It's No Joke, the Los Angeles Makerfaire is on April 1st

In 2011, I was made aware of the Maker Movement from a friend at work. It was that year I first aspired to be a Maker. I had to travel to San Mateo to get my first glimpse of the Maker Faire. Fast forward to 2023. The Maker Movement (despite some bumps), is on a train that is running full S.T.E.A.M. ahead! On April 1st (No joke!) the Maker Faire will be here in Los Angeles, at the LA State Historical Park. Use of public transportation is recommended - it is near the Chinatown train station.

The story is long and there are many things I will omit... Focus. I will try to focus.

Aspiring to go to the MakerFaire

My first Makerfaire was in 2012. I didn't know at that time, I would be able to call myself a Maker, so I said I wanted to be a Maker. I aspired to go to the Maker faire. I planned a visit with my brother Joe. I would volunteer, and blog and visit with Joe was was a natural Maker, trained in Canada at what was then the Radio College of Canada, now Yorkville University.

I had the sense, at the time, that I was already a Maker, but over the 10+ years of being immersed in the Maker Movement, I have come to recognize the inclusiveness of the Maker Movement and the philosophy behind it.

Everyone is a Maker - and Making is a path to Creativity, Innovation and Inventing

Dale Dougherty, who created the Maker Movement said "Making is really something all of us do. We cook, we create, we write, we grill food and grow flowers, we sew and solder. We are tinkerers. We are problem-solvers. We figure out how to do things. It’s what makes us human.
The world around us is made and shaped by makers. As Steve Jobs said: “Life becomes much broader once you discover … that everything around you was made up by people no smarter than you.”
Once you start to participate in life as a maker, you will recognize your own ability to create something new or improve something that already exists. You realize that anyone can innovate." as read in this article in The Henry Ford.

Some Highlights at Previous Maker Faires

I had the pleasure of visiting the Bay Area Maker Faire a few times, and then more local Maker Faires, co-exhibiting with friends and colleagues. By far, the Bay Area Maker Faire was the brightest star, but every Maker Faire can yield a prize idea or fun-vention. Here are some.

Ball Chain Project

This was a very fun project. It was hanging from a beam in the San Mateo Convention Center. The aggregated weight of the balls were heavier than one might expect. It made it a very soothing, tactile, pleasant experience. This was in 2012, so likely won't be seen this year.

Arc Attack Tesla Coil Music

Also, in 2012, Arc Attack performed a set with a Tesla Coil. Don't do this at home.

Self Propelled Electric Sofa

A 2013 ride on the Mad Hatter's sofa.

A Trip down Memory Lane at the OC Mini Makerfaire in 2013

Los Angeles Public Library Mini Maker Faire 2017

I'd met Eric Ostendorf many years earlier, and here he was where Makers gather... at a Makerfaire!

A Pipe Organ made entirely of paper.

the Rube-inator

I will be there with my very own project and invention, the Rube-inator. What does it do? Come visit and see!

Trish Tsoiasue runs the Makersville organization and participates in the Makersville Services community in support of those who make things, which is everyone!

She has made a giant, enormous, highly impractical quilt, stuffed tigers and bunnies, a Makerspace and community called Makersville, and invented the Community Lemonade Game (a mechanism for those who want to get started finding community for their causes) and the Rube-inator (previously known as Rube Goldberg in a day).