A new typewriter festival in Carson celebrates the vintage machines

Most kids their age were probably really hyped about the release of the Nintendo Switch 2 this month.

But 10-year-old Logan and his eight-year-old brother Charlie Guilfoyle are excited about a much older mechanical machine being celebrated this month as the young Studio City brothers prepare to attend the inaugural typewriter festival in Carson, dubbed “Are You My Type?”

“We just like to learn about them and the history,” said Logan, who, along with his brother, plans on writing a letter at the festival on an old typewriter and mailing it to their grandfather.

“We’re going to try and write back and forth to each other on old stationery,” Logan said, adding that he hopes to get a vintage typewriter of his own one day.

The celebration is taking place in honor of National Typewriter Day at the International Printing Museum on June 14. It will feature vintage typewriter displays, including rare machines and artifacts from the late 19th century, as well as more colorful mid-century typewriters.

Those who attend can also showcase their skills competing in a typewriter contest where they’ll be tested on speed and precision. Additionally, people can create typo-o-grams, handmade cards, and write on-the-spot poetry on vintage machines. There will also be typewriters and other related items for sale.

“We just wanted to have a day that celebrates everything typewriters. This is going to be a day that if you’re a typewriter enthusiast, or even if you don’t know anything about typewriters, it will have something for everybody,” said Aaron Therol, owner of Typewriter Connection, a vintage typewriter shop located in downtown Los Angeles that is co-organizing the event along with the International Printing Museum.

While this is a first-time event, Therol knows there is an audience for the niche, as old typewriters are having an uptick in popularity.

“It’s one of those things where everything old is kind of finding new life again, like vinyl records and all that kind of stuff. Everything is resurging and typewriters have been on the forefront of all that for a while,” he said.

“These machines still hold purpose, they still work after all these years and people, in the age that we’re living now with everybody on their screens, they kind of want to find a way to disconnect and I feel typewriters really do that for people,” Therol said.

For Logan and Charlie’s father, Joe Guilfoyle, attending this festival will not only give his sons a chance to experience these older machines and feel a sense of accomplishment as they type a letter and hear the clicking and clacking sounds of a vintage typewriter, it will also give them a real connection to their past becasue that old stationary they’re using has a very special meaning for the family.

“The kids are excited to actually type, and they have this stationery from their great-grandfather from the Wall Street Journal, and they’re going to type a letter with his name on it and everything,” Joe Guilfoyle said.

And the boys can’t wait to do that at the festival using a vintage typewriter.

“I like the sound, but it’s also kind of cool that my great-grandfather typed on typewriters and now I’m typing on them too,” Charlie added.

Are You My Type?

When: 2-5 p.m. June 14

Where: International Printing Museum, 315 W. Torrance Blvd, Carson.

Tickets: $12 for general admission, $10 for students and seniors

Information: printmuseum.org