Maker Faire 2010

Last weekend was jam-packed with fun-ness, including a trip to the fabulous MAKER FAIRE.

I may have found my new favourite arts festival. It is a tasty blend of Comic Con, Burning Man, a crafts fair and ROBOT WARS all rolled into one. If (like me) you are intrigued by the creativity at Burning Man but would gladly forgo all the nudity, sunburn (and burnouts) then this show might be for you. There are Fabulous bands, home-made robots, indie comics, steam punk machinery buffs and just about every thing creative that you can imagine, all with a focus on the DIY. This fantastic show is only 5 years old and it started here in the Bay Area (at the San Mateo showgrounds) and now there are Maker Faires springing up all over the place; Austin, Detroit, New York and Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Rather than only taking place in one big, air-less barn of a building (like any comics show I have been to) the Maker Faire happens both inside pavilion buildings and outside in the sunshine. There are plenty of crowds but there is also the means to get away from them and sit down outside, have a snack and STILL be immersed in the experience, while all manner of weird and wonderful things pass you by. A girl driving a cup-cake car. A man operating a walking spider vehicle. A giant cardboard robot. A JULES VERNE Penny-Farthing bicycle. A steam-powered jalopy or a parade of punky kids on their souped-up bicycles.

We only went for one of the two days, but could easily have done another day without repeating ourselves. Part of me wants to exhibit at this show next time, but a larger part wants to just go and attend, to take in all the sights rather than be stuck behind a booth. But whatever happens, I will definitely be there NEXT year and so should you!

6 thoughts on “Maker Faire 2010”

  1. Looks like FUN! I’m gonna have to make it up to one of these! This is the first time I’ve heard of this event. Thanks for keeping us informed on this stuff.

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  2. Benton, I cannot speak highly enough about this show, at least from the perspective of an ATTENDEE. I had heard about it several years ago, maybe even the year it began, but in subsequent years I was either out of town or only remembered it after it had already passed by for that particular year. So this was the first time I got to experience it first hand.

    There has been a lot of talk lately about founding a CREATOR CON and maybe this is it. This show throws the definition very wide; anything that can be made by hand in any medium. Crocheted toys, t-shirts, beanies, wooden toys, robots fan-made tributes of famous movie stuff, performance art, you name it.

    I am not sure how much actual purchasing was going on. I saw some but my sense is that most people are there to to SEE the show and most creators are there to display or PROMOTE their work.It may be that it is better appreciated as a spectacle.

    As an aside, I had always liked what I have heard about how ANGOULEME is laid out; not in one building but all across a small town, more like a FESTIVAL than a convention. That is what this feels like.

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  3. Holy Crap. Made it last yr, but We missed out this year! What a cool faire, huh?

    Thanks for the sweet captures!

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