Halifax Pop Explosion, the autumn event that started 21 years ago as a forum for local music, plans to expand its digital component this year so it will become a marketplace and mentorship lab for East Coast technology.

HPX last year added HPX Digital to highlight the technology that goes hand in hand with the pop phenomenon, focusing mainly on such segments as the Internet, gaming, mobile and startups.

The reaction has been positive, and the organizers have decided to expand the tech side of the festival, said executive director Jonny Stevens in an interview.

The festival this year will include MentorCamp and DemoCamp events, and HPX organizers have invited 20 to 25 international tech buyers and investors to attend the festival. These venture capital investors, chief technical officers of corporations and digital agencies will meet with local entrepreneurs, with the goal of improving the business prospects of local start-ups and showcasing the tech community in the region.

 “If you shine a light on a local company, that’s great,” said Stevens. “But if you shine a great big spotlight all at once on the whole landscape, then it really highlights what’s going on around here.”

The week-long series of events will begin Oct. 21 with MentorCamp Halifax, which will subject about eight startups to an intense mentoring session with more than 30 international mentors.

Founder Permjot Valia said in an interview from London that he has already chosen three companies for MentorCamp — RUMAnalytics of Quispamsis, N.B., and Analyze Re and UpMyGame, both of Halifax. In the coming months, he will add more companies, including some from outside Atlantic Canada, with the only criteria being the quality of the enterprise.

Though he hopes some companies will be able to raise investment through the event, Valia said the “focus will be more on mentorship” than on fundraising.

DemoCamp Halifax, which will take place Oct. 23, is also in its third year and has grown quickly into a gathering spot for startups and their acquaintances.

The idea is for a range of startups — about 30 have participated in the first two years — to present their product in a five-minute presentation.

The HPX Digital events, including speeches, workshops and networking sessions, will take place Oct. 24 and 25, the same time as the 50 or so concerts featured in the Pop Explosion.

HPX, MentorCamp and DemoCamp comprise simply one segment of a season of startup-related activities in Halifax. The fourth annual Invest Atlantic will be held Sept. 25 in Halifax, and BioNova, the conference for the life science industries, will take place there Oct. 9 and 10, with a theme of big ideas leading to big opportunities.

The events calendar in the region is evolving so startup events are taking place in the spring in New Brunswick – such as East Coast Startup Week -- and in the autumn in Halifax.