TinkerMill summer carnival supports the makers of Longmont

Kids and adults alike found fun Saturday afternoon at TinkerFair, a classic summer carnival event to celebrate TinkerMill’s 10th year in Longmont.

TinkerMill, 1840 Delaware Place, is a nonprofit makerspace that gives its roughly 700 members access to a wide variety of creative tools. Executive Director Erin Hoard said Saturday’s fundraiser, which ran from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., aimed to bring over 250 people to the makerspace and raise several thousand dollars for the organization.

Hoard explained TinkerFair has been a seasonal fundraiser for TinkerMill for years, but this iteration was specifically geared toward families through games and hands-on activities. While TinkerMill members have to be at least 18, she said she wants kids to learn this space is available to them in the future.

“We’re trying to … get kids introduced to this early so that they know this is here for them once they’re out of school and don’t have that resource anymore,” Hoard said.

Last month marked TinkerMill’s 10th anniversary, a milestone the nonprofit incorporated into the carnival.

“I’m really proud of the fact that (TinkerMill) has made 10 years,” Hoard said. “That’s a huge deal for any business, and for a makerspace, it’s amazing. For it to have this much staying power after all of these years, it shows the commitment from the people of Longmont, and that they want this here.”

Free tours were offered of the facility on the hour, with several projects set up at stations throughout the makerspace. Demonstrations for welding, laser-cutting and metalworking drew crowds, especially of younger visitors.

“They just learn about what’s possible and how things are made, and what they can do with simple hand tools,” said Jef Farrell, co-captain of the machine shop, who led a demonstration on cutting and bending pieces of metal.

Around a half-dozen TinkerMill members used the carnival’s vendor market to share and sell their creations to guests. Farrell emphasized the role members played in keeping the makerspace alive over the past decade.

“We’re a member-run organization, so to have that kind of longevity … it’s really important to recognize that this only works as long as the members participate,” he said.

In addition to carnival games, visitors could toss scrapped ceramics against a wall at the “pottery smash” station, or add color to a collaborative painting of the TinkerMill logo with the words “10 Years Making” at its center.

Nate Pierce, the volunteer running the pottery smash station, said most of the visitors he met Saturday were “flabbergasted” at the number of things TinkerMill offers.

“I could come here for days on end and have a ball,” he said. “They need to make one of these in every town. I really think so.”