Lest you be caught unawares, the Rivertown Revival will unload merriment near the Petaluma slough this weekend, Saturday, July 24th, 2010.
Free to the public!
The glorious day includes floating art work, water-bound kinetic contraption races, fine foods and beverages, plus art and costumed revelry upon the hidden peninsula right in downtown Petaluma near the grand old Petaluma River Heritage Center barn.
Music is aplenty too with these fine minstrels of Northbay musicality:
Enjoy the day outdoors with friends and see what happens when the infamous Survival Research Laboratory (SRL) unleashes its recent mechanical monstrosities for the first time since moving to Petaluma from S.F. over two years ago.
We at the Regatta headquarters are proud to announce a convenient new VOLUNTEER doohickey!
The Handcar Regatta Volunteer Program allows YOU to sign in and pick your preferred area(s) of interest. Once logged in, you can choose from a variety of volunteer positions.
Please take two minutes to register in just two simple steps:
REMINDER! Those stalwart hucksters of DIY virtues we know and love, FBUC, will be marauding upon a maelstrom of contraptions o’er the San Mateo fairgrounds this weekend, May 22-23 for the annual Maker Faire 2010!
MIND BENDING! Like the Luther Burbank Rose Parade last weekend (and the Sebastopol Apple Blossom Festival Parade before that), three teams and their four GIANT mechanical contrivances, plus a multitude of more nimble kinetic doohickies, will careen leisurely through the 80,000+ throng of the gaping rabble at the faire.
AND MORE! Vendors of fine wares seen at The Handcar Regatta and members of The Glorious Etsy Steamteam shall be on hand to adorn and inspire at the FBUC encampment, including Choklit Chanteuse of Adornments for Tarts, Sarah Dungan of Industrial Fairytale, plus Nullalux of Theriaca Fina (literally, “fine treacle”).
GET THEE TO THE FAIRE! If you have even the slightest inkling toward hacking and building, or wish to nobly educate and enlighten your children for a better future, you simply must extract yourself from your couch-bound indention and see this amazing Maker Faire!
Word has it they’ve got a phalanx of heavily armed musicians and riders of strange contraptions of the pedaling variety. Join them in the fun tomorrow, May 15th!
Sonoma Country Day School in Santa Rosa will be host to the 2010 Mini Maker Faire.
The Great Handcar Regatta is proud to be one of the sponsors of this exciting educational event!
Mini Maker Faire at Sonoma Country Day School May 8, 2010: 11:00am – 3:00pm 4400 Day School Place Santa Rosa, California
Other sponsors:
What is a Mini Maker Faire? Snip:
Mini-Maker Faire is not designed like any standard trade show or conference—it is a fun, interactive maze of demonstrations, exhibits, and displays. We have tried to keep it environmentally friendly and simple in design. We have a couple of different kinds of exhibit areas to accommodate the diversity of projects, and we encourage makers to create their own look and feel!
For more information contact Dan Blake and see the following application:
Why the Handcar Regatta is Good for the Planet and Why You Should Be Excited About It!
Guest author: Joe Greenlee has worked in copywriting for various websites, and currently works for a local, independently owned video store here in Santa Rosa. He has a BA in English literature, and enjoys reading, bookbinding, running, politics and philosophy, and is currently working on his first novel. He hopes to one day own a real rocket pack.
It is oft said that you can’t go back again. It is a saying that resonates in many minds, especially when one thinks of the state of the world. Pollution is a rampant force now that many in the turn of the 19th century could barely even begin to imagine. Likewise, the forces of market that create such enormous amounts of garbage without considering the effects present an opposite scenario to yesteryear. These problems have been created because consumers wanted convenience. But as it turns out, our ancestors had several things right all along, and there are several movements going on to re-establish some of the can-do spirit that era embodies. Not to mention, the drive to implement your own creative force in your everyday life, and how this not only can give us a sense of pride, it can also revitalize local communities and economies.
Here is a fascinating documentary on bookmaker John M. Carrera’s journey to reprint and hand-bind a 19th century Pictorial Webster’s: A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities essentially from scratch.
In the video, Pictorial Webster’s: Inspiration to Completion, one observes a labor of love to utilize thousands of images, printed plus bound on original equipment in an intensive process.
Featuring over 3,500 engravings arranged alphabetically as a source for creativity and inspiration.
The above video chronicles Mr. Carrera’s steadfast 10 year odyssey to bring the gorgeous specimens to printed life. Of particular note are the shots of the Rube Goldberg-esque printing machinery that is a wonder to witness! Of course, the binding process yields a picture of true mastery.
The tomes come in multiple editions ranging from $35 to $4,600 for the ultimate hand-bound inspirational collector’s volume.
I, Erasmus P. Kitty, can get behind anything titled “The Menaissance — The Death of the Metrosexual and the Rise of the Retrosexual.” Brett McKay of The Art of Manliness blog builds an excellent case for today’s male in abandoning the tired masculine stereotypes for yesteryear’s values of our more handsome and capable grandfathers.
Now, because words like “manliness” and “masculine” have been spoken doesn’t mean your cliché or feminist hackles need rise. Brett’s Ignite presentation clearly points to the greater attributes of our forefathers and not the lesser ones better forgotten such as inequality or sexist behavior.
Like our bonny chaps who build and race at The Regatta, we embrace certain values of the DIY doers, well attired, and in gentlemanly spirit of communal festivity and hearty competition. Take a moment to watch the this motion picture presentation:
WASHINGTON D.C. — April 1st, 2010, President Barack Obama announced today a new program of community arts grant funding for local events involving railcar races, alternative arts, and the hoi polloi engaging in costumed buffoonery on civic property.
Titled the “Regional Innovative Regatta Arts Funding Program,” the measure grants $317.23 over 10 years in nationwide federal aid to facilitate the range of public event services and activities that entire communities of creative doers often labor to complete over long hours without payment.
President Obama exclaimed in a recent press conference, “The devoted American communities that create fantastic arts events have been working long and hard on their beloved projects, staying up most days of the week while working day jobs, usually paying from their own pocket and trusting to small armies of generous local volunteers for help.
“Now, with this generous fund of $317.23 in federal grants, Americans can look forward to at least 10 years of bigger, better, and marginally funded Regatta festivals across the nation!”
He added to a nearby aide, “Do I have to wear a costume at this year’s Regatta?” then buckled over in a fit of apparently uncontrollable laughter.
Ty Jones and Spring Maxfield, the married couple who direct The Great Handcar Regatta in Santa Rosa, CA, expressed their surprise and elation, “We couldn’t be more overjoyed! The approximate $0.0002 we’ll be receiving along with the other lucky local events throughout the country over the next decade will boost both our morale and our miniscule budget.”
Sonoma Country Day School in Santa Rosa will be host to the 2010 Mini Maker Faire.
Mini Maker Faire 2010 Participation Agreement
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