Never have I participated in a show where I had mixed feelings like I
do about this year's Maker Faire KC. That said, this isn't really a
negative take on the show, so much as a point that it's a show with a
lot of promise that quickly seemed to spiral out of control at times
this year.
 |
| (Left) Big flames on hot days on an asphalt parking lot. (Right) First cosplayer I saw on Saturday. |
This
show was so odd because of the offbeat level of attendees that it drew
in, never mind the participants. I mean you had various historical era
and fantasy world reenactors and gamers, car club enthusiasts, model
makers, computer builders, Lego fans, singers, dancers, cosplayers,
organic farmers, beekeepers, homebrew game enthusiasts... the list just
went on and on.
 |
| A pleasant surprise was seeing members of the SCA show up to show some of the combat aspects they do.
|
The
problem wasn't the crowd or the vendors, it basically boiled down to
two things. Terrible communication on the part of the people that
organized it, and a horrid floor layout. Never mind some vendors being
initially told they would be inside, and then to find themselves outside
in a general pavilion. I mean, this is something I literally found out
THAT day, AT the registration desk. Unacceptable.
 |
| I love how just "everyday" this particular moment with a guy standing
there in a large power suit, watching a tutorial on sfx seemed. |
Then
add that into the fact that two of the large pavilion tents outside had
been put too close together, so it became an issue where we all had to
reorganize our layouts to allow people to be able to even access half of
the booths. Literally, there were booths that had no crowd access
because we were practically packed on top of one another.
 |
| Of course with LegoLand being so close, I was very pleased to see them in attendance. |
The
crowd density inside was so bad, that I never even got a chance to
check out the rest of the show without having to fight crowds on par
with WalMart level black friday crowds.
 |
| Two of my favorite cosplays were Groot, who was a huge hit with all the
kids, and these extremely awesome looking and well made Chaos Warrior
types. |
Now, there was a lot of bad, but I will say
that this show is ripe to become a destination for many people. The
issue with that though is that it was a dry site. No beer. What the heck
people? The spending power is with the parents and older siblings.
People will buy more when they are relaxed.
 |
| And
some that I'd seen from last year including the Predators from
Warrensburg Missouri, and the local R2/Astromech Droid builder group,
were in attendance. |
I know I'll try the show again
next year, I always try and give every show two or three chances so I
can attempt to figure out if it's going to be a show to heavily invest
in doing more at.
 |
| (Top)
So many kinds of people showed up to this very eclectic show. (Bottom)
At the end of the show getting ready to load up on Saturday afternoon. |
I
did video record a couple of snippets that are below, the best thing at
this show, spectacle wise had to hands down be the fire tornado with a
man in it. Check out the video below for that I am talking about.
 |
| Some
of the memorabilia from the show I have left includes my badge and my
wrist band. But I really liked the Google adjustable goggles, and the
really really cool embroidered Maker Faire patch |
So,
there's a small overview of KC Maker Faire. For kids, it's amazing. For
everyone else? It will try your patience. Especially if you participate
in the show, at least from my experience. I might update this again
after I've had some time to sit on my thoughts, but I'm pretty sure I
will still be upset at the management for letting this show be as
disorganized as it was.
Until next time, support your local artists, respect your local beings, and I'll see you next time!
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