WILTON — Nearly 100 crafters have registered for the 27th annual Blueberry Festival that begins Friday, organizer Nancy Chase said.

Filling the Nichols Expo building on Weld Road takes year-round recruitment
and planning, said Chase, who has worked with organizer Shannon Smith for many of the 27 years. Chase and Smith keep their eyes open all year for new items that will add to the craft show, she said.

“We go to other craft fairs, especially around Christmas, and look for something different and unique,” Chase said. “We keep festival applications with us all the time and solicit new items.” This year, crafters will come from around Maine and from as far away as Florida, she said.

They set up at the Expo
or with vendors lining the downtown streets. The Expo will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

On Friday, free music will be provided throughout the day by Sammie Angel, Linda Lee, Sandy Waite and Barry Wood.

Chase, the Americanism chairwoman for the Farmington Emblem Club, will participate with other Emblem members in a flag-folding demonstration at 7 p.m. Friday before a free concert by ReCreation. On Saturday, the Moose Creek Cloggers will show their dance steps at 11:30 a.m., followed by the music of Nancy and Bing Crosby.

Downtown in the square Saturday, country singers Sammie Angel and Jim Harris will perform from 1:30 to 5 p.m.

Before all that happens, Chase and Smith will mark off spaces for crafters. It’s quite a job and requires diagramming to assure a good variety, she said.

“Everyplace you can put a table, we do — every nook and corner,” she said. “We just want people to come and have a good time.”

abryant@sunjournal.com

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