Main Street Enid is set to proceed with its Maker Trail project, which would be an addition to September’s and October’s First Fridays downtown.
The project takes inspiration from the “maker” concept and both Makerspaces and Maker Faires from across the world.
“Maker Trail combines the worldwide ‘maker movement’ with the ‘lighter, quicker, cheaper’ strategy of creative placemaking by providing opportunities to learn, create and discover at various maker stations around downtown Enid during First Friday,” a Main Street Enid press release said.
“Thank you to donations on ioby by 31 community members, plus local sponsors and the Edward Jones matching grant, the $7,500 total goal was reached and planning continues,” Main Street Enid said.
Starting on the September First Friday on Sept. 8, the Maker Trail gives visitors a chance to explore, create and discover at a variety of “maker stations” throughout downtown. The stations will include art, circuits, music, physics, robotics and straw domes.
September’s First Friday will be just part of the full Maker Trail, followed by the entire version during October’s First Friday.
At September’s First Friday, the Maker Trail will feature three stations. The first, at the Broadway Block Party, is an art station where visitors can create Tapigami with masking tape.
The second station is for Straw Structures, which will be in the breezeway on Randolph with the Northwest Oklahoma Association of Realtors. Third is the Makerspace, which will be at Public Library of Enid and Garfield County. The first two stations also will have music and games.
The full Maker Trail will be available at October’s First Friday on Oct. 6, and include additional stations with robotic coding, music, circuits and physics. Main Street Enid said community partnerships are still being formed, so updates and news will continue to be posted about the project.
“This will be amazing to watch come to life during the Maker Trail. They (Main Street Enid) are also seeking volunteers for the maker stations and people who make things to set up in order to highlight creativity and innovation in Enid,” a press release said.
Kelly Tompkins, Main Street Enid director, said the project began a while back when Main Street Enid was coming up with ideas for a creative hub for teens and others, where they could have materials at their disposal to discover and make things, while also adding to First Fridays.
“I’m personally looking forward to seeing people discover how things work, watching imaginations spark and finding out the community’s interest in continuing or expanding on the concept,” Tompkins said several few weeks ago. “As a lifelong maker, I also want others to experience the joy of creating things. Most of us make something, whether it’s art, circuit boards, buildings, poetry or pies and it takes all of our talents and knowledge to make great things happen.”
Future updates and more information can be found at www.MainStreetEnid.org/maker-trail.
Story provided by: Enid News & Eagle
Written by: Ryan Miller
