The Rivet

08/31/2026

🔧✨ Maker Faire Happy Valley is BACK for Year 2! ✨🔧

We’re just about ONE MONTH AWAY from a weekend celebrating creativity, curiosity, and the joy of making!

On October 3–4, makers, creators, inventors, artists, tinkerers, and curious minds will come together from near and far to share what they make, learn something new, and inspire each other.

📅 October 3–4, 2026 (Sat 11–5, Sun 11–3)
📍 and

Meet our makers! Visit HappyValley.MakerFaire.com for event details, and follow for maker spotlights, event updates, and more.

Save the date and get ready to make, explore, and celebrate at Maker Faire Happy Valley! 🔨



Funding provided through generous sponsors, including a grant made possible by The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and the Centre County Board of Commissioners.

08/25/2026

These young potters rolled up their sleeves and dug into the world of ceramics in our Clay Play camp! ✨💜

Throughout the week, they explored foundational pottery techniques such as slip casting, hand building, and wheel throwing. We had a blast playing in the pottery studio with them!

Thank you to our 2026 Camp Sponsors:
AAUW State College, ACO Floors, Alexander Building Construction Co., Centre 1st Bank, Cindy Evcic State Farm Insurance, Geisinger, Jennifer & John Coupland, Joshua Pake, Juniata Valley Bank, KCI Technologies, Ruppert Landscape, and State College Rotary.

08/25/2026

Our Making a Scene campers worked hard behind the scenes during this weeklong camp.

Using a variety of tools and techniques, these Middle School campers designed the set for our Elementary School campers to perform their own marine-inspired play. They cut, sculpted, and sewed props and set pieces to create an immersive marine environment. They even created a soundscape for the show!

Thank you to our 2026 Camp Sponsors:
AAUW State College, ACO Floors, Alexander Building Construction Co., Centre 1st Bank, Cindy Evcic State Farm Insurance, Geisinger, Jennifer & John Coupland, Joshua Pake, Juniata Valley Bank, KCI Technologies, Ruppert Landscape, and State College Rotary.

08/21/2026

Look who’s coming to Maker Faire Happy Valley! 👀

We’re excited to welcome Becky Stern to Central PA this October for Maker Faire Happy Valley!

If you’re part of the maker community — whether you’ve been building for years or you’ve got a project you’ve been meaning to share — the Call for Makers is open through 9/9.

Bring what you make. Show people how you made it. Meet your people.

October 3–4. Will you be there?

08/19/2026

🍂 OUR FALL CLASS DROP IS ON THE WAY! 🍂

New classes.
New skills.
New things to make.

After a busy summer of camps, outreach, and our annual August reset, we’re working to fill the fall calendar at The Rivet.

Have you been wanting to try a new tool? Learn a new skill? Finally take that class you’ve had your eye on?

Save the date 📅 Fall Class Drop: September 14

Want to be the first to see what’s coming? Join our newsletter to get the registration links as soon as they launch.

👉 TheRivet.org
Newsletter sign-up is at the bottom of the homepage!

08/04/2026

Calling all vendors looking for a handmade market to kick off the holiday season in early November!

Join us November 7 & 8 for a festive weekend full of handmade goods, food trucks, workshops, hands-on fun, and holiday shopping that supports local makers. ✨

There are THREE ways to participate:
❄️ Vendor Booth — Run your own booth + connect 1:1 with shoppers
❄️ Maker Booth — We sell your products for you!
❄️ Food Trucks — Feed our festive crowd!

📍 1224 N. Atherton Street, State College
📅 November 7 & 8 | 10am–3pm
⏰ Applications have been extended through Friday September 18 at 11:59pm.

Apply now at therivet.org/winter-market and please help us spread the word.

Questions? Email [email protected].

A portion of Winter Market funding is provided through a grant made possible by The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau.

08/02/2026

Good news: the water is back on and The Rivet is open today!

We’ve still got a few damp floors drying out, with fans and dehumidifiers working hard to get everything back to normal. 🤞

Thanks for your patience and understanding yesterday. We’re so glad to have you back in the shop today for Sippin' Sunday! 💜

08/01/2026

🚨 Our workshop is closed for the rest of today, Saturday, August 1, as of 5:30 PM.

We currently have no water in The Rivet, so we’re closing up for the evening.

We’ll post an update as soon as we know when we can reopen. Stay tuned for info about Sunday’s hours!

Thanks for your understanding! 💜

07/30/2026

You never know what you’ll make at The Rivet. Sometimes, it’s something you can hold in your hands. Sometimes, it’s a friend! 💜

In honor of National Friendship Day, let's celebrate Ginger and Mary Ann!

Several years ago, these pottery pals first met in our studio, where making things together turned into a friendship that goes far beyond clay.

When Ginger had shoulder surgery and was away from the studio for several weeks, Mary Ann made sure her first day back was a special one, with a surprise cake. 🎂

And Mary Ann isn’t the only friendship Ginger has found at The Rivet. You can frequently find her elbow-to-elbow with Lee, Elizabeth, Amy, Jim, and so many others.

That’s one of our favorite things about this makerspace: you come in to learn a new skill or work on a project. But along the way, you also find *your people.*

And we know Ginger isn’t the only one with a story like this.

Did you make a friend at The Rivet? Find your creative community? Meet someone who taught you something, encouraged you, changed the way you thought about something?

We want to hear about it! 💜 Give your maker friendships a shout out and share your story with us 👉 [email protected].

Happy National Friendship Day to Ginger, Mary Ann, and all the friendships found in our workshop and beyond.

Come make something. You might just make a friend, too!

07/27/2026