by andrewguenther on 7/13/23, 4:17 AM
Maker Faire has a really special place in my heart. In 2011 I ran the iFixit booth where we not only ran phone repair workshops, but we also did a teardown of a car...live. A volunteer was kind enough to lend us his VW Golf, which he was also going to need to drive to work the following Monday. We were the last exhibitors out as it took us until around 2AM on Monday morning to get the whole thing back together and drive it out. We got two Editor's Choice awards and the Education award that year. One of the best weekends of my life.
Sadly, we never got to do anything like that again. Over the next couple years, large corporate sponsors started taking up more and more space until most of the main hall was just a bunch of ads. We were never able to get a space to do anything like that ever again. I really hope that the return of Maker Faire is also the return of makers at Maker Faire.
by minhazm on 7/13/23, 1:56 AM
There's another maker event in the bay area called Open Sauce, newly created by William Osman (Maker & YouTuber). I think Maker Faire being cancelled for the last few years was a large motivator for this event. The event is this coming weekend, July 15-16, though it appears to be sold out already.
https://opensauce.live/agenda/by ShakataGaNai on 7/13/23, 1:34 AM
That's uh... an unusual choice of locations. HOWEVER, you can take the Ferry from SF to Mare Island
https://sanfranciscobayferry.com/Two weekends is another interesting choice. There are going to be a lot of people, I suspect, who don't want/can't to setup or leave their setups for 2 weekends in a row.
But I'm totally excited, and thrilled it's going to be in 3 months and not an announcement of something next year.
by samtho on 7/13/23, 1:35 AM
I’m happy to see this. As someone coming from Sacramento, I am liking the location a little more than San Mateo as it cuts my travel time in half.
by pengaru on 7/13/23, 12:31 AM
I wonder how much bigger the GM/Chevrolet auto sales presence will be this time around...
by idrios on 7/13/23, 6:27 PM
Something very specific that's been on my mind for years:
I used to occasionally go to a hacker space in SF called Noisebridge. They had a couple textbooks there, but one was this insanely cool almanac of various circuits that can be used to create different devices.
On the off chance that someone here goes to that hacker space or knows what I'm talking about, I'd be thrilled to know the name of that textbook.
by tagami on 7/12/23, 10:15 PM
Maker Faire is back after a 4-year hiatus. Mare Island, 2 weekends this October
by xavdid on 7/13/23, 6:57 AM
I've got many fond memories of Maker Faire, so I'm glad it exists at all. Odd location, but I'm sure they can take what they can get.
I wonder what caused them not to choose San Mateo anymore. Could have been intentional on their part, or the city/fairgrounds didn't want to serve their needs (and if so, too bad!)
by esafak on 7/13/23, 4:30 AM
Maker Faire hearkened back to computing when it was dominated by enthusiasts. And in much the same way it became commercialized, losing its spirit. I hope the new Make Faire is a reboot rather than a continuation!
by ZanyProgrammer on 7/13/23, 2:25 AM
It's honestly nice that such a relic of 2010s geekdom is making a return (yes, I know it started in the aughts, but I'm associating it with the 2010s).
by theogravity on 7/13/23, 2:23 AM
Although Vallejo is considered to be part of the Bay Area, I would call it a stretch since it is pretty far up north, beyond SF, Walnut Creek, and Concord.
For reference, it takes roughly an hour drive from SF going north to get to Vallejo.
by _whiteCaps_ on 7/13/23, 5:57 PM
I hope this gets revived for Vancouver as well - I have a great memory of my kids on a couch/spider thing, I think it was by the folks from eatART.
And I learned how to make bacon there!
by itomato on 7/13/23, 1:14 PM
Good to hear, but man was it nice to take CalTrain.
by pbjtime on 7/13/23, 10:23 AM
As someone in the Tampa Bay metro area it always shocks me how Californians think they have the market cornered on the term "Bay area".
by isuckatcoding on 7/13/23, 5:35 AM
Do I need to buy a ticket to attend?