-hour optional workshop on how to compile your first project (perfect for beginners or anyone looking for a refresher). Participants who prefer can use this time to begin working on the project independently. We’ll wrap up with a 30-minute closing session to share progress, discuss challenges, and outline next steps.

What to Bring

Please bring your own laptop if possible. A limited number of spare laptops will be available, if you need one, please email us ahead of time at bolt@hackf.org so we can reserve it for you.

What You’ll Walk Away With

A clear understanding of how to compile and run your first project

Hands-on experience starting and working through a real project

New ideas and insights from collaborative brainstorming and peer discussion

RSVP Required

Please make sure to RSVP in advance using the provided website. This helps us plan resources, seating, and equipment to ensure the best experience for everyone.

📆 March 19,2026🕦 7-9 PM📍In-person at Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave Unit 210) & Online via Zoom🎟️ RSVP Below for In-Person & via Zoom for Virtual

Linux Command Line
2026-05-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Windsor Hackforge, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A7B4, Canada
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210) & Online Via Zoom💻👥Hybrid💲 Free

The latest installment of WCCUG will kick off with a 30-minute group brainstorming session, where we’ll collaborate on ideas and directions for our first group project. This will In this session of LUG, we will go over the Linux command line as well as some other essential & day-to-day commands.

Whether you’re a more experienced user or just getting started, this session will help Linux users improve their experience by further exploring the command line interface (CLI).

What to Bring:

If you’d like to follow along, a Laptop with Docker or Podman installed is all you’ll need. We look forward to gathering with fellow Linux enthusiasts!

📆 Thursday, May 14, 2026🕦 7-9 PM📍Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave., Unit 210) & Online via Zoom🎟️ RSVP In-Person Below🖵 RSVP for Zoom Here

Accessible City: an inclusive round table discussion on city services
2026-05-28 18:00 - 20:00 | Windsor Hackforge, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A7B4, Canada
📍 Assisted Living Southwestern Ontario (ALSO) – 1100 University Ave. West & Online Via Zoom💻👥Hybrid💲 Free

More Info Coming Soon!

📆 May 28, 2026🕦 6:00pm – 8:00pm📍Assisted Living Southwestern Ontario (ALSO) – 1100 University Ave. West & Online via Zoom📩 RSVP for Zoom Here👥 RSVP for In Person Below

Here’s how to find us 👇University Ave W is closed at Cameron Ave and Elm Ave, so come up Wellington Ave from Wyandotte St — it’ll take you straight to our parking lot.

Linux Command Line
2026-06-11 19:00 - 21:00 | Windsor Hackforge, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A7B4, Canada
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210) & Online Via Zoom💻👥 Hybrid💲 Free

In this session of LUG, we will go over the Linux command line as well as some other essential & day-to-day commands.

Whether you’re a more experienced user or just getting started, this session will help Linux users improve their experience by further exploring the command line interface (CLI).

What to Bring:

If you’d like to follow along, a Laptop with Docker or Podman installed is all you’ll need. We look forward to gathering with fellow Linux enthusiasts!

📆 Thursday, June 11, 2026🕦 7-9 PM📍Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave., Unit 210) & Online via Zoom🎟️ RSVP & More Info at www.hackf.org/events

Data Literacy for Admins
2026-06-12 12:00 - 12:45 | Windsor Hackforge, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A7B4, Canada
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210) & Online Via Zoom💻👥Hybrid💲 Free

It’s a different type of Border City Data event! Join Doug Sartori (Canadian Open Data Society President, Parallel 42 Systems) & Dr. Jessica Sartori (President & Principal Consultant at West 83 and former public sector CEO), for Data Literacy for Admins. Learn how to turn everyday information into actionable insights, support your team more effectively, and make smarter, data-informed decisions in your role.

When used appropriately, data can be a powerful tool for your organization.

Who should attend?

This session is open to anyone who is interested in increasing their data literacy, but especially those in administrative and not-for-profit roles.

What should you bring?

A laptop to follow along (we’ll have a few available for loaning during the event if needed).

📆 June 12, 2026🕦12-12:45pm📍Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave., Unit 210) & Online via Zoom🎟️ RSVP for Zoom Here👥 RSVP in Person Below

WCCUG - Group Project
2026-06-18 19:00 - 21:00 | Windsor Hackforge, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A7B4, Canada
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210) & Online Via Zoom💻👥Hybrid💲 Free

Join us for our first Group Project Work Session!

At our Project Kickoff session, we chose to build a Paint application, and now it’s time to bring it to life together. This session is where ideas start turning into real code, features, and collaboration.

If you’re looking to build a fun project with an awesome group of people passionate about C and C++, this is the perfect opportunity to jump in, contribute, and learn alongside others in a supportive environment.

What you’ll take away:

Hands-on experience working on a real collaborative C/C++ project

Better understanding of project structure, teamwork, and version control workflows

Practical programming skills by building features together in a live session

Who should attend:

Students who want more real-world coding experience

Beginners looking to learn C/C++ in a welcoming environment

Experienced programmers interested in collaborating, mentoring, or building something cool

No matter your experience level, there’s a place for you on the team. Come build, learn, and create with us!

📆 June 18🕦 7-9 PM📍Hybrid: Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Suite 210) & Online via Zoom🎟️ RSVP for Zoom Here👥 RSVP in Person Below
