"Make San Leandro” Event Shows City's Tech Future with Robots, Rockets & Fire

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. - May 29, 2014 - PRLog -- Mayor Stephen Cassidy, the San Leandro City Council, and Chief Innovation Officer Deborah Acosta announced that "Make San Leandro," an event focused on the Maker movement and next generation manufacturing, is set to take place this Saturday, May 31^st.  This free event is occurring as part of the 105th Annual Cherry Festival (http://www.sanleandro.org/cherryfestival), which will take place from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm in downtown San Leandro, near the historic Casa Peralta located at 384 West Estudillo Avenue.

Make San Leandro will highlight makers living or working in San Leandro, reaches out to other Bay Area maker communities, and showcases the technology and business opportunities available as a result of the Lit San Leandro (http://litsanleandro.com/) fiber optic network, which offers the fastest fiber optic connectivity available anywhere in the country.

“This event is a sign to the tech and maker communities that San Leandro not only understands what they need, but we grok why they do what they do.  The maker movement and technology opportunity Lit San Leandro sets the stage for a renaissance which will benefit our city for decades to come," stated Mayor Cassidy.  “Make San Leandro is our beacon to those looking for a safe harbor for their high tech dreams."

Attendees at Make San Leandro (http://www.makesanleandro.org/) will find a range of exhibits highlighting many of the great things being developed in San Leandro, including: local San Leandro haunted house builders, San Leandro High School Science Fair winners, 10-year old computer programmers, All Power Labs (http://www.allpowerlabs.org/gasification/) gasification tools that transform biomass into flammable fuel, and even the “Psychic Typist (https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Psychic-Typist/2830496...)!”, who received the a Blue Ribbon award at the 2014 Maker Faire in San Mateo.  Other activities will include the creation and launching of paper rockets by the Broadmoor Preschool, Fool Moon puppetry art (http://www.foolmoonpuppetryarts.com/), Homebrewed Robots (http://www.camppeavy.com/), an art wall by ArtIsMobileUS (http://www.artismobilus.com/ArtIsMobilUs/Home.html) that everyone is encouraged to paint on, as well as exhibits from The Exploratorium’s Tinker Studios (http://tinkering.exploratorium.edu/).

Thanks to a generous donation by Lit San Leandro of high speed internet access for the event, the San Leandro-based video production company Direct Images (http://directimages.com/) will produce a full day’s lineup of live-streaming interviews with exhibitors such as Sculpteo (http://www.sculpteo.com/), Cyant (http://www.cyant.co/), and Type A Machines (http://www.typeamachines.com/) - the 3D printer manufacturer that recently relocated to San Leandro.  The highlight of these videoswill be a segment featuring Congresswoman Barbara Lee (http://lee.house.gov/) discussing the future of manufacturing with Espen Sivertsen (http://3dprintingindustry.com/2013/09/09/executive-interview-espen-sivertsen-ceo-of-type-a-machines/), CEO of Type A Machines.

"With the advent of Lit San Leandro, the tech culture is starting to take note,” stated San Leandro’s Chief Innovation Officer Deborah Acosta.  “With Type A Machines relocating to San Leandro, we now have a cutting-edge company within the largest concentration of 3D technology firms, all operating at The Gate… and that’s just one building!  For those who may be unfamiliar with it, The Gate (http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/real-estate/2014/03/the-gate-san-leandro-tech-artists-makers.html?page=all) is an art and tech incubator space like no other, which provides eight acres of flexible, reasonably priced, light industrial space.”

Make San Leandro is an all-volunteer effort.  Production has been provided pro bono by the San Leandro-based tech business consulting firm, Ten Ton Consulting (http://www.tentonconsulting.com/), owned by Tim Holmes, former Apple Evangelist and founder of the award-winning Zocalo Coffeehouse.  Other organizations that have contributed significant effort in the creation of Make San Leandro include the San Leandro Education Fund (http://www.sledfund.org/)(SLED), Essanté Organics (http://www.essanteorganics.com/), SoundFit (http://www.soundfit.co/), McDermott Costa (http://www.mcdermottcosta.com/), Precision Graphics (http://precisiongraphicsca.com/), and Shoutbomb (http://www.shoutbomb.com/).

About San Leandro

One of the most diverse cities in the nation located at the center of the dynamic San Francisco Bay Area, San Leandro is a safe, vibrant community of 87,000 residents with well-maintained neighborhoods, excellent public libraries, twenty-one public parks, quality local schools, and a wide range of shopping, dining, and entertainment options.  The western border of the city consists of over eight miles of pristine shoreline and amenities on San Francisco Bay while a regional park and nature areas fall on the eastern border. San Leandro businesses enjoy multiple advantages including close proximity to the Oakland International Airport and Port of Oakland, two major freeways, two BART stations, and access to a large and well-educated workforce. Through a public-private partnership known as Lit San Leandro (www.LitSanLeandro.com), a fiber optic network encircles San Leandro’s industrial and commercial core offering businesses virtually unlimited internet connectivity.  In 2014, the City is welcoming new businesses by providing free business licenses for their first year of operation.

Visit www.sanleandro.org to learn more about San Leandro.  To receive City press releases, meeting agendas or other notifications by email, sign up at www.sanleandro.org/portal.