Located in the heart of downtown Windsor at 255 Ouellette, Hackforge is a registered non-profit focused in technology. A member-driven organization, we host events and programming for beginners, professionals, and hobbyists. Hackforge operates as an event space, community workshop, and co-working space.
From now until May 27th, we’re hosting a small fundraiser. All proceeds raised will support our downtown space and programming to promote and teach about technology. We want to keep the majority of our events free and open to the public but we need your help.
We have brand new stickers, 3D printed keychains, t-shirts, and memberships to thank you for your donations. Pick up your swag at Hackforge’s Fifth Anniversary Party on May 27th or later on at our space!
w.a.v.e.s. (Windsor’s Artists, Visions, Energies & Sculptures) is a two-day festival connecting communities through waves of art, culture and technology on September 30th and October 1st.
w.a.v.e.s 2016 is presented for free, rain or shine from the City of Windsor in partnership with Windsor Hackforge, FAM Fest, dynamic lighting provided by Marz Inc. and additional support from the Art Council of Windsor & Region. Thirty-five illuminated projects have been selected to showcase their talents and treasures along the Detroit River in the Windsor Sculpture Park.
Open Streets: w.a.v.e.s Festival Preview Sunday, September 18: 9:00AM – 1:00PM
Get a first peek at the projects during Open Streets Windsor 2016 with a family friendly drop-in event. Facebook Event
Want to give a hand during the festival?
Information Ambassadors
Stationed at Festival Information Booths, you will hand out maps and event schedules, provide directional assistance, and answer questions. You will also assist lost children as needed and contact appropriate Security or Festival staff. Must be upbeat, helpful, smiling, and enjoy interacting with the public and knowledgeable of festival!
Movers and Shakers
This is the “go and do crew” who like variety and are willing to serve many positions. Floaters will be used to relieve other volunteers for breaks, welcome guests, provide directional assistance, run errands, and generally help where needed. Must be very flexible, upbeat, friendly, and knowledgeable of the festival.
Cleaners and Greeners
Located around the Festival, you are responsible for ensuring that each area remains clean and safe for all attendees and artists. Your responsibility includes basic cleaning of your area, assisting artists if necessary, and making sure crowds are organized in an orderly manner. Must be friendly, knowledgeable of the Festival and art in your area, and have good organizational skills.
Rain or Shine Crew
Got an umbrella? Like to sing in the rain? Whether the weather with us and help us keep people dry or cool. Depending on the weather, you’ll assist in keeping everyone calm, cool, and collect leading up to the festival for special events and during the festival too!
Mail or drop off your application and additional required items to:
Cultural Affairs
Recreation and Culture, City of Windsor
2450 McDougall Street Windsor, Ontario, Canada, N8X 3N6
Phone: (519) 253-2300 ext. 2746
Email: vsamek@citywindsor.ca
Windsor Essex .Net Developers Introduction to Distributing Workloads using PowerShell and Azure Tuesday, September 6: 6:30PM
In this introductory-level talk we will discuss using cloud resources to handle tasks. We will explore scripts to create new Virtual Machines (VMs) in a remote datacenter, copy files necessary for the tasks to the VMs, execute tasks on the VMs, get the results back on a central machine, and then delete the VMs. We will use a generic task, and discuss how this could be exchanged for a different task based on your needs (load testing, automated testing, etc.). No previous knowledge of PowerShell is required, each step will be explained as we go through the demonstration.
Food provided by Microsoft // Thanks to Telerik for their sponsorship of this event More info here!
Board Game Night Thursday, September 8: 6:00 – 10:00 PM
Join us for a night of board games and card games from 6-10PM. This event is free and open to everyone. If you’re new to board games, we encourage you to come by as we will have trusty Hackforgers there to help get you started. Facebook Event
Pokémap Downtown! Windsor Public Library & MapTime Windsor Essex Event Saturday, September 10: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
In partnership with the Windsor Public Library and Maptime Windsor-Essex, we will be teaching people how to use Google Maps to mark out PokéStops and PokéGyms, so we can pick the best routes to help you catch them all! Plus we’ll be mapping other important spots downtown that can help make the game more accessible, like wifi hotspots and bus stops. Facebook Event Here
Show & Tell Tuesday, September 13: 7:00 PM
Join us for the launch of Hackforge’s new general interest night, Show and Tell. How it works: up to six presenters have less than 10 minutes to show and tell! Topics can vary from electronics to software to engineering and beyond. Got something to share? Come by and sign up! Facebook Event
DIY Audio Electronics Group Old School Tubes Wednesday, September 14: 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Join the DIY Audio Group as we continue our journey into old school tube based gear. Rob Caruso dives into magic eye tubes and will demo the magic eye colour organ one last time before it’s dismantled. Jeff Szusz demos his Schitt tube based headphone amplifier and presents his research and experiences with headphones for the new rig. Facebook Event
Open Coding Night Thursday, September 15: 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Working on a project? Need to bounce ideas off other programmers? Bring your laptop and get coding! Great event for beginners as well! Tutorials will be available and the event is facilitated a real life computer programmer. Facebook Event
Open Streets: w.a.v.e.s Festival Preview Sunday, September 18: 9:00AM – 1:00PM
Hackforge is a proud partner of WAVES 2016 with Hack the Fest. Get a first peek at the projects during Open Streets Windsor 2016 with a family friendly drop-in event.
