Makerspace hosted our 6th annual Heartland Maker Fest on Saturday, Oct. 1 at Urbana’s Lincoln Square Mall and we had the most amazing time!  We were happy to provide the platform for 25 makers, 3 performers, a fashion show, and a swordfighting demonstration to showcase their incredible projects.

We had close to 1700 members of the community stop by and learn about medieval swordfighting, electronics, playing in a virtual terrain sandbox, various art forms, origami, reuse and recycle, braiding/tie-dyeing tshirts, game making, and many more activities.

Check out a full set of pictures on our Facebook page or on our Google album.

And!  Save the date for next year’s Fest which will be taking place on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017 at Lincoln Square Mall.

Join us on Saturday, Oct. 1, 9am-2pm at Urbana’s Lincoln Square Mall for a day of making!

Makerspace Urbana is excited to host our annual event, the Heartland Maker Fest, celebrating the amazing makers in Urbana-Champaign and the surrounding communities. We wish to:

• Inspire By searching for creative and unique makers to exhibit at the festival, we hope attendees are inspired by the creative projects of others.
• Empower By focusing on hands-on experiences, we hope people feel empowered to make their own projects a reality.
• Connect By creating a free and open public festival, we hope to connect attendees to the local resources they need to help make their ideas come to life.

We’re enthusiastic to share the work of over 25 new and returning crafters, artists, tinkerers, engineers, inventors, and performers! Keep up-to-date as we announce new participating makers at our “Meet the Makers” page.

Thanks to our sponsors, especially the Urbana Public Arts Program, the event is free and open to all.

Are you a maker, crafter, tinkerer? Have you thought about sharing your making, crafting, tinkering with other people? Then you (yes, you) should fill out the Heartland Maker Fest Call for Makers form today!

The Heartland Maker Fest our yearly event celebrating the amazing makers in Urbana-Champaign and the surrounding communities. And with your help we want to make this years event bigger and more creative than ever.

The Fest will be held at the Lincoln Square Mall in downtown Urbana from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, October 3rd. We’ll provide tables, chairs, and electricity (if requested). We’ll handle all the publicity, and we’ll work with you on connections through Facebook and Twitter to get the buzz going. We are supported again this year by an Urbana Arts Council grant, so there’s minimal cost to be a Maker and attendees will get in free.

Any person or organization who embraces creativity and the DIY spirit and wants to share their accomplishments with an appreciative audience is encouraged to apply!

Heartland Maker Fest 2014