Are You Going to Maker Faire? Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Tesla Coils…

On my laptop bag, and sometimes on my knitted-by-hand sweater, I have a button that reads: I HEART Craft. I got the button last year at Austin’s first Maker Faire, which originated in San Mateo, California in 2006. The next Austin Maker Faire is coming up this weekend — October 18th and 19th — and I will be there once again because, let me tell you, I ALSO HEART MAKER FAIRE!

Sponsored by MAKE Magazine and CRAFT Magazine, the event is a major celebration of geeks and DIYers from all walks. It is a collaborators’ dream come true (hey, I could use a little collaboration coming up with a less cliché description but still, that’s an accurate statement — they dream it, they build it…). From robots to a life-sized Rube Goldberg-esque mousetrap (modeled after the kids’ game) to adventures in sewing, Maker Faire — which sprawls across the Travis County Expo Center — has enough to keep even the fastest moving ADD-afflicted attendee busy for hours on end.

necklace by Warren

I was introduced to Maker Faire by my boyfriend, Warren, who knew about it through his burner friends, many of whom participated in Austin’s first Maker Faire. We wandered the grounds for hours last year and had a really big time. Warren went back the next day, stopped at one of the booths and made me a very badass necklace (see photo) out of an old washer, a piece of blue glass, and some brass and copper wire. People stop me all the time to admire it and ask about it, surprised to learn it’s made from found hardware. So you, too, can make fancy schmancy no-cost baubles (okay, there is an admission price).

Along with some of my fellow Austinist writers we’re providing some pre-MF-2008 coverage right here. And you can download this year’s program right here.
Some activities and booths to look forward to:

• 

  Tesla Coil

  King of Fling Catapult Contest

• Refashioned Fashion Show and Swap-O-Rama Fashion Show
• RoboGames Texas Cup (fighting robots)
• Singing Tesla Coils
• Jaw Dropping Art Cars
• Return of the Life-Sized Mouse Trap Game
• White Snake — an 80 foot long, six-rider ride from Austin Bike Zoo
• Eighty Bajillion Other things including Music, Fire, Sustainable Living and Kids’ Stuff