September 10th 2026: Open Mic Night + Defense Against the Dark Arts CFP!

/ roanokeinfosec

As September rolls in, the days are getting a little shorter, the weather is starting to cool down, and school is back in session. With fall right around the corner, we are mixing things up for our September meetup with a format built entirely around you!

This month, we are bringing back a format from the RISE vault (dating back to our early days in 2017): a community Open Mic & Lightning Talk Night!

The Pitch: Open Mic Night

Do you have a cool side project you want to show off? A weird bug you recently ran into? A story from the trenches, or a question you want the local community to help answer? You don’t need a 45-minute slide deck or weeks of preparation to take the stage.

We are opening up the floor for quick, 5-minute spiels, show-and-tells, questions, and open discussion. It is a casual way to share what you’re working on or learning. And as the audience, if someone brings up a topic you want to hear more about, you might just convince the speaker to come back to RISE for a deeper dive.  If you just want to sit and listen, that’s cool too!

Oh, and we will have pizza again! 🍕 

Meeting Details:

We will be meeting at Virginia Western Community College in the Hall Family Business/Science Building. Take the stairs to the left and go to the third floor and go to the CyberSecurity lab in room M302.

Meeting info:

Virginia Western Community College
Business/Science Building, Room M302
September 10th, 2026 @ 6PM
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ToJyoaMJ5BUy417QA

Upcoming News: Defense Against the Dark Arts (Oct 29th)

Mark your calendars for another big local event coming up this fall! Defense Against the Dark Arts is happening on October 29th at VWCC.

This will be a panel and demo event designed to showcase some of the most cutting-edge cyber attacks today, along with practical strategies for protecting your systems and infrastructure.

  • Event Details: You can check out full event details on the RBTC Event Page.
  • Call for Presentations (CFP): Interested in presenting a topic or running a live demo? The CFP is officially open! Submit your proposal here.

Whether you want to take the mic for 5 minutes or just hang out and listen to what others in the community are building, we’d love to have you out.

Mark your calendars for September 10th at 6:00 PM at VWCC. See you all there!