Last Saturday, Wally joined Ward and me when we went to the Mountain Heritage Arts and Crafts Fair in neighboring West Virginia. I have a long history with arts and crafts fairs in WV. Since 1963, there has been a huge fair in the area I grew up in every 4th of July. The event lasts four days and has hundreds of juried artisans, music, craft demonstrations, and many different kinds of food. The biggest food draw is the grilled chicken and corn dinner by the FFA (Future Farmers of America). I have spent many hot days visiting that fair. So when I found out that not far from here, there was a fall version of the festival in Jefferson County, WV, I was excited.
The weather was pleasant, with temperatures in the 70s. Perfect for spending a day outside walking around. We wandered around from display to display (there were over 200 craftspeople), appreciating the amazing work some of these artisans were doing and taking notes from a few of them on things we might try in the future. My picture-taking was kind of random, but below are a few of the things we saw.
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Everything in this booth was made from gourds.
I have some gourds that a friend grew that I could use like this.
I took note of some of the designs. |
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| There were many artists with many different painting styles, along with some stunning photography. |
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| All of these candles were made from old bottles. |
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| These shawls were made from alpaca wool sheared from the crafter's herd. |
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| Chainsaw carving |
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| There were many woodworkers. I liked these measuring cups and spoons. |
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| These tables were made from old boxes and recycled parts. We have a couple of old wooden boxes that I am looking at differently now. |
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| These stuffed animals and puppets were a lot of fun. The person at this display has been every year since the fair started 46 years ago. She makes the trip up from Alabama. |
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| These leather workers have been in business since 1971, and I have gotten two purses from them over the years. I took advantage of my lifetime guarantee and took them one with a broken zipper to repair. I should get it back in a week. |
You may wonder if I bought anything. Well, yes, I did - a couple of Christmas presents. I don't think the recipients read here, but in case they do, I won't tell you what they are.
Now to get ready for our next adventure. Wally and Theo will be joining Ward and me for a little vacation to the Finger Lakes area of New York. It's been years since we've traveled together and I'm looking forward to it. I may report in during the trip or in a week or two when we get back.
Until next time...
How fun! I love how unique all the items are. Sometimes, in my area at least, the items for sale all look the same. My daughter and I would have had a blast there!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember if I ever mentioned it before, but my parents met at a FFA dance. :) She was dating another guy at the time and I think my dad flirted shamelessly with her. Guess it worked!
FFA was big in my high school since we were a rural community. However, I don't think they ever had dances. That's a fun story about your parents.
DeleteThat sounds like a really fun arts and crafts fair! I am intrigued by the bottle candles! I wonder if they had to break the bottles to get the candles out or, did someone cut the bottles in halves which were used as molds? I bet Ward could turn your old boxes into some nice tables; I think they'd look nice filled with some potted plants, etc. That was very smart of you to take your purse in to have the zipper replaced! :)
ReplyDeleteI liked the tables, but don't really have anyplace for one. But I like you idea of putting plants in one. I'll have to give this more thought.
DeleteHave a nice trip! What a lovely fair this was! I was intrigued with the candles that used to be bottles. I probably would have had to buy one for myself and for several others too.
ReplyDeletebetty
The candle place had a lot of people around it, so I didn't get a chance to talk to the crafter or browse much. I wanted to know about the process and I probably could have found some meaningful bottles because there was such a variety. Maybe next time.
DeleteI did a search online to find out how to make the bottle candles and it requires making a silicone mold of the bottle. :)
DeleteWhen I go to a craft fair I can't believe the creativity and talent of so many people. Its astounding!
ReplyDeleteAnd I always think about the amount of time it takes to make the things. There is so much work in crafting.
DeleteI forgot to add... "Apples!"
ReplyDeleteThanks. Unless, there's a big change, the weather should be good. We will out run the rain from Ian which will be affecting this area. Ward went to Watkins Glen when he was a kid and wants to go back. We have a couple of other things in mind.
ReplyDeleteWe got a bunch of apples when we went to WV. It's apple season there too and I love it. Apples are my favorite fruit. We may get some more in NY.
Those are some interesting crafts. I like the paintings and the gourds. I hope you post a lot pictures from your Finger Lakes trip. I've always wanted to visit that area. Maybe next fall.
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