Vendors Showcase Christmas Goods at Grant County 4H Fairgrounds

The Grant County Extension Homemakers sponsored a “Christmas in November” vendor event at the Grant County 4H Fairgrounds on Saturday.

The event lasted from 9:00 a.m  to 5:00 p.m, and according to Vendor Chair Michelle Roberts, 42 different vendors came to sell their creations. The average attendance for each year is anywhere between 400 to 450 people.

“It’s always held that first Saturday in November here at the fairgrounds,” Roberts said, “Years ago when it started, vendor events weren’t very common, so this was kind of like the only one that happened on this weekend, and now you know how popular vendor events are.”

The idea was for a Christmas event to take place just after Halloween.

“I believe it was kind of that kickoff of the season to try to get people to get out and start shopping, not only for those on their list, but maybe find something for themselves as well,” Roberts said.

The Grant County Extension Homemakers has sponsored this event for over 20 years.

“I’ve been Vendor Chair for probably about 12 years now,” Roberts said, “I’ve been doing the chair part of it, so it’s sponsored by the Grant County Extension Homemakers, which is a part of the Indiana Extension Homemakers Association.”

The event hosts vendors of all kinds.

“It’s a combination of homemade items,” Roberts said, “We do have some direct sales, like Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, bakeries come and set up.”

Connie Nelson is a vendor who has been selling at this event for at least seven years, creating handmade cards, scrap caddies, and ornaments.

“I’ve been making the cards for 25 years,” Nelson said, “We use discarded things and make them.”

Nelson gives $2 of each card sale to the Grant County Cancer Center.

“We work all year long,” Nelson said, “And then I take pictures of our booth, and I put them on Facebook and tell people to come and see us.”

One new vendor at the event was The Dogwood Patch, created by Judi Riggs, Kim Bosworth, and Kelly Dock.

The group sells handmade wreaths and other seasonal homemade decor. Each item is unique.

“I would probably say that the fall, like the pumpkins and things have done well,” Riggs said,“Because we do a variety, it’s hard to pinpoint one thing.”

In preparation for this event, the group came together to work and look for inspiration.

“We spend a lot of time together in our ‘she-shed’ and we look through magazines, we look on Etsy, we get inspiration from Pinterest, and then sit together and put things together,” Bosworth said, “And sometimes we put them together and take them apart and put them together again.”

Each vendor had a unique part to play in the event, and each one prepared extensively for the large crowd that attended. Each attendee got to experience the start of the Christmas season by looking at all the Grant County Extension Homemakers had to offer.