OpenStreetMap Windsor-Essex Indoor Mapping Party
2025-09-09 17:30 - 20:00 (America/Toronto) | Hackforge HQ, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 7B4
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210)👥 In Person Only💲 Free

After August’s outdoor mapping adventure, we’re keeping things chill — literally — with an indoor mapping night at Hackforge HQ. Join us Tuesday, September 9th, 5:30–8:00 PM for some relaxed OpenStreetMap editing and friendly conversation.

No set theme, no pressure — just a chance to connect with fellow mappers and make the map a little better. Whether you’re brand new or a seasoned mapper, you’re welcome here!

We’ll provide:

help from experienced mappers

computers with JOSM installed

air conditioning

a relaxed atmosphere

cookies?

If you bring:

interest in improving local geodata

Sounds like a pretty good deal!

📆 Tuesday, September 9, 2025🕦 5:30 – 8 PM (drop in anytime!)📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210)

Light up Pendant workshop @ Night Light Festival - Day 1
2025-09-18 16:00 - 21:00 | Hackforge HQ, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 7B4
📍Art Windsor-Essex (401 Riverside Dr. W, Windsor)👥 In Person Only💲 Tickets

✨ Craft your own glow at Night Light’s opening night! ✨

Kick off Night Light with Hackforge’s hands-on workshop where you’ll design and build a glowing necklace pendant. Using simple electronics and crafting supplies, you’ll create a one-of-a-kind wearable artwork that lights up the night. We’ll be located inside the festival, so be sure to get your tickets!

Perfect for beginners, families, or anyone looking to bring a little sparkle to the festival.

If you can’t make it on opening night, catch the workshop on Sept. 19 or Sept. 20!

📅 Thursday, September 18, 2025🕔 4-9 PM📍 Art Windsor-Essex (401 Riverside Dr. W, Windsor)🔗 Get Tickets

Light up Pendant workshop @ Night Light Festival - Day 2
2025-09-19 17:00 - 22:30 | Hackforge HQ, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 7B4
📍Art Windsor-Essex (401 Riverside Dr. W, Windsor)👥 In Person Only💲 Tickets

🌙 Shine brighter than the dance floor! 🌙

Bring the glow to Night Light’s Friday party! Join Hackforge in creating your own light-up pendant before hitting the installations and music. With easy-to-use materials, you’ll craft a glowing accessory that will keep you lit all night long.

Perfect for beginners, families, or anyone looking to bring a little sparkle to the festival.

If you can’t make it this night, catch the workshop on Sept. 18 or Sept. 20!

📅 Friday, September 19, 2025🕔 5 -10:30PM📍 Art Windsor-Essex (401 Riverside Dr W, Windsor)🔗 Get Tickets

Software Freedom Day Drop-In
2025-09-20 10:00 - 12:00 | Hackforge HQ, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 7B4
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210)👥 In Person Only💲 Free

🍁💻 Celebrate Software Freedom Day with Hackforge! 💻🍁

Already soaking in the vibes at the Downtown Windsor Farmers’ Market? Just a block away, the spirit of community continues!

👉 Drop in at Hackforge HQ anytime between 10AM–Noon for a hands-on intro to free software. More than just “computer programs you don’t have to pay for,” we’re focusing on software that anyone can use, share, and improve – all protected by licenses that guarantee these freedoms.

We’ll walk newcomers through what free software is, why it matters, and how it affects everyday life. Live demos will showcase practical alternatives to common proprietary tools, and you’ll take home a pamphlet highlighting free options that keep your digital life in your own hands.

Stop by to connect with others, learn something new, and join conversations about why software freedom matters here in Windsor and beyond.

📅 Friday, September 20⏰ 10AM–Noon (drop-in style)📍 Hackforge HQ (in-person only)

✨ Come curious. Leave empowered.

Light up Pendant workshop @ Night Light Festival - Day 3
2025-09-20 15:00 - 20:00 | Hackforge HQ, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 7B4
📍Art Windsor-Essex (401 Riverside Dr. W, Windsor)👥 In Person Only💲 Free

Join us for a fun and family-friendly day at the AWE Night Light Festival’s Light Up Pendant Workshop! The day begins with a low-stimulation hour, designed to provide a welcoming experience for guests who find loud or busy environments overwhelming.

Throughout the day, enjoy family-friendly activities, including a special performance by the WSO Youth Orchestra, engaging kid-focused tours, and a variety of delicious options from outdoor food vendors.

✨ Admission is free, making this the perfect outing for families and community members of all ages!

If you can’t make it on this night, catch the workshop on Sept. 18 or Sept. 19!

