'Innovation Week' in San Mateo Showcases Local Creativity

From May 12th through May 16th and leading up to Maker Faire, taking place May 17th and 18th at the San Mateo County Event Center, San Mateo and its surrounding Bay Area communities are invited to participate in San Mateo Innovation Week – a week-long event recognizing all that makes San Mateo an innovative and creative place to work, live, and play. 

San Mateo has a long history of innovation.  In 1889 three milestones: the completion of the Crystal Springs Dam, the sub-division of the Howard Estate, and the creation of the community’s first newspaper, set San Mateo on its course for becoming a first-class city.  More recently, it’s the birth place of YouTube, home to innovative companies such as GoPro, Solar City, and Funny Or Die, and the place where Napster disrupted the music industry.  San Mateo is a proponent of transit oriented development, the Downtown San Mateo Association has commissioned several collaborative art projects, the San Mateo EDGE spearheaded the installation of high speed wi-fi, and the San Mateo Area Chamber of Commerce showcases businesses and the community through events such as the Bacon and Brew Festival.

It’s also a community that encourages collaboration, creativity, and keeps an eye to the future when making decisions about the way the city will grow and change.   It is for these reasons that San Mateo Innovation Week 2014 comes to San Mateo.  It is an opportunity to explore possibilities in art, community building, technology, and placemaking.  The line-up of events is exciting and will bring new ideas and perspectives for the San Mateo community to explore. 

Innovation Week opens at Draper University’s Hero City on May 12th with a reception hosted by the San Mateo EDGE to recognize Maker Faire founder, Dale Dougherty.  On Tuesday, May 13th the San Mateo Area Chamber of Commerce hosts an Innovative Cocktail party inviting downtown mixologists to showcase their creativity by offering one-of-a-kind cocktails inspired by Innovation Week and Maker Faire. 

The City of San Mateo welcomes the Burning Man Project to San Mateo on Wednesday, May 14th to engage the community in an exciting discussion that explores innovations in community building through art, technology and urban placemaking.  And on Thursday, May 15th, some of these techniques will be put into action!  Artists and community members are invited to participate in the “Three Corners” Innovative Art Project. This is an opportunity to transform the three temporary fences at Third and El Camino into a creative placemaking destination.

Innovation Week closes on Friday, May 16th with a community event at B Street Station to celebrate the launch of San Mateo Best Food and to recognize our win of being named Best Small Town for Food by Rand McNally. 

Throughout the week the Downtown San Mateo Association has commissioned a projected art display, Gallery Walls, in Downtown San Mateo.  Keep an eye out for these clever images – they will likely pop-up on the buildings at 3rd and El Camino.  Also in Downtown, the City of San Mateo and the College of San Mateo Architecture Club invites community members to explore the idea of parklets.  Teams of planners, architects, and urban innovators will transform select downtown parking spaces into community gathering spots.    

“Innovation Week is a way to create conversation and a dialogue that looks to the future and challenges us to consider new ways of doing things,” says Marcus Clarke, Economic Development Manager.  “In working with our economic development partners: the EDGE, the Downtown San Mateo Association and the San Mateo Area Chamber of Commerce, and by engaging representatives from Maker Faire, we have been able to create a spirited and thought provoking schedule that will capture the attention of the San Mateo community and beyond.”

San Mateo Innovation Week 2014 is sponsored by the City of San Mateo, the San Mateo EDGE, the Downtown San Mateo Association and the San Mateo Area Chamber of Commerce.  For more information and for the complete schedule of events please visit http://www.sanmateoiw.com.  Most events are free and open to the public.