About two weeks ago, I attended Maker Faire Orlando, one of our licensed Faires. I wrote about it in last Friday's Make Things newsletter, and I was so impressed by the work of the all-volunteer team that produced a great experience that greatly benefits the community. I was struck by the powerful combination of a local makerspace producing a community Maker Faire.

I wish that more people could experience a Maker Faire.

Why isn’t there a Maker Faire in every town in America? In every city in Europe? In Asia and South America as well? This year, there are 38 US Maker Faires and 53 international ones. Maker Faire Orange County, Maker Faire Milwaukee, Maker Faire Louisville and Maker Faire Orlando were among the US events this Fall. There’s Maker Faire Tokyo, Maker Faire Hannover and Maker Faire Rome, the latter of which is the largest Maker Faire. Maker Faire Shenzhen happened last weekend. That’s a lot of Maker Faires but there could be even more. Why not?

Recently, I spoke to one group who was struggling to organize a Maker Faire in the South. It was going to be at a science center. They were having trouble getting enough makers and hadn’t done enough community outreach. They wanted to have a free event but they couldn’t get enough sponsorship commitments.

I wish there were easy answers to give them but doing events is hard. Finding sponsors is difficult. Some European cities do receive government money to help support Maker Faire. It is the chief reason that Maker Faire Rome is the biggest of our Faires. Even a few American Maker Faires have managed to get their city government or tourism bureau to kick in a few dollars. That’s fortunate but not common.

I used to think the two things you need to produce a Maker Faire were upfront funding and a good venue, both of which are necessary, of course. However, after attending Maker Faire Orlando this past weekend, I see that the biggest thing you need is the team. If you can organize a really good crew, then you can organize a Maker Faire. So, maybe building a team is right place to start. Also, if you keep that team together for many years, the team and the event will get better together.

Maker Faire requires a good crew

Maker Faire Orlando, which is in its 12th year, is produced by an all-volunteer organization, led by Ian and Candy Cole of the Maker Effect Foundation, which also supports the MakerFX makerspace. The Maker Faire team overlaps quite a lot with the members of the Maker Effect Makerspace in Orlando. You could call it synergy or some other term but both the event and the makerspace exist because a self-selected group show up to do the work. They know each other and they work together well with specific roles and responsibilities. None of them would call themselves event professionals — they are all volunteers working mostly behind the scenes.

You need a team that works well under stress. It helps if that team knows each other outside the event and knows they can depend on others on the team to carry out their responsibilities. A good crew will be good to each other even when stressed out. A good crew is the face of the event to the public, even though many people don’t see what they do.

For Orlando, the team shares the mission of the makerspace and the mission of Maker Faire Orlando. It benefits both the makerspace and the event. Maker Faires and makerspaces go together, and they both grow stronger over time.

“I do believe there is a significant synergy for us in the combination of the big annual event impact and the everyday impact of the makerspace - especially in that it helps us keep our community / volunteers engaged all year,” said producer Ian Cole in email. “We also get out to a lot of other events to be seen and to spend time together.” 

When the gates open, and attendees start streaming in, usually with kids in tow — this is what is gratifying, seeing the smiles on their faces and knowing you have created a memorable experience for so many. You have made something valuable for your local community.