Holiday craft fair time: Join the community in supporting this small-town phenomenon. There is a fair for you, whether you go to sample great home cooking with soup or chowder, hot dogs and baked beans, or a lobster roll, or are looking for a winter supply of books to keep you ready for all the snowstorms.
Start your holiday shopping by getting new warm mittens for the kids, jelly for your special aunt, a thick fragrant wreath to hang on your door, some new ornaments to add to your collection or a themed gift basket for your babysitter.
Jot out a route, load your car with family or friends, be prepared with small bills and change to make your purchases easier – then get ready to have fun.
I have been “fairing” for years and have my favorite locations and not-to-miss-spots for particular things, from mittens to lunch. Have fun finding yours!
Each fair sponsor has made a niche in certain areas and the friendly competition is enhanced since most of the fairs take place on the two weekends before Thanksgiving, so fair hoppers may go to eight in a day!
Getting ready
Join us as we check out all the preparations that go into organizing such a complex event. Keep in mind these are all volunteers. My family keeps a running commentary on “scoring” the fairs we visit. We have unofficial winners for best decorations, best coffee or breakfast, best lunch, best prices, best quality, variety, most exciting raffles – my Aunt Martha says she really has won, someone has to.
As it seems to take a village to raise a child, it takes a community to put on a holiday fair.
First Universalist Church, Gingerbread Fair
I spoke with Mary Lou Hofmann, chairperson of the First Universalist Church Gingerbread Fair. This year’s fair is Saturday, Nov. 19. Hofmann has been volunteering for the fair for 15 years, chairing the past three or four. Preparations have been accelerating since September. Hofmann notes that the people in charge of the different tables are going full tilt by October.
But some committees begin earlier; crafters such as those for the knitting table work over the summer. And many individuals watch for ideas all year long. For instance, Hofmann was vacationing in Florida when she saw an inspiring idea in a gift shop, she searched for something to write on and ended up making notes on an envelope.
Also, a “gift basket fever” takes over many of the church members who are always looking for great ideas to add to the themed baskets, which have become one of this church’s niche items. Members have fun coming up with quirky names for the baskets too.
As the fair date gets closer, craft workshops are held Saturdays and on Sundays after church as members help to assemble and package. Two weeks before the date, the gingerbread houses are baked and the kits are put together. Hofmann said these group settings spread the stress while getting many hands to lighten the load, while allowing members to have fun together. The work sessions are also a great way for new members to meet other people.
Volunteers help on many levels, such as worker bees and creators of ideas, leaders to organize the table work, collectors and donors. Some make some soup or bake for the pie table. Some clean out a cabinet and donate the extras to the white elephant table. Volunteers also are needed to help to set up for the fair, or take down and clean up afterward. Someone needs to schedule the music; yes, Phil House will play his wonderful piano music.
A goal this year has been to spread the knowledge of running each table and what is involved in getting the fair ready, since as a few people have moved away along with their know-how. Hofmann says more people are now apprenticing to keep those skills available.
The group keeps a book organized to help plan for the following year. After each fair, volunteers meet to discuss what went well, what they may need more of and what things to change. That has resulted in changes such as making a model of one of their gingerbread houses, using just the ingredients in the kit. In fact, a church member who happens to be an architect put together an amazing model for them last year. Another recent addition has been a popular pet table with homemade dog biscuits, cat treats and coats for dogs.
Hofmann says she’s always amazed at how each fair just magically appears, like a stage production, for one day and then is gone. When the last crumbs are swept away, she feels that Christmas has moved up in time and she’s ready to begin her own holiday preparations.
“The fair helps move that intensity up to the end of November, giving me a chance to focus a little more leisurely.”
The Gingerbread Fair will be 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. The First Universalist Church is at the corner of Elm and Spring streets in Auburn.
St. Patrick’s Church Fair: Mingle with the Elves
I also had the pleasure of talking to Pauline O’Connell from St. Patrick’s Church in Lewiston. This church’s recent holiday fair was called “Mingle with the Elves.” For the first time, a naming competition was held among the parochial schoolchildren. The winner was Ryan Harvey, an 8-year-old altar boy at the church.
O’Connell had chaired this fair for the previous seven years with her husband, Frank. Both are still very involved. Listening to her list of places the O’Connells volunteer reminds me of the expression that if you want to get something done, give the job to a busy person. They also volunteer with these community groups: the lunch program at St. Dom’s; St. Vincent de Paul Thriftshop; board of St. Mary’s Hospital Auxiliary and, until recently, the Women’s Literary Union Board; and working the Crepe Brunch at St. Mary’s. This is along with serving on several church committees and as eucharistic ministers.
O’Connell noted how grateful she is to all of the church community and all the fairgoers. She also said that the dependable helpers who oversee the fair’s tables each year make the chairpersons’ jobs easier. This year, the chairpeople were another husband and wife team, Dolly and Bud Welch. O’Connell says another vital helper is administrative secretary Claire Gagnon.
The friendly competition for customers among the fairs has added to the fun for fair goers, as they plan on spending their day. Join the caravan and go fairing this holiday. Plan in time for a breakfast, a coffeebreak, lunch, afternoon tea, and maybe even a take-home supper. You will not only support your neighbors, and your community, but also have a great time.
Comments are no longer available on this story