Hundreds Attend Jamboree for Tiny House Industry Days
More than 250 people were in attendance Thursday morning for the first ever tiny house industry days, a new element added to the annual Tiny House and Simple Living Jamboree, now in it’s fourth year.
The Travis County Exposition Center is the venue for the event, opening to the general public for Saturday and Sunday attendance.
Seminars and solo presentations by tiny house professionals — from builders to developers to members of the media — are being held in the banquet hall. Dozens of homes and park model RVs are being shown on the expo grounds and industry exhibitors are setting up shop in Luedcke Arena, all east of downtown Austin.
Jon Fontane, with event coordinator Reed Exhibitions, said tiny house industry days is off to a good start.
“We’ve had a steady audience of very engaged professionals sitting and listening, asking questions and participating in our conversation, even with the attraction of all the home set up outside,” he said. “We’ve had a good response from the media too, with all three area news networks coming out.”
Jamboree’s Tiny House Industry Days Draws International Audience
Mark Beckingham and his wife Sasha traveled from the Northland region of New Zealand specifically to attend the tiny house industry days in Austin. He said an aging population, rising home prices, and recent government crackdown on caravan community living has created a dire situation that cries for solutions.
He and his wife are looking at everything from AC units to land practices, not for commercialization but for best practices in effort to help family.
“I have 3 1/2 acres of land and easily could have some of my family come and stay,” Beckingham said. “But my mom can’t come live on my property? We really want to just understand what can be done and hopefully come home with some answers.”
Scott Wilson of ZeroSquared is from Alberta, Calgary. He is in Austin to show his tiny
retreats, which utilizes expanding walls and deck space to get to 374-square-feet.
“What we’re doing is implementing a slide system that allows for simple transportation and added comfort when you reach your destination,” Wilsons said.
Tiny house industry days continues on Friday, and the Jamboree opens to the public for the weekend.
