Hacktoberfest is a month-long event where developers are encouraged to contribute to open-source projects on GitHub. In 2015, the event partnered with GitHub and saw an overwhelming response from participants, with 14,419 people signing up and 1,060 going above and beyond by submitting over 10 pull requests each. The event was particularly inspiring for many participants, including developers who were new to open-source contributions or had been hesitant due to company restrictions. Many participants shared stories of how Hacktoberfest gave them the motivation they needed to start contributing, with some even creating substantial documentation for projects. The event also saw participation from schools and students, who were encouraged by their instructors to take on the challenge. Overall, Hacktoberfest was a humbling reminder of the size and scope of the open-source ecosystem, and organizers are already looking forward to making next year's event even better.