FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Emily Silverman, emily@phillymakerfaire.com
What Do Combat Robots, Biotech Experiments, and Handcrafted Textiles Have in Common?
They’ll All Be at Maker Faire Philadelphia 2026
Event Date: Sunday, April 19, 2026, 10am — 4pm
Event Location: Cherry Street Pier, 121 Columbus Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PHILADELPHIA, PA (January 20, 2026) – What do combat robots, biotech experiments, and handcrafted textiles have in common? They’ll all be at Maker Faire Philadelphia when the event returns to Cherry Street Pier and Race Street Pier in 2026.
Now in its sixth year, Maker Faire Philadelphia has become the region’s premier gathering place for inventors, artists, engineers, crafters, and tinkerers of every kind. It’s where 3D printers sit alongside analog art installations, where rocket builders share space with fashion designers, and where the only requirement is a passion for making and a willingness to share it.
The 2025 event demonstrated the Faire’s growing momentum. As Hackaday reported, “The pier was packed with fascinating exhibits and excited attendees, and when the dust settled, everyone I spoke to was thrilled with how the day went and felt extremely positive about the future of the Faire.”
Attendees will explore:
Join us for Philadelphia’s largest celebration of DIY innovation and creativity.
Maker Faire Philadelphia is seeking participants for 2026. If you’ve built something, programmed something, grown something, or crafted something with a Do-It-Yourself (or Do-It-Together) spirit, we want you there.
We’re seeking makers working in any area: digital fabrication (3D printing, laser cutting, CNC), sustainable technology, glass work, toys and games, robotics, drones, VR/AR, textiles, woodworking, interactive art, food innovation, unusual machines, and more. Solo inventors, student teams, makerspaces, and creative startups are all encouraged to apply. We especially value exhibits that are hands-on, interactive, and reveal the making process.
Participation is free for makers sharing their craft rather than selling products or services.
Maker Application Deadline: February 28, 2026
We’re building something extraordinary for 2026, and we hope you’ll be part of it! To our past volunteers: thank you for the energy, enthusiasm, and heart you brought to the Faire. You helped us celebrate everything that makes Philadelphia’s maker community remarkable.
We’d love to have you back or joining for the first time. Veterans, your experience matters; first-timers, your viewpoint keeps us growing and evolving.
Volunteer roles span the full spectrum: event planning, welcoming visitors, assisting exhibitors, venue setup and breakdown, and more. Whatever your skills or schedule, there’s a way to contribute. You’ll connect with inspiring people, see the Faire from a whole new angle, and help create an experience that brings our community together.
We do it best when we do it with you.
Maker Faire Philadelphia is committed to being an event for all. Tickets are available on a pay-what-you-can basis:
Attendees are encouraged to pay based on their resources—if you work full time, consider a rate along the lines of your hourly pay.
Maker Faire Philadelphia is independently organized and operated under license from Maker Media, Inc.
Maker Faire Philadelphia, aka Philly Maker Faire, is a fiscally sponsored project of Digital Harbor Foundation.
Philly Maker Faire is looking for partners and sponsors to build an even better event in 2025. This is the premier event in the region for innovators to show off their ingenuity to an engaged public. Maker Faire is designed to inspire attendees to create their future.
More information about sponsorship opportunities can be found at the link
https://philly.makerfaire.com/sponsorship/ or email hello@phillymakerfaire.com
Cherry Street Pier is a year-round, mixed-use public space on the central Delaware River Waterfront. Built into the shell of a century-old municipal pier, it is a reflection of Philadelphia today—creative, diverse, historic, adaptable, and inspired. To learn more, visit CherryStreetPier.com.
Race Street Pier, located along the river at the intersection of Race Street and Columbus Boulevard opened in 2011 as the first park to be completed by DRWC. The design of Race Street Pier is a nod towards its original function as a bi-level shipping pier built-in 1896. To learn more, visit https://www.delawareriverwaterfront.com/places/race-street-pier
Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth—a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker Movement. It’s a place where people show what they are making and share what they are learning. Makers range from tech enthusiasts to crafters to homesteaders to scientists to garage tinkerers. They are of all ages and backgrounds. The aim of Maker Faire is to entertain, inform, connect, and grow this community.
The original Maker Faire event was held in San Mateo, CA and in 2025 celebrated its 17th show at its new location on Mare Island, CA. Annually, many large-scale Maker Faires occur in cities around the world—Orlando, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Lille, Prague, Rome, Tokyo, and Shenzhen to name a few—alongside a wide variety of independently organized Community Maker Faires.
Besides the magazine and the faire, MAKE is:
More info: https://makerfaire.com
Press Contact
Emily Silverman, Producer
Maker Faire Philadelphia