Dripyard Announces Training, Talks and Site Template Launch for DrupalCon Chicago

Several sessions at DrupalCon Chicago will feature contributors from Dripyard, including a full-day theming training, three conference presentations, and a planned demonstration of a new Drupal site template. The programme highlights work by Mike Herchel and Andy Blum, who will present sessions on Drupal theming practices, contribution workflows, and approaches to building reusable site templates.

The programme begins on Monday 23 March 2026 with the training session "Future Proof Theming: Best Practices for Drupal’s New Era". Mike will co-lead the training with Andy Blum of Lullabot. The training will explore Single Directory Components, Drupal Canvas, and modern CSS and JavaScript techniques used in contemporary Drupal theming. Participants will also examine component-based workflows using Storybook and approaches for building accessible and maintainable Drupal themes.

On Tuesday 24 March 2026 at 09:00, Mike will present "How to Land an EPIC Contribution in Drupal (Without Losing Your Mind)" alongside Matt Glaman of Acquia. The session will examine how contributors introduce new features or bug fixes into Drupal core, Drupal CMS, or widely used contributed projects, outlining the process of navigating the issue queue, collaborating with maintainers, and moving patches toward acceptance.

Two additional sessions are scheduled for Wednesday 25 March 2026. At 13:30, Andy will join Adam G-H of Acquia to present "You can (and should!) build a site template". The session will examine different approaches to creating Drupal site templates and will include demonstrations based on real-world implementations.

Later on Wednesday 25 March 2026 at 15:00, Mike will participate in the Drupal CMS Spotlights keynote on the main stage. The keynote will feature a series of short presentations highlighting recent developments in Drupal CMS and related initiatives, including work connected to the project’s artificial intelligence efforts. Mike is expected to discuss Dripyard’s experience using Single Directory Components and Drupal Canvas in client projects.

According to an announcement published on the company’s website on 5 March 2026, Dripyard also plans to introduce its first Drupal site template during the conference as the Drupal Association prepares to launch a marketplace for site templates. Demonstrations of the template are expected to be available during the event.

The announcement also notes that team members attending the conference plan to distribute stickers and promotional codes related to Drupal themes.