Happy Friday, Tampa Bay! Hopefully, you’ve emerged from Tropical Storm Debby unscathed. I had a little yard clean-up to do, but that’s about it.
Here’s what’s happening in the thriving tech scene in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for the week of Monday, August 12 through Sunday, August 18, 2024. This list includes both in-person and online events.
Note that each item in the list includes:
✅ When the event will take place
✅ What the event is
✅ Where the event will take place
✅ Who is holding the event
But first, a quick promo:
This week’s events
Monday, August 12
Tuesday, August 13
On Tuesday morning, there are a couple of interesting online meetup options…
Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., online: The Lean Coffee meetup will get together to discuss whatever puzzles you about Lean & Agile topics, as well as other workplace challenges. Find out more and register here.
Tuesday at 10 a.m., online: Computer Coach will host their webinar, Career Changing Without Resetting Your Journey, where they’ll cover recognizing your current skills and seize new opportunities without starting from scratch. Find out more and register here.
Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Kforce (Tampa): Tampa Bay Product Group will hold their monthly meetup, and it’ll feature a panel discussion titled Driving and Executing Product Strategy with panelists Om Patel, Brian Orlando, and Mile Miller. Find out more and register here.
Wednesday, August 14
Wednesday at 6 p.m., online: Google Developer Group Central Florida is hosting A Fireside Chat about Potential Legislation for Artificial Intelligence, fetauring a panel including Congressman Darren Soto from the 9th District in Florida. Find out more and register here.
Wednesday at 6 p.m., online: Tech4Good Tampa Bay is relaunching with a kickoff meeting! This is a fantastic opportunity for our existing members to connect with the new team, learn about their expanded mission, and share your insights and ideas for the future, as well as for new members to learn more about Tech4Good and how to get involved. Find out more and register here.
Thursday, August 15
Thursday at 5:00 p.m. at DTCC (Tampa): The Tampa Java User Group will feature Taking Off with the Java Flight Recorder, a presentation by Billy Korando, a Java Developer Advocate with the Java Platform Group at Oracle. He’ll show how this powerful and low-overhead observability tool built into the JVM that can help you track down those performance issues and difficult-to-understand bugs. Find out more and register here.
Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at Bar Louie at the International Plaza (Tampa): Lean Beer is happening on the Tampa side of the bay! Discuss any topics on Agile and Lean that are of interest to whomever is gathered. You suggest the topics, then they prioritize that list democratically, through a good ol’-fashioned vote. They manage our discussions via time boxes, and a Roman vote (drinks up/drinks down). Vegas rules apply! Find out more and register here.
| Event name and location |
Group |
Time |
Business Over Breakfast ~ Happy Hangar IN PERSON JOIN US!
The Happy Hangar Café |
Wesley Chapel, Trinity, New Tampa, Business Professionals |
7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT |
Entrepreneur Roundtable to SPARK Ideas & Build Growth
Dunedin Chamber of Commerce |
Clearwater Entrepreneurs’ Round Table |
8:30 AM to 9:30 AM EDT |
Tackle it in Ten – Entrepreneur Roundtables
Dunedin Chamber of Commerce |
Entrepreneur Round Table |
8:30 AM to 9:30 AM EDT |
Pinellas County’s Largest Networking Lunch and your invited!
The Breakroom Bar & Grill |
Hosted By Tampa Bay Singles Activities Group |
11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT |
NPI Power Lunch – Exchange Qualified Business Referrals
Carrabas Italian Grill |
Network Professionals Inc. of South Pinellas (NPI) |
11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT |
RGA’s Founders & Amplify Clearwater Partnership meeting ~ All Welcome, JOIN in.
Chili’s Grill & Bar |
RGA Networking Professional Business Networking |
11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT |
Lakewood Ranch RGANetwork Business Networking Lunch
Station 400 |
Bradenton/Sarasota Networking Meetings and Mixers |
11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT |
Life After Agile
Online |
Career Success Academy |
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT |
Sarasota Speakers Exchange Toastmasters
Online |
Toastmasters District 48 |
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT |
Commander Open Play Night at Armada Games
Armada Games |
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more! |
1:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT |
Online Event: Shut Up & Write!® Your Life Story (on Zoom)
Online |
Shut Up & Write!® St. Petersburg |
1:00 PM to 2:30 PM EDT |
Effortless Quality Social Media: DFY by AI & Virtual Assistants
Online |
Productivity, Profit, AI, Delegation Group – San Antonio |
2:00 PM to 3:30 PM EDT |
Taking off with the JDK Flight Recorder
DTCC New Tampa |
Tampa Java User Group |
5:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT |
Alchemist Virtual Networking!
