Sadly it seems like Maker Faire is in jeopardy due to financial struggles 😞

https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/07/make-magazine-maker-media-layoffs/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
I came here to post this very same thing (Hackaday article about the topic). I'm concerned that we may not have a World Maker Fairer to attend for the 8th year in a row this year!
Ugh Sad now how will we have out yearly cemetech meetup sponsored by something other then us.
I heard about this this morning! What a shame, it was such a nice event. I did hear that they were planning on keeping the licensing program, does someone know if the Maker Faire in NY is independently organized and licensed? If that's the case, then our yearly event isn't in jeopardy...
I always got the feeling that the main event was the one in Bay Area, and that the one in NY was just a side-gig, but I have no clue.
Unfortunately, the Bay Area and New York Maker Faires are the only two that were run by the organization itself; all the rest were franchises. Here's hoping that they run the World Maker Faire in NYC this year anyway, but I'm pessimistic. As geekboy said, we definitely need to find a way to have an annual Cemetech meetup anyway.
Oh no! This is pretty sad... I'm glad that I was able to make it one year at least Smile
KermMartian wrote:
As geekboy said, we definitely need to find a way to have an annual Cemetech meetup anyway.

Definitely. For those who live all over the place, its really the only time that we meet up. The cool thing about Maker Faire is that we all cleared our schedules to make it happen. This year would have been the first year that I could get the 3$ mojitos because of your wacky american laws Laughing
Wow, this is definitely a shock. It wouldn't be so much of a shock if they announced they'd be closed be EoY, it'd be sad sure, but it's shocking that they're halting operations and laying off staff so suddenly rather than gradually.

I've been to the last 3-4 maker faire's here in the Bay Area and there was no hint of troubles. I guess it's a good thing, as they strived to provide the best experience they could.
A VC bonfire gutters and dies. The nigh-endless queue of questionable VC-backed offerings advances one step.
This is a bit of a necropost but I've been thinking of alternatives since it doesn't look like NY is going to be an option. We could try for Maker Faire Rome (in Italy), which is the biggest independently organized Maker Faire and is approx. the same size as the NY one. Obviously it would be a huge struggle to get a few people to agree to get on a plane to Rome, but it might be within reach for the European community... In fact, I feel like it would be a good thing to attend as a joint community, not just Cemetech. I don't know if I'd be able to make it, but I'd be willing to try if others are going...

A more attainable event would be Maker Faire Rochester, which is the biggest Maker Faire that's remotely close to New York, but its nearly a 6 hour drive from New York, so it's not exactly close, but a train ticket from Penn Station in NY to Louise M. Slaughter Station in Rochester is only $50 - $100, and we all know how much some people love trains Laughing From what I gather, it's definitely smaller than the one in New York ever was, but it's considered a "Featured Maker Faire", which is smaller than a Flagship but bigger than a mini Rolling Eyes
mr womp womp wrote:
We could try for Maker Faire Rome (in Italy), which is the biggest independently organized Maker Faire and is approx. the same size as the NY one. Obviously it would be a huge struggle to get a few people to agree to get on a plane to Rome, but it might be within reach for the European community... In fact, I feel like it would be a good thing to attend as a joint community, not just Cemetech. I don't know if I'd be able to make it, but I'd be willing to try if others are going...
I was going to ask if it was actually larger && closer than Maker Faire Bay Area, but I realize that the independently organized part is key. I had no idea the Rome one was so large!

Quote:
A more attainable event would be Maker Faire Rochester, which is the biggest Maker Faire that's remotely close to New York, but its nearly a 6 hour drive from New York, so it's not exactly close, but a train ticket from Penn Station in NY to Louise M. Slaughter Station in Rochester is only $50 - $100, and we all know how much some people love trains 0x5
And especially with certain elfprince13s in Vermont, I have all the more reason to go there. I'd be down to figure out how many of us could plausibly attend: would you lead that effort, mr womp womp?
The Rochester Maker Faire being a lot smaller only lasts 1 day (Sat, November 23rd). Presumably, we would have to head out on the Friday to set up if its anything like the NY one. I might have a friend who would be willing to join me so I would road-trip down with him, but nothing is set in stone. We would have to see if there is some interest from the other attendees (1011, 42, 7373 and maybe even 3000 Wink )
mr womp womp wrote:
The Rochester Maker Faire being a lot smaller only lasts 1 day (Sat, November 23rd). Presumably, we would have to head out on the Friday to set up if its anything like the NY one. I might have a friend who would be willing to join me so I would road-trip down with him, but nothing is set in stone. We would have to see if there is some interest from the other attendees (1011, 42, 7373 and maybe even 3000 Wink )


I will definitely look into that!!
RIP
  
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