Fort Wayne Regional Maker Faire

The Fort Wayne Regional Maker Faire® is a 2-day family-friendly event to showcase Makers and the cool things they’re making in their basements and garages.  In partnership with Make Magazine, the voice of the DIY or Maker movement, the FWR Maker Faire will include attractions to draw public interest; hands-on workshops for learning how to solder, weld, learn about basic electricity, glass blowing, and more; seminars for a more in-depth look at a wide variety of topics; great food for purchase, “The Race”, and live entertainment.

This event is unique in that Makers are asked to actually make something in their exhibit, offer some type of hands on opportunity, or at the very least, convey to visitors process, tools, and materials they used to make whatever it is that they exhibit.  Maker Faires are really hard to describe in detail.  You just have to come to experience the creative energy in the air.  Think of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art’s Chalk Walk only in 3D.

A benefit for TekVenture, a not-for-profit art and technology laboratory being built near downtown, the FWR Maker Faire is the place to be.  Maker Faires are the only place under one tent for checking out art projects, robots, woodworking, technology wizards, crafters, machinists and others as they connect with one another to share ideas and learn new ways of making things.  The cool thing is you might just learn something too.

We’ll again be exhibiting at Taste of the Arts event to benefit Arts United.  Come see us Saturday, August 25 12-7 pm at Freimann Square as we showcase a few key pieces of old and new technology.  We’ll be boiling eggs with our solar cooker then printing on them with our Eggbot (the first one sold in the nation); showing the basics of CNC milling, showing off Casey Drudge’s newest Chain Reaction Challenge machine, and enjoying good food from Fort Wayne’s finest restaurants.

By day local  operates Phenicie Furniture Restoration in Huntertown, Indiana, but by night, he makes things some might call otherworldly.

Mark taught himself how to weld just over 4 years ago and ever since, he’s been using scrap metal and other found objects along with his new skills to build things only his mind can imagine.

At the 2011 FWR Maker Faire, Mark filled an entire exhibit with spaceships and other forms to help tell the story of man’s fight against the Kludonites as we expand beyond our own own galaxy.  Asked why he created this particular story, Phenicie said, “well I started by working on an oxygen tank for a B52 bomber and things just took off from there.”

Check out the 2012 FWR Maker Faire to see Mark’s Deep space oil recovery helicopter mounted on a monopod oil rig and what mission Operation Phenicie has undertaken over the last year. 

Local Maker Scott Rizzo came up with the idea, and Ed DeWitt has been helping us get the word out.  See our page about The Race. Check out Make’s blog post as they talk about our unique event at the FWR Maker Faire to be held this Oct. 6 & 7.

Join Greg Jacobs, President of TekVenture and event producer Jane Applegate on WOWO radio this Thursday, July 12 at 4:00 pm as we talk with Matt Kelty about our vision, the Maker movement, and this great event.

If you’re interested in showing off the cool things you’ve been making in your basement or garage, complete a Call for Makers on this website found under the Makers page.  This is an electronic entry.  Once completed, hit submit and you will be entered into our database of Makers and will receive a confirmation email of your submission.  Electronics projects, woodworking, metalwork, crafts, 3D artwork, whatever – if it’s family friendly and you’ve built it, you should come.

For those of you who missed it, Dale Dougherty of Makezine recently spoke to Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN on the power and purpose of makers and Maker Faires.

Dale’s passion about making is evident as is those of us at TekVenture.  That’s why you should register as a Maker or just come see us Oct. 6&7 at Headwaters Park.