Oh Those Summer Days of Craft Fairs

There’s something to be said for going to a craft fair on a sunny, summer, Sunday afternoon.

Even before Lil’ Lewie was born, my mom and I loved attending fairs. We’d plan to attend at least one per month, but sometimes we’d have an opportunity to treat ourselves to a few more. Most of my favorite local ones follow a theme. For example, every year, we attend the same Dogwood Festival, Strawberry Festival, and Pumpkin Festival near us. Another favorite, which is probably the largest and most beautiful craft fair I’ve ever attended, is the Annual Stowe Foliage Arts Festival located in Stowe, Vermont. Being more than five hours away, we only managed to go to this festival once, but it had the most stunning assortment of handmade treasures, ranging anywhere from $10 jewelry to $400 silk blouses. The food choices from all the vendors here were organic (not something you see everyday), and all the “plastic” utensils (forks, spoons, knives, and even straws) were made out biodegradable material.


This past week, we attended the annual New England Craft Fair located on the Milford Green. Lil’ Lewie (my 23 month old son) loves attending these events with us, and he agreeably sat in his stroller while I pushed him around to the various booths. Like all craft fairs, this one didn’t disappoint. Items ranged from gorgeous jewelry, to beautiful ceramic pieces, to very unique crafts such as hand painted gourd birdhouses and whimsical pocketbooks made out of women’s designer shorts.

My favorite item, which I had to buy, was a wall hanging made of four letters that spell out the word LOVE. Each letter is a photograph of something either found in nature or in architecture that looks like the letter. For example, the “O” in LOVE is a picture of an oval shaped window from an old stone building of some sort. While I chose a wall hanging that was already made, other customers chose “customized” words, which were spelled and put together on the spot.

After a few short hours of strolling lightheartedly from table to table, we decided it was time to cool off with an old-fashioned glass of lemonade under a tree before returning home. Oh, there’s nothing quite like going to a craft fair in mid July to explore precious treasurers under the warm, glowing sun.