What

What's a hackathon?

A gathering of Perl hackers in a hotel for a weekend, with a bit of organization, a lot of laptops, and lots of pizza and caffeine. Hackathons are informal gatherings designed to allow people to work together for a few days at a time. Hackathons are also regional events, such that most people there will be from within a few hours' drive of the location - however, everyone is welcome, no matter the distance!

How

How does it work?

A hackathon is a free-form get-together of all kinds of people at a hotel. We'll work in a large meeting room with many tables and chairs as our main work area, but with wireless Internet access, there's no need to stay in one place. You may even want to work on your project next to the hotel's swimming pool.

People come and go as they need to, working on whatever projects they fit best with. There are no rules about what projects you work on. The serendipity of coming together and finding something new is part of the fun.

Will there be adequate programming supplies?

We expect you'll bring your brain and a laptop. We'll have available:

Wireless Internet access
Snacks provided by The Perl Foundation
Dinner brought in each night (probably pizza or Chinese food)
A 24-hour gas station/mini-mart and a 24-hour restaurant across the street
Plenty of other restaurants around

When

When is it?

We'll be working from Friday morning, November 10th, until late into the night Sunday, November 12th. We expect to have at least some people working 'round the clock.

It may also be a long weekend for you, since November 10th is Veterans' Day.

Sunday morning, our main meeting room is unavailable, but people can still work elsewhere in the hotel. Besides, we figure there might be some sleeping going on, too.

Do I need to be there the whole time?

No, not at all. Come and go as you want, as you're able to. Some will be there the whole weekend, and some may hang out for a few hours on one day. It's whatever best fits your style.

Who

Who do you want?

Everyone interested in Perl and Perl-related projects. We need people from all skill levels, all backgrounds, all level of experience in open source.

Don't worry about how "good a programmer" you are. The Perl community has room for everyone, from experts to beginners, regardless of whether you've worked on open source projects before, or even if you're just getting your feet wet with Perl.

Who pays for it?

Part of it is from The Perl Foundation, and part is from you. The Perl Foundation is providing a space, Net access, snacks and dinner each night. The Perl Foundation is also subsidizing some of the cost of your hotel room if you decide to stay overnight. See Lodging for details.

All other costs, including transportation, are left to each participant.

Can I bring my family?

Absolutely. We know that not everyone can (or wants to) leave their family behind for a weekend. The Crystal Lake area has plenty of shopping and restaurants in the area, and there's a movie theater across the street from the hotel. Also, the hotel has a (small) pool, a whirlpool, and an exercise room.

Where

Where's Crystal Lake, IL?

Crystal Lake is a far northwest suburb of Chicago. Details on the our location are on the Where page.

Can you help me get there?

We're not running any sort of official shuttles or anything like that, but anything we can do to help get you into town, we will.