LEWISTON — Museum L-A is still looking for tinkerers, do-it-yourself hobbyists and makers for its third annual Mini Maker Faire.
This year’s event is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 6 at the Bates Mill Enterprise Complex.
Museum L-A Executive Director Rachel Desgrosseilliers said the official deadline for exhibits was July 25, but organizers will likely leave that registration open until later in August.
“We have a lot of people that have expressed interest, but they haven’t sent in their applications yet,” she said. “That’s the way it worked last year, too. We had several people confirm they were coming right before the event.”
The events will straddle the Bates Mill complex, with outdoor displays in the parking lot between the buildings and Canal Street and in the Bates Mill Atrium on both floors.
It’s the third year for the local event, part of the international maker movement and one of hundreds of similar fairs around the world. It draws hobbyists, technophiles and professional and amateur craftsmen to display their projects. Last year’s event brought jewelry makers, artists, 3-D printers and optical-illusion demonstrations, as well as exhibits for children and opportunities for them to build crafts and toys.
Last year’s event drew 30 exhibitors. Desgrosseilliers said she expects a similar number this year.
“We’re expecting the event to be pretty similar to what we’ve had before, but with more entertainment,” she said. “We have more interactive exhibits, more shows and demonstrations.”
Confirmed exhibitors include “King Pong” Michael Trautman, the human pop gun and ping-pong ball shooter, Fred Garbo’s Inflatable Theater Company and child-sized building projects, hosted by Maine Robotics and The Home Depot.
Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door; $5 for youths ages 10 to 18. Children under 10 get in free of charge. Tickets can be purchased at the museum’s Mini Maker Faire website: www.makerfairelewistonauburn.org.
The first Maker Faire was held in California in 2005. The 2011 edition drew more than 100,000 attendees. The events are supported by MAKE Magazine and O’Reilly Media. Since the inaugural event, organizers have sponsored similar large-scale fairs around the world, including in Detroit, Boston, New York and London.
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