Holiday Crafts Fund The Arts

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Created on Tuesday, 04 December 2012 17:44

Written by Jessica Walsh

ST. JOHNSBURY- The sounds and smells of the holidays traveled booth to booth during the 43rd annual Holiday Market and Craft Fair this past weekend.

With free holiday cookies up for grabs, and face painting for children, the craft fair brought in a big crowd.

The event, put on by the Burklyn Arts Council, featured anything from hand blown glass to mapled nuts. For the customers, its a way to support artisans and local products by either purchasing their items or appreciating their work. For Sarah Waskuch, the marketing director of The Mapled Nut, it's so much more. "I like to get out there and work with customers and see what people like and see what the next trend is in the flavor," says Waskuch.

The council also puts on a craft fair in the summer, but this fair has a whole different holiday twist. "I think the way the artists decorate their booths...I mean, it's very seasonal, and it's great. We have seasonal music here rather than a different kind of entertainment in the summer," says Cara Berryman, who is the President of the Burklyn Arts Council. The council, which is a private non profit organization run by local trustees and volunteers, relies on the fair for funding. The organization encourages the appreciation of the arts in the schools and communities of Lyndon, East Haven, Burke, Newark, Sheffield, Sutton and Wheelock. "None of us work for any salary at all, it's all out of the goodness of our hearts because we want to see more artists and art funding going to our public schools," says Berryman.

All of the money raised at the two fairs allows the Arts Council to not only provide scholarship grants to local students, but they also fund performances at Catamount Arts as well as other venues. The council also funds art programs in the community by providing art supplies, music lessons and performers.