The well publicized MakeIt Fest 2026 hosted by MakeIt Labs at 25 Crown St., Nashua, drew hundreds of participants from many towns and also out-of-state visitors to the day of learning, sharing and membership enrollments in the open-access community makerspace. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

NASHUA – Gizmos and gadgets and handmades by the hundreds were showcased to the public on June 13 at MakeIt Fest 2026, an event presented in Nashua by members of MakeIt Labs, 25 Crown St.

The 23,000 square feet of makerspace is home to an electronics lab, computer lab, a wood shop, weaving looms, sewing machines, a machine shop and an automotive bay. A blacksmithing area is well equipped, as is the metalworking studio and other sites sufficient to satisfy the design plans of any creative hobbyist or professional.

“Most ‘fairs’ of this type are focused on what WE have done (or want to sell to you),” said Brad Goodman, MakeIt Fest 2026 lead coordinator.

“We are focused on showing what YOU can do — promoting the ‘maker’ movement. That’s what we’re about.”

Goodman added that the event, presented indoors and out, was designed to bring together local makers, artists, craftsmen and hobbyists to share with the public an afternoon of creativity and innovation that the visitors might find inspiring or merely entertaining.

Tom Doucet, a mechanical designer from Pepperell, Mass., and a member of MakeIt Labs, takes a turn during MakeIt Fest 2026 to work at his computer within the MakeIt Labs workspaces in the continuation of a work in progress, a Terminator T-800 endoskeleton whose finished iteration will be a creation of 6-feet, 3-inches in height made completely of 3D printed parts. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

Volunteer tour guides shared information on the many opportunities available at MakeIt Labs to learn a wide range of skills and crafts in workshops taught by professionals. Raffle prizes at MakeIt Fest 2026 included plenty of chances to win free rounds of classes.

Goodman said that many of the participants meandering through the vendor area or going on the guided tours eventually requested information on MakeIt Labs membership.

Four monthly price plans with a discount for veterans are available. Secure personal access is ensured through a coded entry system that accommodates night owls or day workers who need the flexibility of visits at night or before dawn.

A MakeIt Labs Ham Radio Club experience was a highlight at MakeIt Fest 2026. Amazement was common for newbies who learned how commonplace it is to communicate with other “hams” around the world.

Robotics clubs from the region at the event included Nashua Tough Techs, Team Avant-Garde of Nashua, The Baby Sharks of Lexington, Mass., and Mayhem Robotics of Bedford. Teammates offered frequent demonstrations by robotically shooting caches of bright yellow balls from the tray of a low-slung mobile robot to a gaggle of pre-teens who scrambled to catch them.

Mike Catanese and his son, Dalcon, visited from Hudson and paused here at one of nearly 50 vendors whose products displayed for sale at MakeIt Fest 2026, alongside the MakeIt Labs building on Crown Street, included woodworking, pottery, textile weaving and ceramics glazing, in addition to open-access workshops where hobbyists, engineers, artists and students gather to learn and share their talents and skills. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

Elsewhere, food trucks offered mostly tasty handhelds. Free Gatorade and chilled water was plentiful at the raffle table. The advertised invitation, “Let’s Connect with Creativity!” evidently was well received.

“We’re community-first here at MakeIt Labs,” Goodman added. “We like to create, but teaching, learning, and getting people hands-on and MAKING with new tools and skills — that’s what we’re about.”

MakeIt Labs staffers invite the curious to visit on any Thursday evening, 6-9 p.m., at 25 Crown Street, Nashua.

More information on MakeIt Labs memberships, projects and educational opportunities is available online at makeitlabs.com.

MakeIt Fest 2026 attractions include demonstrations of blacksmithing, performed here by MakeIt Lab member craftsmen, from left, John Haynes of Hudson, Thaddeus Williams of Nashua, and Bill Schongar of Mason, men whose ironworking tutoring presented during MakeIt Fest 2026 acquainted hundreds of visitors with the making of metal decor and implements hammered at an anvil upon handling with tools that included tongs, protective aprons, safety goggles and fireproof mitts. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

Welcoming hundreds to MakeIt Fest 2026, hosted June 13 at MakeIt Labs on Crown Street in Nashua, is this trio of dedicated MakeIt Labs event organizers, from left, Kathryn and Brad Goodman, residents of Nashua, and Jim Drewett, a MakeIt Labs member from Haverhill, Mass. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

A remotely controlled Star Wars replica resembling R2-D2 built by Nashua's Doug Wilcox, a MakeIt Labs member and robotics specialist, is displayed here, foreground left, accompanied by team members and robotic machines designed and operated by these members of FIRST Robotics Teams that include Tough Techs 151, FTC Team Avant-Garde 24018, Mayhem Robotics FTC 8724 and FTC Team 33574 — The Baby Sharks. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

John Cook, a member of the Granite State Modelers Club and a MakeIt Labs member from Nashua, displays at MakeIt Fest 2026 some of the hand-painted works and hand-detailed plastic kit models that he enjoys transforming into Armor, Aircraft, Sci-Fi machinery and pure 3-D-printed models, some comprised of more than 1,000 tiny parts for high detail. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON

Nashua's Liomar Romero, foreground, and fellow Nashuan Tom Callori, up top, representing Blackdog Builders' Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race entry titled, "Moose," the name of a black dog, shares with Liomar at MakeIt Fest 2026 that a human-powered, all-terrain event from the crossroads of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics is upcoming on Sept. 19, wherein operators of the Sculptures traverse Lowell city streets, a mud pit, and the Merrimack River with games for kids, food trucks and music throughout the day. Info: lowellkinetic.com. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON