Hacktoberfest is an event arranged by the digital ocean along with GitHub to encourage developers to contribute and be part of open source communities. It is a month-long event where a lot of developers come together to contribute to various open-source software.
Yes, you can. In fact, if you are a beginner it is a great way to start your journey to be part of open source communities. There are repositories labeled as good-first-issues where you can start with. Not only this you can simply contribute just by making some valid corrections in the project's documentation.
To join this biggest open source event first thing you need is a Github account. Next, you need to do is register yourself to the Hacktoberfest website using your Github credentials. At last, you need to find an open-source project of your choice to which you want to contribute and open at least four pull requests between 1st October to 31st October. Your pull request will then be reviewed within the next 14 days and if everything goes well, Voilla, you have made your contribution.
First thing first if you complete a minimum of four pull requests you get a hacktoberfest t-shirt. But this should not be the reason why one should be part of this month-long celebration of the open-source projects.
If you are a beginner there is a lot for you to learn and network with a multitude of experienced programmers and developers from around the globe. If you are not a beginner it is a great way to give back to the community and make this world a better place with your small little contribution.
Thanks for reading.