Online |
Tampa Professional Networking Meetup |
5:00 PM to 6:00 PM EDT |
Thursday Night Gaming
3407 Lithia Pinecrest Rd |
Brandon Boardgamers |
5:00 PM to 9:30 PM EDT |
Gulfport Scrabble and Social
The Drunken Taco |
Gulfport Scrabblers and Social |
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT |
Central Florida Board Gaming at The Collective
The Collective: A Comic & Game Community |
Orlando Board Gaming Weekly Meetup |
5:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT |
Summer Social at The Axe Trap
Online |
Orlando Christian Technologists and Entrepreneurs |
5:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT |
Tomb of Annihilation (T3-APL11)
Coliseum of Comics Kissimmee |
Orlando Adventurer’s Guild |
5:30 PM to 9:00 PM EDT |
Ari Krzyzek – Made to Sell: Creating Websites that Convert
Online |
West Orlando WordPress Meetup |
6:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT |
Adult Game Night at Conworlds Emporium
Conworlds Emporium |
Tarpon Springs Pop Culture & Gaming Meetup |
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT |
BotC night at Hourglass Brewery at the Hourglass District
Hourglass Brewing at Hourglass District |
Sunshine Social Deduction Gaming |
6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT |
Board Game Night at Ivanhoe Park Lager House
Ivanhoe Park Lager House |
Brews N Board Games |
6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT |
Writing Meet-Up: Let’s Get to Work!
The Study Wine & Beer Lounge St. Pete |
Prose Society Writers Group |
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT |
Board Games
MakerSpace Pinellas |
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group |
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT |
Introverts Go to the Arcade
Dave & Busters |
O-Town Introverts |
6:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT |
Writing Meetup
HotWax Coffee Shop, Kava Bar & Tap House |
Tampa Free Writing Group |
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT |
Bitcoin and State Politics w/ Nathaniel Snyder
Bitcoin Bay Foundation |
Tampa Bay Bitcoin |
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT |
3D Printer Orientation: Printing at Tampa Hackerspace (THS Members only)
4935 W Nassau St |
Tampa Hackerspace |
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT |
Lean Beer for All Things Agile (Tampa)
Bar Louie at Bay Street in International Plaza |
Tampa Bay Agile |
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT |
Dungeons and Dragons with Donavan
Unlucky Roll Cafe |
Unlucky Roll Cafe Board Game Meetup |
7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT |
Book Club: “Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits” and Thai food
Jasmine Thai |
Geekocracy! |
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT |
One Piece Thursdays
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! |
Sunshine Games |
7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT |
Smartphone Trivia Game Show at Wilders Pizza
Wilder’s Pizza |
Game Night Meetup for Trivia in Tampa, Sarasota, Venice |
7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT |
Pathfinder Society
Critical Hit Games |
Critical Hit Games |
7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT |
Thursday chess at 54th Ave Kava House!
54th Ave Kava House |
TB Chess – Tampa Bay – St. Petersburg Chess Meetup Group |
7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT |
Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament
Balance Martial Arts & Gaming |
Balance Martial Arts and Gaming |
7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT |
Live streaming production and talent
124 S Ring Ave |
Live streaming production and talent |
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT |
August Book Club DOUBLE FEATURE – Wuthering Heights & Jane Eyre
The Capital Room |
Sanford Book Club |
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT |
Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir
Three Birds Tavern |
St. Pete Booze and Book Club |
7:30 PM to 10:30 PM EDT |
Networking for Career Growth
AGILEST® |
Florida Agile Innovators |
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT |
| Return to the top of the list |
Friday, August 16
| Event name and location |
Group |
Time |
Improve your communication, listening, and leadership skills
Winter Park Community Center |
Winter Park Toastmasters – Learn while having FUN! |
7:15 AM to 9:00 AM EDT |
Caffeine & Connections: Friday Fuel for Black Professionals
Online |
Pinellas County Black Business Meetup Group |
8:00 AM to 9:00 AM EDT |
Tampa Young Professionals Virtual Networking Friday Morning All WElCOME
Online |
Young Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect! |
8:45 AM to 10:15 AM EDT |
Online Networking with Brandon Biz Pros
Online |
Brandon Biz Pros |
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT |
Toastmasters – Improve Speaking Skills & Build Confidence
Online |
Christian Professionals Network Tampa Bay |
9:30 AM to 10:30 AM EDT |
Ms. Biz Connectz- business leaders brainstorm together
Online |
Ms. Biz Connectz- business leaders brainstorming together |
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT |
TBUX Virtual: Lunch Break Book Club
Online |
Tampa Bay UX Group |
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT |
Friday Night Games!
