Maker Spotlight: Retro Roadshow

Retro Roadshow has delighted crowds at Maker Faire Bay Area since 2023 with their carefully curated collection of vintage computers and consoles. They consistently center their exhibit around a solid theme, and do an excellent job making sure visitors have a great time.

The traveling exhibition was started by Huxley Dunsany, who grew up in the 90’s desperate for computers and video games. But his family was poor and frequently homeless.

“I quickly learned that older (aka “ancient and obsolete”) computers and video games were cheap and plentiful at thrift shops, yard sales, etc., so I started grabbing them where I could and learning about them as I went.“

That collection, and with it his skills, grew. Though he found a steady technical career, the vintage games began to take on a life of their own.

“The story of The Retro Roadshow is really a story of family: the business started as a collaboration between husband and wife Huxley and Sarai, and now includes our teenage son Rhyal too.”

“I come from a long line of talented, artistic people – especially my mom, an internationally-recognized ‘outsider’ musician known as The Space Lady. Unfortunately, I went most of my life feeling like the artsy abilities found in all my relatives somehow skipped me… until I started creating multimedia presentations for our Retro Roadshow events at schools, libraries, universities, etc.

It sounds a little odd to say it, but these presentations have really become my favorite form of artistic expression. I sweat every detail, working really hard to make each chapter feel alive with fun animations, elegant transitions, embedded audio and video, customized graphics, and more. “

If you’ve missed the Roadshow at Maker Faire or one of their public library events, fear not! You can still join the fun in the future.

“We are so grateful to the Maker Faire for hosting us three times in a row, and for awarding us an Editor’s Choice ribbon in 2024 and 2025. We can’t wait for 2026 and beyond!”

If you want to know your next chance to play an Intellivision, NeXT Cube, or Sega 32X, follow Retro Roadshow on retroroadshow.org, YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook.