While many UF and Santa Fe students traveled back to their hometowns for the holidays, an estimated 12,000 people found their way into the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in search of a homemade holiday gift at the 2010 Craft Festival.
The festival, which is in its 68th year on campus, took place Saturday and Sunday. Over 300 vendors and 250 booths showcased a variety of items, from UF candles to handmade piggy banks.
Meredith Palmberg, the festival’s coordinator, said the festival originally started in the Reitz Union. However, its success and yearly increase in attendance led the show to be moved to the O’Connell center 18 years ago.
“This festival is about bringing artisans and vendors together, and it’s a great way to give back to the community,” she said.
UF students were charged $1 for entry and other attendants were charged $4. Children under the age of 13 got in for free.
Palmberg didn’t have an estimate of how much money is made from the show, though the profits from the show go into the next year’s festival.
Paul Lambert, the owner of a hot sauce company known as Dixie Heat, said he and his wife do these types of events for fun, and that such festivals are a good way to get a small company’s name out in the open.
“I’m retired from the post office, and we like to do these festivals to show everyone what we got,” Lambert said.
