Another page turned on the calendar and the month of merry making is just around the corner.
Artisans and elves are at their busiest; their workshops, a whirl of activity. Movers and shakers prepare to transform Quadra Island’s magnificent Community Center into a Christmas Wonderland for the annual Christmas Crafts Fair today from 4-9 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. that recalls the traditional values of the season and displays a bounty of locally made treasures.
There will be lights. There will be seasonal music played on our gorgeous Grand Piano by Joyce Sheppard and Mary Ellen Wilkins. There will be an elegant Christmas tree, the Noble Fir decked in its finest, and seasonally inspired fabric art adorning the walls. There will be an evening menu for the Friday concession and an afternoon menu on Saturday including savory food and desert. Best of all there will be smiles and warmth and hugs and conversations.
Young entrepreneurs will be taking the stage by storm with their creative work. Gorde and Martha James, craft fair veterans of about 12 years, will be offering crafted pottery wares of beauty and function as will Hannah of Earthlight Pottery and Barb Wager. Perrin Sparks will be painting portraits on site. Other career artisans like Paul Bishop, Vivian Dorset, Melissa Abram and Discovery Metal Creations will be on site with an array of their fine-crafted products. Cortesian vendors will be there too with with their own brand of island-inspired products and panache.
Most important of all, the jolly and beloved elf himself – Santa Claus – never fails to make an early visit to Quadra (Saturday Noon – 1:30 p.m.).
The Christmas Crafts Fair is the Community Centre’s biggest fundraiser. It’s an opportunity to see the bounty of a community’s creativity – and its resourcefulness. The fair barely skipped a beat when a storm in 2008 took the power out. Candles sufficed until a portable generator arrived and powered two spotlights.