All set for the Faire?
The time is almost here, as we count down to the days until the Western New York Regional Maker Faire. We have sold 200 (free) tickets so far and hit our target of 50 makers for this year’s event. I am excited to host FIRST Robotics with FTC robot May Mayhem event. I plan to cruise on Wellsville’s moving recliner, take in a talk in our Speaker series, make a paper robot or a foam race car, learn to solder, and make some jewellery or a wand. Plenty to do, plenty of free tickets still available and there will be food trucks too!
Maker Faire 2023
We’re back for 2023!
Announcing our new home, the Lake Shore Central School district. We are excited by the opportunities and programs that Lake Shore students experience with new tech programs and look forward to building a long-term partnership with the district.
The Western New York Regional Maker Faire combined the Fredonia and Buffalo Mini Maker Faires, and we hope that you will continue to support us and come out to see us a little further South of Buffalo.
Ticketing opens soon! Save the date for Saturday, May 13th 2023
The Faire Progress
Updates on this year’s Faire;
We are now less than 30 days away from the first Western New York Regional Maker Faire. Reserve your free tickets are now, as we are confirming the last of the Makers for the event, although there are still some spots open for any students, or other makers to display at the Faire. Submit your application today, or if you are having any issues just email us at makewny@gmail.com
I have one major update for us, due to a scheduling conflict we have changed our location for the Faire, That’s right we moved 2,000 ft to the left. That is, the Faire will be held at Big Tree Elementary instead of the High School. They share the same property and parking, and if you know where they are you know it’s not a big move, and if you don’t know where they are, either address in your GPS will get you to the same parking lot.
I am looking forward to seeing you at the Faire!
Douglas
Welcome to the Western New York Regional Maker Faire
On behalf of the Western New York Regional Maker Faire, I want to thank you for visiting our website.
I am Douglas Borzynski, the current producer of the Faire. It has been almost 10 years since I first started thinking about creating a Maker Faire. With the help of the Buffalo Museum of Science and many other makers and sponsors, we held our first Buffalo Mini Maker Faire on Sat, March 1st, 2014. I would like to say things got easier each year, but I am afraid it has not. Many Faires have closed or stopped running including the US World Maker Faires. Locally, the Fredonia Faire had lost its home and Buffalo’s Faire had been postponed.
In 2020 during the covid shut down, and with the leadership of the Rochester Maker Faire, the Syracuse and Long Island Maker Faire, we held a virtual Empire State Maker Faire (https://makerfaire.com/empire-maker-faire-2020) which was a great undertaking from all the Faires across the state, I suggest you check it out and see many of the wonderful things still linked to the website.
It was out of that process that Buffalo and Fredonia Faires decided to merge into the new Western New York Regional Faire. It is our hope to reach out to all the makers from the 8 counties of WNY (Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming) and present their work at our Faire.
Although there have been some setbacks, we have seen an increase in school STE(A)M programming, and makerspaces appearing in schools. The Frontier School District located in Hamburg, New York has been developing a STEM event and we have partnered with their High School leadership to bring you a unique new experience. It is also with the student mindset that this year we will be giving out student scholarship award(s) to our some of our student makers while welcoming back some of the areas more established Makers and Startups.
I want to welcome you back to the Maker Faire, and I hope to hear from you soon,
Douglas Borzynski makewny@gmail.com