Makevention, an annual maker fair, will return to Bloomington on Saturday with a human foosball table, a 10-year anniversary exhibit by Trashion Refashion and demos by IU’s Make Innovate Learn Lab.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Monroe County Convention Center in downtown Bloomington, according to a press release. All ages are welcome, and admission is free.
Makevention is hosted by Bloominglabs, a rented makerspace with tools artists can use for free on Wednesday evenings. Bloominglabs paired with the Monroe County Public Library this year — the fair’s fourth — to put on the event, according to the release.
Area inventors, programmers, builders and artists will have work on display at the fair. Returning exhibitors include Discardia, Wonderlabs, Soapy Soap and Louisville-based Maker Mobile.
According to the release, both high-tech artistry, including robotics and virtual reality, and traditional crafts, like soap making, textiles and metalsmithing will have a presence at the event.
The fair is also interactive. At many booths, visitors will get the chance to learn about making firsthand with exhibitor-provided tools and materials, according to the release. Teams of six will have the chance to play against each other in the human foosball table — a 30-by-15 foot outdoor arena.
Trashion Refashion, an annual fundraiser for the Center of Sustainable Living, is a fashion show of clothing made from recycled materials.
Its Makevention exhibit will feature past outfits as well as this year’s, which are inspired by “Dante’s Inferno,” according to the release.
“There’s a large artist community in Bloomington,” Jenett Tillotson, co-founder of Bloominglabs, said in the release. “We have a lot of people interested in recycling and upscycling, and as a college town, we like to learn, explore and create.”
Cassie Heeke
