More than 75 Homes on Display, 11,000-plus to Attend Jamboree in Austin at Travis County Expo Center
The Tiny House & Simple Living Jamboree in its fourth year has landed in Austin, Texas, a city that looks to be a leader in welcoming tiny structures for full-time residence.
More than 75 structures will be on display. These include cabins, park models, small modular homes and tiny homes on wheels, often called “THOWs”.
The event takes place August 23-26 at the Travis County Expo Center. The first two days will be the first-ever industry only event for tiny home professionals. The Jamboree opens to the public for the weekend.
Manufactured Housing Leaders to Exhibit at Jamboree in Austin
Included among the tiny structure exhibits will be Athens Park Model RVs by Champion Homes, as well as Clayton’ Designer Series Tiny Homes, designed by architect Jeffrey Dungan.
Additional tiny home builders to exhibit include ATX Tiny Casas, Step Two Tiny Homes, Soujourner Tiny Homes, Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses and more.
Jon Fontane of Reed Exhibitions is the event director of the Tiny House Jamboree in Austin.
Fontane expects up to 1,500 attendees for industry days. There will be another 10,000 for the weekend’s from the general public. However, the public attendance could be much larger, he said.
Organizers are working with other established factory builders to attend. In general, there has been a convergence in the tiny structure space. This includes a more organized and professional approach from independent builders and “hobbyists”. And there has been an increase in attention from established site-built professionals.
“We really are starting to see established construction professionals involved in the tiny house space,” Fontane said. “We have a good number of builders on the THOW side, now, and that’s beginning to grow.”
The establishment of accepted building codes for tiny houses and education on zoning requirements has been a continued side-by-side effort for the jamboree.
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New Tiny Home Industry Association Membership Included with Entry to Professional Tiny House Jamboree in Austin
The National Tiny House and Simple Living Jamboree in Austin looks to up the ante in formalizing the industry.
Darin Zaruba, founder of the Jamboree and CEO of Zinc Homes, said builder and product exhibitors at the 2018 Jamboree will get automatic first-year membership into the new Tiny Home Industry Association.
The association already has an interim board of directors. When the membership rolls grow, a call for votes will determine the new full-time board and will result in committee assignments to address industry needs like land development, code and safety, builder and product interests, marketing and other areas of intent.
“This has become an industry and there needs to representation from the trades that
affects change for safety, advocacy and lobby on a professional level,” Zaruba said.
Thom Stanton, industry expert and CEO of GoTiny.com, will lead a forum on the Unified Code Initiative that intends to provide an attractive code for all professionals to builders interested in tiny structures.
“There needs to be a new code around tiny homes on wheels,” Zaruba said. “What we’re talking about are small homes on a permanent trailer that can be pulled by a one-ton truck.”
Also, there will be professional panels to provide a wide “Industry Update” and in regard to “Challenges for Cities”, as well as a series of moderated small group discussions in the areas of construction and design, code, zoning and lifestyle.
The Weekend at the Tiny House Jamboree in Austin is Open to the Public
Of course, tiny house professionals will come the Jamboree for networking, industry updates and best practices, but will join the general public for the flavor of product, supply and service offerings.
Organizers of the Jamboree in Austin have again have partnered with Operation Tiny Home to donate a tiny house to the village at Community First Austin. The donate house will be customized by three Austin based street artist live on Saturday.
Additionally, a sure-fire area of interest will be the on-site work of tiny food designer Tom Brown.
“He sets up in the center of an event and starts making tiny donuts or tiny tacos,” Fontane said. “And I mean really tiny. It’s fascinating to watch.”
General admission tickets for the weekend are available for between $15 and $45, plus taxes and fees. Industry days show tickets for professionals are available for $40 to $150.
Buy tickets and book lodging now while access is available.
