First, a big thank-you to everyone involved in Penguicon! We had a great weekend because of you. Lots of people got their first taste of soldering, and I think experienced the magic of hackerspaces first-hand. Having a dedicated place for hackerspaces at the con is something I first saw at HOPE, and which Notacon has done particularly well. This year, Penguicon picked up on the idea, and the results were amazing.

I see hackerspaces and conferences as two sides of the same coin. Hackerspaces bring people together with hardware and tools to accomplish tasks, storage for projects and parts, and a regular meeting place for long-term endeavors. Cons bring a larger number of people together to share ideas, show off what they’ve done, and drink heavily. In both cases, the magic comes from interdisciplinary cross-pollination, as interesting people from different backgrounds collaborate.

It should be no surprise then, that we have high hopes for Maker Faire Detroit! A sort of mega-con focused on making physical things, Maker Faire promises attendance in the five figures, from all walks of life. And who do you suppose is going to provide the exhibits, the know-how, the enthusiasm to help all those attendees understand how and why they can make their own stuff?

That’s right, YOU.

If you’re reading this, you have above-average interest in technology, however you may define it. You might be a modeler that I talked to at the NAMES expo. You might be a geek we met at Penguicon. You might be a regular reader of this blog, follower of our Twitter, or just a visitor who wandered by. But regardless of your background, you’re the sort of person we need to run an exhibit at the Faire. To that end, we’d like to announce:

Maker Faire Detroit work days! i3Detroit is committed to helping local makers in whatever way possible. Come to the shop on Monday evenings or Saturday afternoons to work on your exhibit, work on your application, or help others do the same. There’s really not much more to it, so just show up and we’ll see what happens!

It’s been a year since i3Detroit’s first meeting, and what better way to celebrate than by scorching some food?  This Sunday, april 25th, starting around 1pm, we’ll have a grill and a fridge full of pop. Probably other stuff, too, but bringing something to grill and something to pass is encouraged. 1481 Wordsworth, Ferndale.  Rain or shine…

Everyone is welcome at this and all i3Detroit events, so bring your friends!  Think of anyone who’s been looking for an excuse to check out the space. Think back to everyone you hit up for Kickstarter donations.  Think about the teacher, the tinkerer, the doer in your phonebook who’s not in ours.  This applies to anonymous shy people who read our blog and never come around, too.  Just get here, we don’t bite…(or do we?)

There’s so much stuff happening soon, from Pengiucon and Hamvention to Maker Faire Detroit and beyond, we’ll be doing a lot of planning and maybe even some working.  If you’re not involved with any of that stuff yet, this is the perfect time to learn more.