Coliseum of Comics |
East Orlando Board Gamers |
5:30 PM to 10:00 PM EDT |
Friday Board Game Night
Bridge Club |
Tampa Gaming Guild |
5:30 PM to 11:00 PM EDT |
Wesley Chapel community networking
Eden Chiropractic |
Wesley Chapel Community Entrepreneur Networking |
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM EDT |
Commander Night
Critical Hit Games |
Hosted By Magic the Gathering Tampa/Brandon/St Pete |
6:00 PM to 11:59 PM EDT |
MTG: Commander FNM
Critical Hit Games |
Critical Hit Games |
6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT |
3rd Friday – Team Zipties – FTC Robotics Demo
Meta Humans Winter Park |
Meta Humans Orlando Meetup Group |
6:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT |
Taps & Drafts | Casual EDH/MtG Social Night
Industrious |
Nerd Night Out |
6:00 PM to 11:45 PM EDT |
Rays game with T-Pain post game concert!
Tropicana Field |
Gen Geek |
6:50 PM to 10:30 PM EDT |
MakerFX Makerspace Woodshop Guild
MakerFX Makerspace |
MakerFX Makerspace |
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT |
Tabletop: Friday Board Game Night
911 Charlotte St |
Oviedo Middle Aged Gamers (OMAG) |
7:00 PM to 11:59 PM EDT |
Meeple Movers Board Game Cafe – Fun events all the time!
3101 SW 34th Ave #803 |
Meeple Movers Gaming Group |
7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT |
Taps & Drafts | EDH/MtG Night | Look Cinemas USF
Studio Movie Grill Tampa |
Nerdbrew Events |
7:00 PM to 11:45 PM EDT |
Nihongo De Okay
Tsaocaa Tampa 朝茶 |
Tampa Japanese Meetup |
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT |
IN-PERSON: “Musonius Rufus” Lectures 9-21
Jason’s Deli |
Tampa Stoics |
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT |
Friday Pokemon Tournament
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! |
Sunshine Games |
7:30 PM to 11:30 PM EDT |
Horror Friends Movie Night – Alien Romulus!!!
AMC Veterans 24 |
Horror Fan Fun Time Gang |
8:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT |
Friday night game night
Indica Cafe Tampa Bay’s First & Greatest CBD Lounge |
Indica Cafe Events |
Friday, August 16, 2024 at 9:00 PM to Saturday, August 17, 2024 at 12:00 AM EDT |
Monthly Cell Phone Photo Showcase
Online |
Florida Center for Creative Photography |
Friday, August 16, 2024 at 11:59 PM to Saturday, August 17, 2024 at 12:01 AM EDT |
| Return to the top of the list |
Saturday, August 17
Sunday, August 18
About this list
How do I put this list together? It’s largely automated. I have a collection of Python scripts in a Jupyter Notebook that scrapes Meetup and Eventbrite for events in categories that I consider to be “tech,” “entrepreneur,” and “nerd.” The result is a checklist that I review. I make judgment calls and uncheck any items that I don’t think fit on this list.
In addition to events that my scripts find, I also manually add events when their organizers contact me with their details.
What goes into this list? I prefer to cast a wide net, so the list includes events that would be of interest to techies, nerds, and entrepreneurs. It includes (but isn’t limited to) events that fall under any of these categories:
Programming, DevOps, systems administration, and testing
Tech project management / agile processes
Video, board, and role-playing games
Book, philosophy, and discussion clubs
️ Tech, business, and entrepreneur networking events
Toastmasters and other events related to improving your presentation and public speaking skills, because nerds really need to up their presentation game
Sci-fi, fantasy, and other genre fandoms
Self-improvement, especially of the sort that appeals to techies
Anything I deem geeky
Thursday at 6 p.m., 501 E. Kennedy (Tampa): Tampa Bay AWS Group presents Hands-on: Build a GenAI Chatbot with Amazon Q for Business. This hands-on workshop will teach you how to build chatbots using cutting-edge generative AI technology. You will learn how to create conversational AI that can understand natural language and generate human-like responses. By the end, you will understand the skillset needed to deploy smart and useful chatbots for real-world applications. Find out more and register here.
