CARLYLE - The 36th annual Homespun Craft Show and Sale, billed as the Biggest Little Sraft Show in Saskatchewan, was held in Carlyle Sept. 14-15.
Located at the Carlyle Sports Arena, the floor was filled with 53 vendors from as far as Ontario. Others were from across the Prairie provinces and British Columbia.
The craft show has long been a staple event in Carlyle, which brings visitors from across the provinces to see and shop for unique handcrafted items. An estimated crowd of 3,000 people attended.
Nicole Currie is one of the organizers and she said the show was once again a huge success.
“The exhibitors that come to the Homespun Craft Show and Quilt Show are incredibly talented, and our shoppers appreciate that,” said Currie. “They know they are getting the best quality and craftsmanship.”
The committee is always amazed at how creative and talented the crafters are, and this year was no different.
Upon entering the arena, a display for the Dickens Village Festival was presented, showing that it is the fifth-most popular festival of its kind in the world.
According to Currie, the exhibitors love coming to Carlyle as they are greeted with a warm and welcoming feeling.
The concession stand was looked after by the Grade 12 students from the Gorden F Kells High School.
Booths were pleasantly displayed with black curtain backdrops. Some are brightened up with lights, while others have colourful displays.
Homemade jewelry, wooden toys, recycled cutlery made into tractors and trucks and authentic African crafts were available.
Judy Wera lives in Swift Current but her home country is Kenya. Her husband Fred has supplies shipped in from Kenya and makes African paintings on medium and wooden spoons, and his mother weaves bowls.
Wera and her children Nelly and Nathan were excited to be at the show and see what everyone had to offer. This was their first time at Homespun and they were overly impressed with the amount of people that came through.
“We have happy exhibitors and happy shoppers and that’s everything that we ask for,” said Currie.
The Quilt Show was held in the Carlyle Memorial Hall, and the displays were beautiful, although Bev Thompson, another organizer, said attendance was down.
Thompson said that quilters are getting older, and it is getting harder to find younger people interested in quilting.
During the event, they had Grade 9 students from the high school come over and help with the setup and take down. She was incredibly pleased with the help these young people gave, and they were extremely helpful.
Organizers feel the show was another successful event and they are already planning for next year.