📅 Saturday, September 20, 2025🕔 3-8PM📍 Art Windsor-Essex (401 Riverside Dr W, Windsor)💲 Free

Linux Install Party
2025-10-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Hackforge HQ, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 7B4
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210)👥 In Person Only💲 Free

On October the 14th, Windows 10 will reach its end-of-life. If you have a computer that cannot upgrade to Windows 11, this is the event for you! Breathe life into your old hardware once again with Linux! Members will be available to help guide you through installing Linux and answer any questions.

Come on out even if you’re already familiar with Linux. This is a great opportunity to try a new distribution or just hang around and chat with other Linux enthusiasts.

📆 Tuesday, October 14th🕦 7-9 PM📍 In-Person @ Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette., Unit 210)🎟️ Please RSVP below

End of Year Mixer
2025-11-07 20:00 - 22:00 | ekō, 261 Pelissier St, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 4K2, Canada
📍 ekō (261 Pelissier St, Windsor, ON)👥 In Person Only💲 Free

Hackforge is closing out the year in style with snacks, stories, and a little bit of geeky fun! Join us for our End-of-Year Mixer as we celebrate all things open source, local tech, and community collaboration.

We’ll be hanging out at ekō, downtown Windsor’s hi-fi high dive, so come on out ready for some fun and friends, both new and old. Expect a laid-back evening filled with good vibes. Whether you joined us for Linux installs, A.I. talks, mapmaking adventures, or glowing art nights, we’re raising a glass to everyone who made this community shine.

We’ll be raffling off some awesome “It Was DNS” 3D-printed signs at 9 PM! Everyone in attendance will get a ticket, totally free! Each ticket includes your name and email, so if you need to leave early, you’ll still be in the running.

This is a 19+ Event.Snacks provided free.Guests are welcome to purchase their own drinks at the bar.

📆 Nov. 7🕦 8PM📍 ekō (261 Pelissier St, Windsor, ON)🎟️ Please RSVP below (drop-in style in effect, but we’re nerds and like to have numbers)💲FREE!

OpenStreetMap: Note Resolution
2025-11-11 18:00 - 20:00 | Hackforge HQ, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 7B4
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210)💻👥 In Person Only💲 Free

When someone is unable to enter data directly into OpenStreetMap, they have the option to offer the information as a “Note.” Notes might be business information, details about road surface quality, or pointing out an error in the data. These geo-tagged text strings offer an account-free, low-barrier-of-entry method for people to contribute to OSM.

Notes make their way into OSM through a few methods. Certain projects – like onosm.org – focus entirely on sharing info to OSM as notes. OSM.org allows users to enter notes directly through the web-browser – no need to even open iD! Numerous mobile apps also offer notes as a form of data entry, as some data is just too finnicky to enter via mobile.

However they all got there, Windsor and Essex County currently feature somewhere around 40 open notes. So this month we’re going to work on cleaning those up! Some of these notes are relatively new, while others have been sitting around for a while. We’ll gather in-person at Windsor Hackforge from 6 – 8 PM on Tuesday, November 11th to take care of as many as we can. Whether you’re new to OSM or have been around for a minute, we’d love to have your help and input!

📆 Tuesday, November 11🕦 6 – 8 PM📍Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210)🎟️RSVP below

DOSember
2025-12-12 18:00 - 21:00 | Hackforge HQ, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 7B4
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210)💻👥 In Person Only💲 Free

Step back into the world of classic computing with DOSember!

Celebrate the charm of DOS-era gaming and coding through hands-on activities, retro challenges, and pure nostalgia. We’re bringing back the look, feel, and spirit of early PC culture, right down to the text-based screens and pixel-perfect games that defined a generation.

Whether you’re a veteran of the command line or brand-new to the world of DOS, this throwback event has something for everyone. Explore the tools and tricks that powered early computing, rediscover the games that shaped PC history, and experience the creative limitations that sparked so much innovation. DOSember is all about having fun, learning something new, and reconnecting with where modern tech began.

Please install DOS Box on the machine you intend to bring so you’re ready to go!

What’s in store:• Retro playtime• Hands-on coding• Meet fellow enthusiasts

📆Dec. 12, 2025🕦6-9 PM📍In-Person at Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave., Suite 210)🎟️RSVP below

TTRPG Day @ Hackforge (INVITE ONLY)
2025-12-20 00:00 - 23:59 | Hackforge HQ, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 7B4
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210)💻👥 In Person Only (Invite-Only)💲 Free

Complete the 2025 Community Survey and enter to win a seat at Hackforge’s Invite-Only TTRPG table!There’s an empty spotIn our Adventure PartyYou up to the task?

Complete the surveyAnd win the draw to join usLuck be on your side

Word on the street is that Doug is dicing up something delicious!

