The comforts and joys of holiday fair season

Cars begin queuing up along Gracelawn Road in Auburn. Wait, it’s Saturday . . . school’s not in session today. Why the crowds?

An orderly group of volunteers wearing reflective vests carefully directs the traffic toward the quickly filling parking lots. Two other volunteers ride in a golf cart, making sure cars parked along the street aren’t obstructing the road. Large clusters of men, women and children approach the school’s front doors in anticipation. Happy volunteers in red T-shirts greet them, providing a map for the event.

The St. Dom’s Holiday Festival has just begun.

For those unfamiliar with the phenomenon of holiday fairs, take note: It’s mid-season, so be on the lookout for slow-moving cars, eager buyers and some of the most beautiful, unique and down-right cunnin’ homemade items you have ever seen.

For many, many people, there would be no “ho-ho-ho” in the holidays if not for the many Maine fairs in November and early December.

In the weeks leading up to the fairs, cooks, crafters and vendors of unique items work long hours to bring that special holiday feeling to school auditoriums, church halls and community centers. And volunteers are known to spend a few sleepless nights worrying about whether everything will turn out “just so” on the big day.

It’s all worth it to the thousands and thousands who attend each year — whether a large one like St. Dom’s Holiday Festival or a smaller one like the Craft and Vendor Holiday Fair at West Minot Grange 42 — and who consider the fairs to be the true beginning of the holidays. 

The people and the causes

Donna Cote and Trish Suckow head up the St. Dom’s event. More than 800 guests attended the event last weekend, which featured 60 vendors and crafters, raffles, live music, children’s games and free pictures with Santa.

Suckow, serving as volunteer coordinator for her second year, had a lot to juggle when the doors opened up. You’d think she’d be pulling her hair out, marshaling 80 adult volunteers, 50 student volunteers and 15 volunteer bakers into place, but on this day she’s calm, cool and collected.

In fact, she is calm enough to explain that her passion for the St. Dom’s fair is from her children being students at the school and because she’s been going to holiday fairs for a long time herself.

“As a child, I went to craft fairs. It’s where my brother and I bought our gifts for our family. I decided to bring back the tradition with our children. They can pick out what they want to buy for their parents and family.”

Deb Anthoine and Celeste Chasse take a break from their raffle table to share that they’ve been volunteers at the fair since “forever.” They were best friends when they graduated from St. Dom’s in 1987 and they’re both parents of graduates. Now they’re alumni volunteers. Says Anthoine, “We just believe in our families, our school and our community.”

The passion is no less at the smaller fairs, like the one that took place at the Livermore Community Center last week. Sponsored by the Livermore Community Center Association and held at the old two-room schoolhouse that was once known as Brettuns School, the holiday event was a fundraiser for the building.

Pat Litalien explained how she and her siblings all attended the school, and now she’s part of a group of volunteers who worked together to lease the building when it was threatened with demolition. Since then, they’ve spent long hours making it available for community events. She explained how money raised at the fair will help “save the building” and also help preserve it for its history and as a community center for town residents.

The goods: Scrubbies and Katniss Cowls

If you think holiday fairs are just a few tables with cookies and cakes and hand-knit mittens, it’s time you got out and went to a few. Yes, you will find tins of cookies and bags of Chex Mix. And you can also stock up on scarves and hats just like your grandmother made.

But you can also buy a crocheted beanie that “The Hip Nana” made. Christened “hip” by her grandchildren, Debbie Berry was “up night and day crocheting” for the St. Dom’s event. Encouraged by her family, she participated in her first ever holiday fair there.

Business was brisk at her table last Saturday, including interest in her sample “Katniss Cowl,” made popular by “The Hunger Games” fictional character Katniss Everdeen. Hip Nana was taking orders for her custom-crocheted cowls.

In Livermore there were “Scrubbies,” the miraculous tool no kitchen should be without. Crocheted from nylon netting and available in every color of the rainbow, they’re inexpensive and long-lasting.

Gemma Blier of Greene was selling them at the Livermore fair and said she “works all year on them, it’s my hobby.” She planned to attend a few more fairs this holiday season with her colorful and practical wares.

Looking for more? You’ve got your gourd crafts, driftwood birdhouses and decorative wreaths — you can check them all off your list at this year’s holiday fairs.

Christmas greens and ornaments? The fairs have them too.

Braided rug pet beds? Check!

Yes, Denise Cloutier and Melanie Slyk braid rugs for people and for pets. Cats and dogs are said to love the woolen rugs, which are braided into a “nest” shape that keeps them cozy. This was the ladies’ third year at the St. Dom’s fair, and Slyk said the many visitors to their table that day will generate “a lot of business after the event.”

The goodies: holubky and kolachi anyone?

In the booth behind Cloutier and Slyk was, coincidentally, Lewiston Adult Education’s rug-braiding instructor Beth Derenburger. Cloutier and Slyk were her students in adult ed. On the day of the fair, Derenburger was selling her recycled sweater mittens; she was predicting she would sell more than 75 percent of the merchandise she brought to this fair.

Derenburger said she planned on selling her mittens at five holiday fairs this year, including the Lake Region High School’s Hollyberry Craft Show. (BTW, all the money raised at that fair goes toward Project Graduation.) “The volunteer spirit at these fairs makes me feel good,” said Derenburger.

Wait, there’s more.

Holiday fairs today, large and small, often also offer Tupperware, Pampered Chef and a variety of direct-sales vendors. Nancy Brown-Mooney, a direct seller of Ava Anderson nontoxic home and beauty products, was handing out samples of hand cream at a recent fair. She said she enjoys the opportunity to talk with people about the product and said she attends the fairs “more for brand exposure” than immediate sales.

And don’t forget the food . . .

Most holiday fairs feature snack foods for shoppers in a hurry — things like popcorn and hot dogs. But there’s often a special lunch menu, too. If you want to take a relaxing break from the holiday fair hustle, most fairs have tables set up for lunch where shoppers can enjoy such comfort foods as lobster rolls, beef stews, chicken pot pies and chowders.

Think you’ve missed out on all the fun? 

Holiday fairs generally run through the first week in December, so keep your eyes open for the remaining fairs in the area. For instance, the Holy Trinity Annual Christmas Craft Fair in Lisbon Falls is coming up Nov. 21 and, among other things, is the place to go for old Slovak favorites like holubky (stuffed cabbage) and kolachi (nut rolls).

Whether you’re in the market for a unique and practical gift and some delicious food, or maybe thinking of starting a new family tradition, holiday fairs are all that and more.

Feel the holiday fair love!

Julie-Ann Baumer lives, cooks and writes from her home in Lisbon Falls. Read her blog www.julieannbaumer.com or follow her on twitter @aunttomato.

Copy the Story Link