UptownMaker goes to the Faire

This past weekend I attended Maker Faire in San Mateo. It was an absolute gas (does anybody use that phrase anymore?)! I'm going to do a few quick posts highlighting my favorite sights- all my pictures and videos are on my Picasa site.

I'll start out with my favorite first: Miss Haley Who, swamp kirin wrangler.

This lovely fellow is a mechanical swamp kirin. He stands about nine feet tall and though he looks ferocious he's really quite gentle.


Haley Who, aka halo seabat, built this majestic creature as a gift for her little brother, Seth. It seems Seth was a bit heartbroken after their father explained that the few remaining wild swamp kirins in the east were best left unmolested in their natural habitats, and halo took pity on her brother, building him this mechanical version.

The pair of them wandered about the grounds, charming the pants off of just about everybody they met. Haley's disarming smile, the kirin's gentle gait and their tender interplay softened the overall image to the point where I never saw even the smallest of children exhibit any fear at all- mostly they wanted to touch the kirin, stroke its legs, even kiss it on the nose.

It felt magical, and I'm a happier person for knowing Haley and her kirin friend are out in the world.

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