Scroll through the list of 112 “makers, crafters, performers and presenters” lined up for this Sunday’s East Bay Mini Maker Faire and your head will start to spin. From Ace Monster Toys, to Don’t Try This in High School, through Mothership Hackermoms, to Unpossible Cuts there’s a world of mind-opening, action-provoking stuff to see and do. The Faire runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Park Day School, 360 42nd Street, Oakland.
The East Bay Mini Maker Faire started in 2010 at Park Day School in Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood as an intimate, homegrown version of what was by then the massive Maker Faire held annually at the San Mateo County fairgrounds. Something was very right about the concept, because there are now hundreds of Mini Maker Faires around the world (scroll around the map below). But the EBMMF is the original.
View Mini Maker Faires Around the World in a larger map
The EBMFF focuses particularly on makers from the East Bay, including many Berkeley makers and crafters. It’s becoming a real annual gathering for the vital maker culture and economy that has long roots in the East Bay (and that was a focus of discussion at Berkeleyside’s first Local Business Forum in 2011).
The Mini Maker Faire is aimed at the curious of all ages, and is explicitly designed to be family friendly. Here’s how the organizers describe it: “A Maker Faire is about celebrating learning and doing – not the finished and perfect end product. It’s a place to share what we’re learning with others, and celebrate the fun and freedom of being an amateur.”
The best way to understand a Maker Faire is to go to one. But a video shot at last year’s EBMFF gives some sense of what you’ll see and do:
Tickets for the EBMFF are $15 for adults and $10 for children when purchased in advance. On the door, tickets will cost $20 and $15. Children two and under are free. The EBMFF opens at 10 a.m. on Sunday, October 14 and closes at 5 p.m. The entrance to the Faire is at the corner of 42nd Street and Opal.
To find out about more events in Berkeley and nearby, visit Berkeleyside’s Events Calendar. We also encourage you to submit your own events.
