We call it the Greatest Make, Show, & Tell on Earth.

The Central Oregon Maker Faire is a local community event with backing from the Make: Community organization (of Make Magazine fame).

Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth—a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker Movement.  It’s a place for people to show what they are making and what they are learning.  The aim of Maker Faire is to entertain, inform, connect, and grow this community. We will be celebrating innovation, invention, and the do-it-yourself spirit of Central Oregon, and presenting it on the world stage! High Desert Makers is your local non-profit organization. Our aim is to bring together artists, tinkerers, scientists, experimenters, crafters, designers, engineers, foodies, musicians, and builders of all ages who would like to share their passion and ideas with others. We are committed to a goal of supporting and building the maker movement in Central Oregon. Follow us on Facebook and join the mailing list to stay connected with the activities and announcements as they happen. Maker Faire: Central Oregon will be open to the public! You will have the opportunity to meet many makers who will show and explain projects of all types! Makers range from tech enthusiasts to crafters to homesteaders to scientists to garage tinkerers.  They are of all ages and backgrounds.

What is a Maker Faire?

Maker Faire was designed to share projects and know-how and to build community among makers. This can happen on many levels: among individual makers practicing similar or vastly different crafts; among organizations collaborating to produce a Maker Faire; among organizations and local businesses via sponsorship; and through the transformation of event attendees into makers. Maker Faire offers us all the opportunity to be creators, not just consumers, of culture. It can be hard to describe just what Maker Faire is. Maker Faire is not a trade show, but rather a space for people to share ideas and projects with the aim creating authentic, satisfying interactions. It celebrates the fun and freedom of being an amateur while creating a stimulating environment out of which new ideas emerge. It is not anti-commercial—businesses exhibit as makers and act as sponsors and makers offer items for sale and use the platform to launch innovative ideas and products to market. Yet, there is a mindset that is shared by the organizers, participants, and the maker community that should be reflected at any Maker Faire regardless of scale. At its core, it is full of fascinating and curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they do. Maker Faire… ● celebrates what makers do—what they make, how they make it, and the enthusiasm and passion that drives them. ● producers are curators—selecting, organizing, and featuring makers with a vision of what is new, interesting, exciting, and cool. ● participants discover their inner maker and learn to do new things. ● seeks to surprise and delight anyone and everyone who comes to the event, especially those who don’t know what Maker Faire is. ● offers opportunities for hands-on, DIY interactions for all ages. ● is open, inclusive, encouraging, and generous in spirit. ● extends beyond the event by expanding the networks of the creative and technical people that are brought together. Finally, Maker Faire is about exhibition, not competition. We hope each maker gets positive feedback on what they exhibited, and that the feedback is useful to them. Whether hobbyists, enthusiasts, or entrepreneurs, makers are a source of innovation that produces value in their community. This is grassroots innovation at its best and we’ve learned that a few key things are the difference between a fun day out and an inspiring event that creates lasting change in a community.