Looking for a Holiday Activity? 5th Annual Collinsville Holiday Craft Fair is Dec. 8

The 5th Annual Collinsville Holiday Craft Fair, which brings together talented artisans and crafters from around Connecticut, takes place Sat., Dec. 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. inside Canton Town Hall, 4 Market St., Collinsville. It is part of the weekend-long Christmas in Collinsville festivities.

Proceeds from a raffle as well as 10 percent of participant artists' profits will be donated to Interval House CT. Organizers are also collecting non-perishable food items for donation to the Canton Food Bank.

Each year, the fair raises about $1,000 for the organization and showcases the talents of many who don’t normally have the chance to sell their wares, said organizer Bethany Kendrick, a 1998 graduate of Granby Memorial High School. She’s also excited that the event now helps the food bank and has grown with its recent affiliation with Christmas in Collinsville.

“Slowly but surely it’s gotten a life of its own,” she said.

Kendrick will sell her B. Cozy knitted items and other participants include Brazen Betties (Torrington), loveycraft (Collinsville), Diana Made It (Simsbury) and many more.  

Locally crafted and collected items for sale will include: Ornaments, crocheted & knit items, jewelry (silver, copper, beaded and more), feather/fabric hair accessories, pottery, handmade lotions, candles, vintage clothing, spice/dip/baking mixes & products, and a variety of other gifts, art and other collectibles.

Kendrick started the event with another local crafter, Kim Ksiazkiewicz.

“It really just started as a small idea because we wanted to craft and enjoy interacting with people,” Kendrick said. “We also wanted to make sure we had a way to give back.”

Kendrick said can’t place it to exact moment but the issue of battered women has always been close to her heart. Interval House also helps men, women and children throughout the area, including right in the Farmington Valley, she said.

For more information on the craft fair and other holiday events in Collinsville, please visit these links: 

• http://facebook.com/CollinsvilleCharityCraftFair
• http://facebook.com/CollinsvilleCharityCraftFair#!/events/256445464478422/
• http://www.visitcollinsville.com/visitcollinsville_004.htm