👉Survey here📆 Dec. 20, 2025📍Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave., Unit 210)

Shader Playground: Create Stunning Visuals in Your Browser
2026-01-16 18:00 - 20:00 | Hackforge HQ, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 7B4
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210)💻👥In Person Only 💲 Free

Using GPUs? For graphics??? In this economy? Shader Playground is a hands-on event where you’ll dive into the world of GPU programming right from your browser. Using Shadertoy, you can experiment with live graphics code, tweak samples, and see your changes instantly. It’s a fun way to explore how graphics run on GPUs instead of CPUs, letting you create vibrant visual effects and animations with surprisingly little setup.

This event is perfect for anyone curious about graphics programming or creative coding. You’ll get to play with existing shaders, build your own visual experiments, and learn the tricks behind dynamic, real-time graphics. No experience is required, just an interest in making things look amazing on screen and a willingness to tinker.

What you’ll take away:– Hands-on experience writing GPU-based pixel shaders in GLSL and creating visual effects– A fun way to see and learn how graphics programming takes advantage of parallel execution– Inspiration and skills to experiment with your own creative coding projects and give you more tools for your Global Game Jam experience

📆 Jan 16, 2026🕦 6-8 PM📍In-Person at Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave., Unit 210)🎟️RSVP for In-Person attendance below

Exploring Map Data in Game Development
2026-01-20 18:30 - 20:30 | Hackforge HQ, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 7B4
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210)💻👥In Person Only 💲 Free

In preparation for the 2026 Global Game Jam, OpenStreetMap Windsor-Essex invites you to an interactive workshop exploring how open geodata can be used in videogames.

While it might seem obvious to use the map data for…maps…That isn’t the only option! OSM can be utilized in text-based games, to determine POIs in mobile AR games, to generate geocentric quiz games, and more!

This session will combine:

✨Inspiration: See games that creatively use OSM data and brainstorm other ways to integrate geodata into your own projects.

🧪Hands-on Experimentation: Try out OSM-based game development using Godot, Unity, Blender, or the tools you know best. Tutorials and resource links will be provided, but attendees are welcome to test out their own methods and ideas.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑Collaboration: Work with other participants to tackle challenges, share ideas, and learn from each other.

You’ll leave this workshop with a deeper understanding of how open geodata can enhance your game design and development process—and maybe even meet potential teammates for the Global Game Jam!

Tips for getting the most from this workshop:

Explore OSM Basics: Familiarize yourself with what OpenStreetMap is and its data structure. Recordings from past events on our YouTube channel can be a great starting point.

Temper Your Expectations: This workshop builds on existing knowledge of game, software, or web development – it’s hands-on and experimental, not a step-by-step tutorial. Beginners are welcome, but come ready to explore and experiment!

Prepare Your Tech: Bring your laptop with your preferred tools and platforms pre-installed so you can jump straight into experimentation.

📆 Tuesday, January 20, 2026🕦 6:30 – 8:30 PM📍Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210)🎟️RSVP for In-Person attendance below

Throwback Playtest
2026-02-17 18:30 - 20:30 | Hackforge HQ, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 7B4
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210)💻👥In Person Only 💲 Free

Coming in hot on the heels of last month’s Global Game Jam, we’re bringing GGJ games from Hackforgers and putting them in the spotlight. This Throwback Playtest Night is your chance to dive into games Hackforgers created during past Global Game Jams, including the freshest builds from January. Come play weird, wonderful, and unfinished-in-the-best-way games.

This event is for Hackforgers of all experience levels (game devs and non-devs alike) and anyone curious about indie games or the creative chaos that comes from making things together. You don’t need to have participated in a game jam to join, if you like playing games or talking about them, you belong here.

What to bringBring a laptop if you have one, especially if you want to jump between games or give hands-on feedback. Don’t worry if you don’t, we’ll have some laptops available to share.

Come play, laugh at bugs, discover hidden gems, and relive the joy of making games fast and weird…together.

What you’ll get out of it– 🎲 Play a variety of games made during past Global Game Jams-🤝 Connect with other Hackforgers and game-curious folks while celebrating jam culture

📆 February 17🕦 6:30-8:30 PM📍Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave., Unit 210)🎟️RSVP for In-Person attendance below

OSM Social
2026-02-24 18:00 - 20:00 | Hackforge HQ, 300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 7B4
📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210)💻👥In Person Only 💲 Free

low-key event.

draw maps

talk about maps

think about maps

debate the role of open geodata in modern life

everyone welcome.

📆 Tuesday, February 24th🕦 6 – 8 PM📍 Hackforge HQ (300 Ouellette Ave, Unit 210)🎟️RSVP Below!
