Wreaths, ornaments, artwork and the faint ring of Christmas carols were all present this weekend at the 50th Craft Festival 2014.
The festival was hosted at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, where attendees and guests could purchase handcrafted items from more than 260 booths of nationwide artisans.
Families and students quickly packed both floors of the O’Connell Center Saturday morning, forming one of the biggest lines the venue had seen in the 22 years it has hosted the show at the center, said event coordinator Tiffany Griffith.
“When we opened, we had the longest line we’ve ever had, so that was really exciting,” Griffith said.
Janie Graham, 43, was in attendance at the festival and said she loves the atmosphere.
“Coming out and hearing Christmas music is great,” Graham said. “The connection you get with people and the vendors is also really nice.”
This year was a first for more than 60 vendors, but for Delores Cooley, owner of Kenco Arts and Crafts, 2014 marked her 20th year in attendance.
Cooley said the craft show has always brought her family together.She began selling Christmas crafts with her late husband and now sells them with her two daughters.
“We have so many people that come back every year to see what new things we have,” Cooley said. “All they have to do is look up and see all my Gator Christmas trees.”
Dot Updegraff, owner of Crafting of Our Hearts LLC, sold candles and hand-painted woodcrafts for her first appearance at the festival.
“My husband does all the woodwork, and I do all the painting,” Updegraff said.
Griffith said the festival may be taking a year off and then jumping back to business in 2016 due to future O’Connell Center renovations.
“Unfortunately, there’s just not a location in town that we’re able to relocate to temporarily, so we’ll be taking a year off,” Griffith said.
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 12/1/2014]
