(Bitola Mini) Maker Faire is BACK

The Bitola Mini Maker Faire, for the third time together with Skopje Mini Maker Faire will join forces to bring a global movement of makers, inventors, creators, artists, scientists & technology enthusiasts to you with the express purpose of awakening research and exploration, encouraging curiosity, joy, and discovery, and promoting the free flow of ideas, knowledge & experience in our community and around the world.

This hybrid online single-day event will happen on Wednesday, September 22 2021, streaming live on multiple platforms. It will feature makers from maker spaces in North Macedonia and technology, research and science centers from across North Macedonia, as well as individuals with their own inventions and creations.
Throughout the day, the Mini Faire will feature many creative, practical workshops and various lectures by notable tech enthusiasts, inventors, and entrepreneurs.

After a year of uncertainties and everything put on hold, we can’t be more excited to be back and to have the maker community in one place.

If you are a Maker, make sure to apply!!!

Since we skipped a year let’s remind ourselves: What is Maker Faire?

Maker Faire is a gathering of fascinating, curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do. From engineers to artists to scientists to crafters, Maker Faire is a venue for these “makers” to show hobbies, experiments, projects.

3 Ways to Be Part of Bitola Mini Maker Faire

It’s official – Bitola Mini Maker Faire is happening on September 6, from 10 am to 6 pm, under the open sky, in front of the Center for Culture in Bitola, and you have 3 options how to be part of this innovation & creativity Faire of the year!

1. Apply as a Maker

If the maker force is strong in you (some of us at SMMF live and breathe Star Wars 🙂 ), the time has come for you to show off what you can do!

If you recognized yourself in our article How to Tell If You’re a Maker – your next step is to fill out the application form, which you can find in the Call for Makers section, or more conveniently – HERE. Note that makers DO NOT pay participation fee. If you have any questions about the process, or concerns about your participation and/or exhibition, ask them here – our fabulous producers team will be happy to help out!

2. Join us as a Visitor

So you aren’t ready to exhibit yet, but you would love to see what other like-minded people have created? Visit us! Bring your friends! Bring the family! This event is kid-friendly, and you are in for hours of fun activities. Some of the makers will offer interactive sessions and workshops at which you will be given the chance to make something yourself, under the guidance of the maker. The best part is – it is all for FREE! Yes, you read correctly! There is no entrance fee for the Skopje Mini Maker Faire, but you do need to register first. Make sure to register each individual separately and bring a printed ticket from Eventbrite. The same goes for teachers who are bringing their students for an educational experience – register and print tickets for each of your students.

3. Volunteer at Bitola Mini Maker Faire

We are looking for volunteers to give us a hand with the organization of the event. Are you good with people? Technology? Have an eye for photography? Are a social media wiz? We could use your help to make this event an enjoyable and unforgettable experience for all the visitors and makers, and share it with everyone who couldn’t make it. If interested, send us your name, age, and phone number to bitola.makerfaire@gmail.com.

Throwback: Bitola Mini Maker Faire

A year ago, Bitola hosted the first ever Mini Maker Faire in North Macedonia, and it was unlike any other faire seen in our country before! Over 2000 people from across the country came to see the amazing work of regional makers: 3D printers built by high school students, models of smart homes designed by IT students, recycling projects turning garbage into art, artisans making handmade leather souvenirs and trendy jewelry, dancing robots, video games, science projects, and more. Visitors could make their own Maker Faire badge at the 3D Doodling station, paint a portrait, make small gift notebooks and pendants, play video games, control LEGO Mindstorms robots, and join the street performance. The Faire was even visited by the then-Ambassador of the U.S. to North Macedonia Jess Baily. And since a picture is worth a thousand words, below are some snaps from the atmosphere. This year we are preparing an even greater diversity of maker projects and we can’t wait to show them all to you!

The Maker Faire Experience

When Dale Dougherty launched the first Maker Faire in 2006, he had two things in mind: it was designed for families and it gave people the opportunity to talk to makers.

Maker Faire is a unique experience, an all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and other exhibitors. It showcases makers who are exploring new forms and new technologies, but it also nurtures innovation and experimentation across the entire spectrum of science, engineering, art, performance and crafts.

Maker Faire atmosphere;  Image source: http://prismcreativegroup.com

Maker Faire is a gathering of fascinating, curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do. It’s a venue for makers to show examples of their work and interact with others about it. Making is often invisible in our communities, taking place in shops, garages and on kitchen tables, and Maker Faire makes visible these projects and ideas that we don’t encounter every day.

Still not sure what to expect? Check out how last year’s Bitola Mini Maker Faire went! This, and more!

And the best part is: it’s absolutely FREE! No participation fee, no entrance fee!

Let us know you’re coming and get your free ticket HERE!

Are you a maker interested to exhibit? Pitch your project in this application FORM!

Related article: How to Tell If You’re a Maker

How to Tell If You’re a Maker

Making has always been a part of people’s life, although not always labeled as such.

Think of it this way: your dad tinkering with the car – and he’s not even a mechanic, your grandma coming up with the most creative recipes in the kitchen, your neighbor composting and growing amazing garden produce, your mom creating gorgeous handcrafts, your neighbors’ kids building LEGO objects and model planes, your friend programing a silly-looking robot, the friend of your friend who’s a carpenter, your baby sister who makes outfits for her dolls and builds dollhouses, the guy down the street who can fix any appliance that gets bust in your house, and you – the talented artist, performer, filmmaker, engineer, science geek.

Anything that can be made, useful, or just fun to make. The toy you didn’t have and built it for yourself. The scarf you knitted because you thought knitting was fun to learn. The decorations you made for family celebrations. The old and unique trade you learned from your ancestors. The video game, or the environment-friendly object you created with your classmates. 

The many kinds of makers
Designed by: Freepik, prostooleh, welcomia, katemangostar, Bearfotos, rawpixel.com / Freepik; Vertical gardening image source: https://gsky.com/6-beautiful-vertical-gardens-ideas/

And yes, as times have changed, making is warmly embracing electronics, software, and new forward-looking technologies, and integrating them into the old-fashioned hobby projects, to make for a whole new level of DYI and innovation.

If you’ve ever done any of this – CONGRATULATIONS! – You are a maker! And if you want to show your work to the world, we’d be happy to have you at Bitola Mini Maker Faire!
Submit your application NOW and enter the world of MAKER FAIRE.

See you at Bitola Mini Maker Faire on September 6!