HATCHATHON

2027Fairhope, AL

1940s poster-style illustration of Hatch Fairhope in front of a setting sun, searchlights sweeping the sky behind it

One afternoon of technology, art, ideas, music, and food at Hatch Fairhope.

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A fair for what’s next

The World’s Fairs of the 1930s and 40s put the future on a midway and let the whole town walk through it. Hatchathon does the same for the Gulf Coast: two weeks of building on real local challenges, then one afternoon where the town comes to see what got made.

The 2027 edition keeps the two-week build and turns the finale into a fair, because the point was never only the code. It is the people who stay on the Gulf Coast because there is interesting work to do here.

Read more about the fair

Everything the future is made of

Four steps to the fair

  1. Challenges

    Now open

    Local businesses and organizations submit real problems that need building.

  2. Pick a challenge

    Kickoff · Fri Jan 8

    Choose one challenge, the one that pulls you in. Build it on your own, which most people do, or team up with others who picked the same one.

  3. Build

    Jan 8 – Jan 23

    Two weeks of making, mentorship, and collaboration leading up to the fair.

  4. Show and win

    The fair · Sat Jan 23

    Exhibit at the fair, present to the community and the judges, and compete for prizes.

A place for every builder

  • Student

    Any student, any school

    Students take on a challenge with mentors alongside, solo or with friends. No experience required, only curiosity.

  • Explorer

    New to building

    First-time builders and career changers. Learn the tools, ship something real, and show it at the fair.

  • Pro

    Experienced builders

    Working developers and founders competing on the hardest challenges, judged on what actually works.

Two nonprofits, one fair

LA-AI brings the technical community. Hatch brings the businesses with problems worth solving and the place to solve them.

LA-AI

Programming and mentorship

Lower Alabama AI

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit that sets the program, recruits the mentors and judges, and runs the panels.

Host and venue

Hatch Fairhope

Fairhope’s nonprofit coworking and innovation hub. Hatch brings the business network, the sponsors, and the building itself.

Read more about the presenters

Why come to the fair

The Fair of Tomorrow opens Saturday, January 23, and local students, first-time builders and pros show what they built in two weeks for real challenges from local businesses. Admission is free, the concert is included, and you do not need to know anything about AI to enjoy it.

  • See what your neighbors built. Every builder has a table, and every project answers a real problem from a business or organization in our area.
  • Try the demos and vote. These are working tools, so click around and ask questions, then cast your People's Choice vote for the project you would back.
  • Meet the people behind the work. Talk with the builders and the local companies that brought the challenges.
  • See the art and hear the panels. The digital art showcase is open to everyone and on view all afternoon, and panels put local practitioners in front of the community with time for your questions.
  • Come hungry and stay for the music. Food trucks serve through the afternoon, and the day ends with a concert from 119 Collective.
  • Bring the whole family. Admission is free for everyone, and kids are welcome with a parent or guardian.
Register to attend (free)

Sat · Jan 23 · 2027 · Noon to 7 PM · Hatch Fairhope, 100 South Church Street, Fairhope. Anyone under 18 attends with a guardian, and a parent registers children under 13.

Two nights on the bluff

Builder kickoff
Fri · Jan 8 · 2027
6–8 PM
The fair
Sat · Jan 23 · 2027
Noon–7 PM

Both at Hatch Fairhope, 100 S Church St. Admission to the fair is free. Prizes are awarded before the evening concert.

Register to build