GeoStrategies, Inc., a Turlock-based market research company, is hosting a 24-hour hackathon this weekend to showcase the talents of local computer programmers.

A hackathon is an event in which computer programmers and others in software development collaborate to create software projects; it is not an event where a group of people set out to hack Sony emails.

The Valley Hackathon will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and continue until 6:30 p.m. on Saturday in the dance studio located below the offices of GeoStrategies, located at 200 N. Broadway. Check-in, rules, and safety briefing will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

This weekend’s hackathon will be free for participants.

Local residents in teams of one to four people will develop a software project in 24 hours in hopes of winning the $1,000 grand prize.

“We’re an analytics and software company and we want to highlight the fact that there’s local talent and local tech that goes on here,” said Ben Hector, Senior Project Manager for GeoStrategies. “Sometimes we get overshadowed by the Bay Area, but we want to say ‘Hey, we take tech seriously’ and build an embryo of brilliance there.”

Projects must be created during the hackathon, meaning they cannot be started before the event, although they may be planned before. Project must also involve software writing, but can be hardware-based.

Teams may consist of one to four members who reside in Stanislaus, Merced, San Joaquin, Tuolumne, Mariposa, or Calaveras counties.

Following completion of the hackathon, the projects will be judged by a panel of representatives from sponsoring companies who will determine the winner of the $1,000 grand prize; second and third place will also receive a cash prize.

There will be pizza and other food and snacks provided to participants of the hackathon.

Participants must sign up in advance; to sign up, click here.

For more information on the Valley Hackathon, including rules, visit ValleyHackathon.com.