RVA Makerfest kicked off with cocktails

Sophia Belleti

Staff Writer

Rain or shine, Richmond’s second annual Makerfest last Saturday was going to take place at the Science Museum of Virginia. To get makers and sponsors excited for the festival, RVA Makerfest held its first ever RVA Makerfest Kickoff Event Thursday night.

The party was hosted as a special “thank you” to the makers and sponsors, with intentions to allow makers to mingle and network. After filling all 230 registration spots, the event sold out.

“This is the first year we’ve done a pre-event,” president of RVA Makerfest Corey Lane said.

“One of the things we heard from our makers was that it was a really fun event but they didn’t really get the opportunity to mingle with other people because they were so busy all day long, they didn’t get a chance to relax and take it all in.”

The evening began with a “Mad Scientist Happy Hour” in the dome of the Science Museum of Virginia. Drinks were made with Belle Isle Moonshine cocktails from Mattias Hagglund, Beth Dixon & Kali Strain and “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde” beer pins from Center of the Universe Brewing Company.

In addition to the cocktails, a “popcorn DIY experiment” table was set up, coinciding with the maker theme. Guests could fill plastic bags with popcorn and other sweets such as M&Ms, gummy worms and Reese’s Pieces candy and take photos in front of a green screen. A band played during happy hour for entertainment.

After happy hour, the Coalition Theater’s own RVA Tonight Show took the stage in the IMAX theater. It featured humor filled live demonstrations and interviews with Richmond’s makers and creatives.

Doc Davies, CEO and director of MakerSpace, attended his second MakerFest. MakerSpace works on advancing STEM Education, especially assisted living devices.

Davies works with the worldwide group e-NABLE, which designs and creates prosthetic hands and gives the hands to those in need for need.

Last year, Davies had the experience to watch a young girl use a prosthetic hand for the first time.

“It was life-changing,” Davies said. “We bring kids in and they make hands for another child and every time it changes them.”

Richmond’s own Studio Two Three is attended their second Makerfest on Saturday as well. This year, Studio Two Three printed the exclusive Makerfest T-shirts and is steamroll printing a giant map of Richmond, weather permitting. Ashley Hawkins, the Executive Director of Studio Two Three was very excited when RVA MakerFest announced Thursday night’s event.

“It’s really nice to get a chance to meet everyone else who’s going to be at the event in advance,” Hawkins said.

“There’s such a diverse crowd of people that it’s pretty amazing to see the sheer volume of what’s coming out of Richmond.”

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