The City of Windsor’s Cultural Affairs Department is a partner on this initiative in anticipation of the w.a.v.e.s 2016 – Sept. 30 – Oct. 1, 4-11 PM – FREE ENTRY, Rain or Shine! w.a.v.e.s. (Windsor’s Artists, Visions, Energies & Sculptures) is a two-day festival connecting communities through waves of art, culture and technology. Facebook Event
CustomEXO Project: Open Table Discussion Monday, September 19: 6:00 – 8:00PM
A presentation of the CustomEXO Project goals, obstacles, and an opportunity to join the ExoHuman Laboratory mission to research & develop a CustomEXO(skeleton) for a person with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. We will connect 3D printing technicians, engineers, medical professionals, artists/designers and the community (worldwide). Facebook Event
Hackforge Book Club: Kurt Vonnegut’s Player Piano Wednesday, September 21: 7:00 – 8:00 PM
Join us for the first ever Hackforge Book Club! September’s book is Kurt Vonnegut’s Player Piano (1952). Details here!
Member Night: Office Space Bingo
Thursday, September 22: 7:00 PM
Join us for a screening of the cult classic 1999 film, Office Space. This will be an interactive night as we play Office Space Bingo along with the movie. Prizes to be won!
Movie and snacks are free to Hackforge members // $10 general public. All proceeds go to support Hackforge. Facebook Event
Electronics Club Saturday, September 24: 1:00 – 3:00PM
Join the club for those who love electronics and take part in an afternoon activity. Facebook Event
Order of the Indie Game Developers Monday, September 26: 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Join likeminded designers and dreamers for an evening of demos and discussion on the world of game design. This group is for those interested in creating games both digital and tabletop. Facebook Event
Software Guild Ping-Pong Unit Testing Wednesday, September 28: 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Murtuza will demonstrate a paired unit testing session. Two people at one computer, writing tests and making them pass. He’ll walk through a couple examples with volunteers and then the participants can pair up and try it for themselves. Bring your laptop! Facebook Event
StartUp MeetUp Windsor Thursday, September 29: 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Grab a drink, meet some new people, and share your entrepreneurial experiences and ideas. Keep up to date here!
Electronics Club Meeting Saturday, March 5: 2:00 – 4:00PM
The first official meeting of Hackforge’s Electronics Club! Open to the public, come down and share your love of electronics and discuss what you would like to see the club become. Facebook Event
Guild Kata Night:
Tuesday, March 8: 6:30 – 9:30PM
Practice makes perfect. Find a partner and pair up to solve programming problems together. Learn new patterns, techniques and problem solving skills that you can apply every day. Bring along your laptop! Meetup event here!
Introducing… DIY Audio Electronics Club Wednesday, March 9: 7:00 – 9:00PM
You’re invited to the first meeting of Hackforge’s DIY Audio Electronics Club! Open to members and the general public, the inaugural meetup will include:
First group project: headphone amplifier kit. Each participant will have the option to purchase and assemble the kit at a future meeting.
Intro to HTML: Free Coding class for Women Thursday, March 10: 6:30-8:30PM
Get the fundamentals down for this practical and simple coding language. This is a great introduction for anyone who wants to get started with code. Bring your laptop!
Computer Girls is coding classes for women by women. In partnership with Women’s Enterprise Skills Training (WEST), these classes are taught by female professional computer programmers with the aim to get more women interested in coding. Register here!
MEMBER DAY: Work Hard Play Hard Saturday, March 12: 2:00 – 5:00 PM
Every month, we invite our members to work together on a project. Our project for March is to help go through our 90s computer repair shop, otherwise known as the storage room. Together we’ll make the space a better place! Together we’ll eat some delicious pizza!
StartUp MeetUp Tuesday, March 15: 6-8PM
Grab a drink, meet some new people, and share your entrepreneurial experiences and ideas. Facebook Event
Board Game Night Wednesday, March 16: 6-9PM
Join us for a night of board games and card games. This event is free and open to everyone.
If you’re new to board games, we can help get you started. Facebook Event
Coding for Women: HTML & CSS Thursday, March 24: 6:30-8:30PM
A match made in heaven! Come learn how to bring together these two programming languages into a functional, stylish way. Perfect for beginners. Bring your laptop to this free workshop.
Computer Girls is coding classes for women by women. In partnership with Women’s Enterprise Skills Training (WEST), these classes are taught by female professional computer programmers with the aim to get more women interested in coding. Register here!
Software Guild Wednesday, March 30: 7-9PM
The group for professional developers meets monthly to discuss best practices and professional development. Keep up to date on MeetUp
Saturday, February 27th, join Hackforge (255 Ouellette Ave) from 2-5PM for a Hack the Afternoon. A free workshop forbeginners to pros, learn how to map Windsor’s Riverfront Sculpture Park walk. We’re creating a map full of photos (personal and archival) that explore Windsor’s Detroit River walk in a visual, interactive way.
Beginners: Learn how to customize Google Maps with photo mapping for your future vacations or other projects.
Developers: Dig deeper with how to manipulate map data in different formats and use it in your project. We’ll be working with QGIS and moving mapping data between various platforms.
What to Bring: Laptop, any photos you have (digital or physical) of the Sculpture Park, riverfront trail or shoreline to contribute to put in on the map.
Share your photos electronically with Hackforge (@Hackforge).
