Hi! My name is Hank, and I'm about to turn 30.
I asked my partner for a pug for my birthday, and that idea didn't seem to get much traction. So, in my abundance of jobless free time, I've cooked up an alternative idea: hosting a Hankathon!
WHAT'S A HANKATHON?
It's a spinoff of a "hackathon (opens in a new tab)," which is an event where people get together to write code for multiple hours straight, cut corners on personal hygiene, and sleep on the floor. Bear with me here, it'll get better.
A Hankathon™ imbues a hackathon with the needs and desires of me (Hank): an aging millennial creative technologist.
Best parts of a hackathon
- Timeboxed creativity
- Make cool things with friends
- Learning about new tools/tech
Hank's needs and desires
- Unburdening myself from "productive" side projects
- Going to bed on time
- Eating snacks that don't make my tummy hurt
Put simply, I want to bring a bunch of people together and give you an excuse to spend the day making fun, weird, silly art+tech projects that otherwise are hard to carve out time for.
SO... WHAT ARE WE MAKING?
Whatever you want, dawg! I hesitate to give too many examples out of fear of being prescriptive, but I'm imagining projects may gravitate towards:
- Arts, crafts, and arts & crafts
- Something something vibecoding
- Gadgets or gizmos
- Renaissance paintings
No particular skills are required. If you watch this video (opens in a new tab) and are left thinking, "wow, I wish I could do that," you are in the right place.
LOGISTICS
Locations and timing are still TBD, but here's roughly what I'm thinking:
Friday, September 25 · Evening
An optional mixer to meet other makers, brainstorm ideas, and form project teams.
Saturday, September 26 · All day
A full day of making, with access to a large workspace and shared tools.
Also Saturday, September 26 · Evening
An open house afterparty to show off the projects, eat, drink, and be merry.
Seattle, downtown-ish area. Exact venue TBD.
If you're not around and still want to participate, jump to participating remotely.
JOIN THE HANKATHON
If this sounds like a fun way to spend a Saturday, sign up here (link tbd). It's FREE!
Once you register, I'll add you to a Discord server where we'll share more details about what to bring and all that (maybe there'll even be a theme 🤷♀️).
Space is limited to 30 peeps, so PLEASE keep your RSVP updated if something comes up. There's a waitlist feature and it should ping the next person automatically if a spot opens up.
If you know someone who'd be interested in this, PLEASE INVITE THEM! I'd love to better foster this sort of community in Seattle.
COME FOR THE AFTERPARTY
One of the greatest payoffs of making things is getting to share them with your friends! Come check out the finished projects and chill for a more traditional party the evening of Saturday, September 26.
You can keep up to date with timing and venue info by RSVP'ing here (link tbd).
PARTICIPATE REMOTELY
Why should Seattlites have all the fun?? If you live elsewhere and are looking for a reason to spend Saturday, September 26 creatively recharging, let's make it happen.
Send me your contact info via this form (link tbd) and I'll shoot out an email closer to the event once I figure out how this could work. I'm imagining we could gather up projects digitally (photos, websites, etc.) and share them at the afterparty.
INSTEAD OF A GIFT
Don't buy me presents, seriously! The greatest gift you could ever give would be to help support other makers. Go to an art fair or something!
If you really want to chip in for the events, you can venmo me here (opens in a new tab).
Or, help spread the word by generating your own personalized invite: