Here’s what’s happening in the thriving tech scene in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for the week of Monday, March 23 through Sunday, March 29!
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
Need to see last week’s list? It’s here.
This week’s events
- Monday, March 23
- Tuesday, March 24
- Wednesday, March 25
- Thursday, March 26
- Friday, March 27
- Saturday, March 28
- Sunday, March 29
Monday, March 23
Tuesday, March 24
Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Hashtag Cafe (Sarasota): The EveryDay AI Learning & Social Meetup Group presents Coffee & AI, a casual Saturday morning conversation for non-technical people who want to understand what AI can actually do in everyday life. No laptops required. No jargon. Just coffee, good conversation, and a few genuine “I didn’t know it could do THAT” moments.
Hosted by Rudy Poe, Emmy-winning filmmaker, serial entrepreneur, and Sarasota local, who’ll show you how and why you will want to use AI.
Find out more and register here.
Tuesday at 6:00 at Embarc Collective (Tampa): Calling all e-commerce operators, remote workers, digital marketers, Shopify entrepreneurs, Facebook Ads pros and AI enthusiasts and start-up entrepreneurs! Join us for an evening of high-impact networking and actionable conversations in the heart of Tampa Bay. This month’s keynote will be Content Strategy in the Age of AI: Paid vs. Organic.
Two free drink tickets with admission.
Find out more and register here.
Wednesday, March 25
Wednesday at 12:30 online: The Heart of Agile Coffee Corner brings people together from around the world via Zoom in a casual setting to share and discuss ways we Collaborate, Deliver, Reflect, and Improve.
After February’s reset conversation with Alistair Cockburn, we’ll keep exploring the kinds of topics people asked for: real‑world stories of agile in practice, small high‑leverage changes in how we work together, and the intersections between Heart of Agile and emerging areas like AI—shaped by who’s in the room and what you bring.
The Heart of Agile is not just for software teams; it applies anywhere people work together—healthcare, education, community work, product development, coaching, and beyond—so you’re welcome whether or not you work in tech.
Find out more and register here.
Wednesday at 5:30 at Ark Innovation Center / spARK labs (St. Pete): AI Salon St Pete/Tampa/Orlando #4 will take place!
Find out more and register here.
Wednesday at 6:00 at Embarc Collective (Tampa): A hands-on workshop focused on making your business more capable, efficient, and competitive with AI. This three-part series explores practical tools, real-world workflows, and proven strategies to help your business thrive with AI in 2026 and beyond. Hosted by Clarky AI, this workshop is built and led by software engineers—practitioners who design and deploy AI systems—not event professionals.
Find out more and register here.
Thursday, March 26
Thursday at 6 p.m. at sal y mar (Midtown Tampa): Tampa Bay New-In-Tech presents Tech meetup @ MidTown rooftop! Unwind after work and connect with professionals from across industries in casual, welcoming settings.
Whether you’re hoping to grow your network, exchange ideas, or simply take a break from the week, this is a great opportunity to meet like-minded people in one of Tampa’s most vibrant spots.
Find out more and register here.
Thursday at 6 p.m. online: Tech in Full Effect presents Security Concerns in Vibe Coding. Drawing from real-world incident response and post-breach investigations, this presentation will break down common security failures tied to AI-assisted development, including blind trust in generated code, insecure defaults, over-permissioned APIs, prompt leakage, and the quiet disappearance of secure code review. It will also cover how attackers are already adapting to exploit these habits, not the tools themselves.
Attendees will leave with a practical framework for safely using vibe coding, including guardrails that preserve speed without sacrificing security, questions developers should ask before shipping AI-generated code, and simple controls that catch problems early. This session is designed for builders, security teams, and leaders who want the productivity boost of vibe coding without turning their app into a future breach case study.
Find out more and register here.
Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Wild Rover Brewery (Westchase): Time for another Lean Beer!
Lean Beer is an alternative to the early morning Lean Coffees, for folks who can’t always join us at 7:30 AM. Lean Beer is a great place to ask questions and share your stories of using Agile and Lean software approaches, over an adult beverage, if you choose. They 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 ole’ fashion 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.
Friday, March 27
Friday at 7 p.m. online: Google Developer Group Central Florida presents their March Virtual “Show and Tell” of Projects by the Community!
Ready to showcase your creativity and ingenuity? Want to see what fun, cool, and innovative projects community members are working on? Then get ready for their March Creative Exchange!
Opportunities:
- Showcase Your Craft: Experimenting with AI or trying to kickstart a new app? This is your stage! Demo your latest creations, share your process, and spark inspiration in others. Projects do not have to be perfect or completely refined to help inspire others.
- The Creative Exchange: Need a second pair of eyes on an app you’re building? Or maybe you’re looking for a collaborator? Tap into their collective to get the feedback or partnership you need to level up.
- Found a new “toy” or app that’s completely leveled up your creative flow? We want to see it in action! Come give us a quick demo of the tools or techniques that are making your work fun again. Your “aha!” moment might be exactly the inspiration someone else needs to break through a creative block.
Find out more and register here.
| Event name and location | Group | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Repair Clinic 2079 Range Rd |
Tampa Bay Technology Center | 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM EDT |
| Community Service at Metropolitan Ministries Metropolitan Ministries |
Tampa Bay Bitcoin | 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM EDT |
| Friday Board Game Night Bridge Club |
Tampa Gaming Guild | 5:30 PM to 11:00 PM EDT |
| MTG: Commander FNM Critical Hit Games |
Critical Hit Games | 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT |
| March Virtual “Show and Tell” of Projects by the Community Online event |
Google Developer Group Central Florida | 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT |
| Taps & Drafts | EDH/MtG Night 1Up Entertainment, Tampa |
Nerdbrew Events | 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT |
| Modern FNM Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! |
Sunshine Games | 7:00 PM to 10:30 PM EDT |
| Friday Pokemon Tournament Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! |
Sunshine Games | 7:30 PM to 11:30 PM EDT |
| Return to the top of the list | ||
Saturday, March 28
Sunday, March 29
| Event name and location | Group | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Saltmarsh and Beyond (5e 2024 D&D Campaign) Sunday, Mar 29 · 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT |
Adventurers of Central Florida | 3:09 PM |
| Weeki Wachee paddle with Gen Geek Mary’s Fish Camp |
Gen Geek | 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM EDT |
| Distinguished Scholar Series: Brittany Polat Online event |
Orlando Stoics | 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM EDT |
| Sunday Chess at Wholefoods in Midtown, Tampa Whole Foods Market |
Chess Republic | 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT |
| D&D Adventurers League Critical Hit Games |
Critical Hit Games | 2:00 PM to 7:30 PM EDT |
| Savage Worlds: Thrilling Tales Emerald City Comics 4902 113th Ave N, Clearwater, Florida 33760 |
St Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group | 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM EDT |
| Sunday Pokemon League Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! |
Sunshine Games | 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT |
| Sew Awesome! (Textile Arts & Crafts) 4933 W Nassau St |
Tampa Hackerspace | 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT |
| A Duck Presents NB Movie Night Discord.io/Nerdbrew |
Nerd Night Out | 7:00 PM to 11:30 PM EDT |
| Return to the top of the list | ||
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