The 2026 West Virginia Makes Festival is putting a price on creativity – and the top prize is worth $2,500.
Creative thinkers of all ages can compete in the festival’s annual Design Challenge for a chance to win cash and other prizes. The first-place winner in the Adult Category will receive $2,500, while second place will earn $750 and third place $250. In the Youth Category, the first-place winner will receive $300, followed by $200 for second place and $100 for third.
Presented annually since 2014 by Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center (MAMC), the festival will take place Oct. 2 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Memorial Student Center on the Huntington campus of Marshall University. The free event, which coincides with National Manufacturing Day, celebrates creativity, ingenuity, innovation and making.
“The Design Challenge is really about giving people a place to showcase what they’ve imagined, designed and created,” said Tyler Brandstetter, organizer of the annual MAMC event. “There’s no single formula for success, and we encourage individuals to bring something that reflects their personal creativity and interests.”
The Design Challenge is open to everyone, with participants competing in either the Youth Category for ages 17 and under or the Adult Category for ages 18 and older. There is no entry fee. Participants must register at www.mfg.marshall.edu/26wvmakes then arrange to exhibit their creations at the festival on Oct. 2, the first Friday in October.
A panel of judges will visit each challenger’s table during the festival to examine entries, ask questions and hear participants explain their creations. Entries will be judged on creativity, originality and presentation.
“There really aren’t any limits on what can be entered,” Brandstetter said. “We want to see a wide range of ideas, from practical inventions to artistic creations and everything in between.”
Past Design Challenge entries have demonstrated just how broad the range is. Previous festivals have featured electronic devices, electric motorcycles, paintings and sculptures, costumes, a mechatronic dinosaur, phone and computer apps, Steampunk metal lamps, robots, a fiber optic switching system, mine-safety devices, web-based games, innovative ice cream scoops, retractable phone holders, fishing lures, solar-powered lighted basketball hoops, medical devices, rockets and even desserts – for pets!
Entries do not have to be physical objects. Original audio and video productions and performance art also are welcome.
“Whether you build something, program something, make something artistic or develop an entirely new concept, we want to see it,” Brandstetter said. “The Design Challenge is a celebration of people who are willing to turn an idea into something others can experience.”
Challengers in the 2026 design competition must be set up and ready to meet judges and festival attendees Oct. 2 at 9 a.m., when the festival kicks off.
Learn more and register for the free Design Challenge at www.mfg.marshall.edu/26wvmakes. The 2026 West Virginia Makes Festival is made possible through the financial support of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and Hope Gas.
Aug. 26, 2026
