The hobbies and homecrafts people like to do at home in their basements and studios and garages are actually an industry and a spectator attraction all in one. You can't make this stuff up, in fact you can't even mini-make this stuff up, so you'll have to attend Mini Maker Faire this Saturday to see what this global movement is all about.
Maker Faires are done all over the world, but only by those places that have formalized their hobby builder community. That preparation work was done by Two Rivers Gallery through the ongoing MakerLab they operate, with weekly maker meetings attended by everyone from carpenters to electronics buffs to knitters, young and old alike, rookies to professionals. The object of these events is to boost the communications and relationships between the people who, in Prince George, set to work building the ideas rattling around in their heads. Those ideas come to life better, the global Maker Faire movement has proved, when done together.
It also brings to light what key resources a community might be lacking, so the group and its organizers can collectively acquire a 3D printer or a plasma cutter or whatever might be helpful for public use as people create their inventions and tech-art.
The Mini Maker Faire is the annual coming out party for this movement, where everything from ancient origami to space-age lasers, entertaining science tricks to cutting edge inventions, are all together in one festive market. It happens this Saturday at the Canada Games Plaza, indoors and outdoors, rain or shine.
"We have more than 60 different stations. We're billing it as show-and-tell time but for grownups," said MakerLab co-ordinator and Mini Maker Faire key organizer Kathleen Angelski. "Most of the stations are local people showing us what amazing things they can make, but we also have makers coming in from Prince Rupert, Dawson Creek, Horsefly, Vancouver and there will be everything from live chickens in that old-time style of making things by hand to Emily Carr University showing us the cutting edge of new high-tech creation."
Two Rivers Gallery retail and marketing co-ordinator Elsie Wiebe Klingler said producing the Mini Maker Faire was a creative process of its own.
"You have to be licensed to use the Maker Faire name," she said. "It is quite difficult to get, you have to meet a lot of conditions and carry through on a lot of important criteria set out by the Maker Faire organization. We are the only ones in this whole region to get that certification, and since the success of our first event a year ago, the organization and the buzz about the event has grown and grown. We had 1,000 people attend last year, and the word of mouth has grown so much since then. We anticipate many more this year."
Angelski said it was a family-friendly and inspirational event for all ages and backgrounds. She said, "We have a young girl who has taught herself how to walk on stilts and ride a unicycle, and we have a young guy who has built himself a go-cart powered by an electric drill, so it really has a lot of stuff that'll make you go 'wow' and think about how everything is made and the exciting ways people think about tools and materials."
This year's Faire has been loosely grouped into areas of interest with names such as Tech Village, Artisan Alley, Maker Way, LEGO Land, the Creative Commons, District DIY, Heat Street and more. There will be demonstrations and hands-on opportunities like learning to solder, making paper by hand, launching rockets, working leather, but also more techie terrain like virtual reality goggles, metal clay, a solar car, and someone who claims to have the world's first laser-cut guitar.
The special celebrity guest this year is a giant figure in Canadian science and technology. Bob McDonald, host of CBC Radio show Quirks & Quarks plus the author of numerous books, is coming to Prince George thanks to the Prince George Astronomical Society. (McDonald speaks Saturday night at First Baptist Church on the topic of his latest book Canadian Spacewalkers. His presentation begins at 7:30 p.m., and admission is $20 available at Studio 2880 ticket centre.) He will be at the Mini Maker Faire from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
All the sights and sounds of the Mini Maker Faire are free, but there will be an array of food trucks, plus many products and experiences for sale, so have payment forms ready.
The festivities happen from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
