As part of the promotional push around the Lumia 900 Nokia is holding a series of free developer hackathon events in the US and Canada over the next month. Branded "The Ready.Set () {Code} Challenge", they aim to encourage developers to create apps for the Windows Phone platform.

Here are the event details from Nokia Developer:

We are hitting the road to 13-cities looking for developers who want to build an experience not just another app. To kick off the Ready.Set () {Code} Challenge, Nokia Developer will hold hackathons across the US and Canada beginning in May. You can sign up individually or form your own team to build the coolest, baddest apps for the Windows Phone platform and Nokia Lumia devices.

Prizes will be awarded on site at each event for the top 3 created apps, top student created app, and most Nokia-branded developer (use your imagination). App winners will be judged on creativity, usability, technical difficulty and app presentation. 

1^st place: $500 gift card & Nokia Lumia 900

2^nd place: $250 gift card & Nokia Lumia 900

3^rd place: $100 gift card & Nokia Lumia 900

Student Winner: $150 gift card & Nokia Lumia 900

Most Nokia-Branded Dev: $100 gift card & Nokia Lumia 900

And here are the tour dates:

• Columbus, Ohio - May 12th
• Atlanta, Georgia - May 15th 
• Chicago, Illinois - May 15th
• Sunnyvale, California - May 15th
• Houston, Texas - May 31st
• San Diego, California - 2nd June
• New York, New York - 5th June
• Toronto, Ontario - June 5th
• Boston, Massachusetts - 7th June
• Miami, Florida - 7th June
• Dallas, Texas - 12th June
• Chevy Chase, Maryland - 12th June
• Vancouver, British Columbia - 15th June

Further details and sign up information is available on this Eventbrite site.