LEWISTON — An Oakland man and his realistic-looking Iron Man suit will join robot builders, lock-pickers and found art designers next month at Museum L-A’s second Mini-Maker Faire.
Museum L-A released the list of 28 makers that will have displays at this year’s fair.
“We’re kind of concentrating on quality this year,” Kate Griffith, program and events coordinator for the museum, said. “Some of these displays are going to be bigger and more interactive than we had last year.”
It’s the second 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 craftsman to display their projects.
Displays this year will range from lessons from The Open Organisation of Lockpickers to lace-making and papier-mache puppets.
“I’m pretty pleased with the mix we have,” Griffith said. “We go from the computer end of the spectrum and then the arts and crafts and everything in between.”
The Lewiston-Auburn Mini-Maker Faire is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 28 in the Bates Mill. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Tickets for teens 13 to 18 years old are $5. No charge for those under age 13.
Griffith said this year’s fair will be slightly larger than last year, with eight more makers and their displays. It’s also three weeks later on the calendar.
“Mostly, we wanted to take advantage of the start of schools,” Griffith said. “Last year, we were on the first week that school was back. Hopefully this year, we can let kids know and get them involved instead of just having them come back to school and be bombarded with everything.”
Lewiston’s fair will feature interactive displays from local arts, activists and students.
The events will be in and around the Bates Mill complex, with outdoor displays in the parking lot between the building and Canal Street, in the Bates Mill Atrium on both floors and outside in the complex’s fountain plaza.
Maine’s Coke and Mentos experimenters, EepyBird, will be front and center again this year. Stephen Voltz, one-half of the duo, is a key adviser for the local fair.
They’ll be joined by Thomas Lemieux of Oakland, who has created a realistic, wearable Iron Man suit. The suit is made of foam rubber and plastic and does not fly, but it has realistic lights and sounds from the movie.
“I read about him and decided to contact him directly,” Griffith said. “He just sounded fantastic.”
Other makers include Lewiston comic book artist Nathan Ray and his creation “Mighty Snorter: The Super Hero of the Decade,” a display on noise-induced hearing loss and Auburn’s Jude Bellas, who specializes in “paper quilling.”
“That’s sculpture with paper, basically,” Griffith said. “It’s an ancient art form, twirling narrow strips of paper into intricate designs.”
The first Maker Faire started in California in 2005, and the 2011 edition had more than 100,000 attendees. The events are supported by MAKE Magazine and O’Reilly Publishing.
Since the inaugural event, organizers have sponsored similar large-scale fairs around the world, including in Detroit, Boston, New York and London.
They also support smaller “mini” fairs, such as the one in Lewiston-Auburn, designed for between 300 and 6,000 attendees.
2013 Lewiston-Auburn Mini-Maker Faire
Returning Makers
Eepybird, Buckfield
Gardiner Iron Tigers FIRST Robotics Team, Gardiner
Abraham A. Schechter, Calligraphy, Portland
Ann Thompson, Bike Part Art, Biddeford Pool
Charley Lind, Giant Bubbles, Turner
Stan Farrell, Composimold, Manchester
New Makers
Brian Wilson, Detritus Designs Found Jewelry, Auburn
Eva Szillery, The Maine Mathematics Science and Engineering Talent Search Program, Orono
Jack Karkos, Noise-Induced Hearing Loss, Lewiston
Jake Ryan, Open Bench Project, Portland
Jenn Carter, Lewiston Middle School, Lewiston
Jesse Moriarty, UMaine Foster Center for Student Innovation, Orono
Jude Bellas, Paper Quilling, Auburn
Kalvin Gearhart, Kalvin’s Chainmail, Lewiston
Karen Hall, Paper Mache Puppets, Gray
Karin Schott, Fleecenik Designs, New Sharon
Kidsville News!
Marie Marquis, Sew Creative Boutique, Lewiston
Nathan Nicholls, recycleart, Waldoboro
Nathan Ray, Mighty Snorter: The Superhero of The Decade!, Lewiston
Paul Fowler, Wired Technology, Gardiner
Sam Matosian, Hack Portland, Portland
Sarah Koelbl, Sojourn Curiosities, Stockton Springs
Sheryl Westleigh, Noadi’s Art, Bryant Pond
Tess Parrish, Southern Maine Lace Group (SOME), Falmouth
Thomas Lemieux, Ironman of Maine, Oakland
Tim Terranova, MSAD 15 Destination Imagination Team, New Gloucester
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