What DevFest is
Hampton Roads DevFest is a single-day conference for people who build software. It is our flagship program and the only conference we currently run — 985 registrations across 6 editions since 2016.
The format is intentionally simple: one day, one venue, a schedule of talks, and a room full of people who work within driving distance of each other. It is built to be small enough that you leave having actually met somebody, rather than having watched a series of presentations you could have streamed from your desk.
DevFest is a community conference rather than a vendor event. It is organized by working developers, the talks are selected for the local audience, and pricing is set to cover costs rather than to generate a surplus. Attendee scholarships are funded out of the organization's general budget for people whose employers will not cover a ticket.
Who it is for
DevFest is aimed at anyone in the region who writes software or wants to. In practice that means a mix of:
- Working developers at the region's employers, from large defense and healthcare organizations to two-person shops.
- Students from area colleges and universities looking for their first look at the professional community.
- Career changers and bootcamp graduates who need to meet people already doing the work.
- Freelancers and remote workers whose day-to-day has no colleagues in it.
You do not need to be invited, sponsored by an employer, or working in any particular language or stack. The talks deliberately span platforms so that the day is useful whether you write C#, JavaScript, Python, Go, or something else entirely.
Every DevFest so far
The first DevFest ran in November 2016. It ran every fall through 2019, paused between 2020 and 2023, and returned in May 2024. The most recent edition, in February 2026, drew the largest turnout in the event's history.
| Edition | Date | Registrations |
|---|---|---|
| Hampton Roads DevFest 2026 | February 27, 2026 | 255 |
| Hampton Roads DevFest 2024 | May 31st, 2024 | 182 |
| Hampton Roads DevFest 2019 | November 1, 2019 | 182 |
| Hampton Roads DevFest 2018 | November 16th, 2018 | 133 |
| Hampton Roads DevFest 2017 | November 10th, 2017 | 109 |
| Hampton Roads DevFest 2016 | November 4th, 2016 | 124 |
Figures are registration counts from our own records. A dash means the count for that edition is not recorded here.
Taking part
Dates, the call for speakers, and ticket sales for the next edition are published on the conference's own site, hrdevfest.org . The best way to hear about them first is the 757 Tech newsletter, which carries the announcement the week it goes out.
If your company is interested in sponsoring an edition, or you would like to help organize one, get in touch. And if there is a subject you want the community talking about that does not fit a conference schedule, Pop-up Meetups exist for exactly that.