You could say that there’s a lot of flower power coming to St. Albert Place this weekend. There’s actually a whole lot more than flowers set to blossom. This weekend’s Country Craft Fair is a veritable cornucopia of local, handmade arts and crafts that is sure to have something (or two or 12) for everyone.
“It’s anything from Christmas to knitted wares, from bath products to food to wood…” began paper artist Deirdre Allen.
To be more comprehensive, there will be a full range of bath, body, Christmas décor, fiber, floral, food, glass, jewelry, paintings, photographs, pottery, quilting, and wood crafts to be purchased on site, and much, much more. In all, there are more than 75 artists and craftspeople who have worked hard to present their creations to the public for this once-a-year event.
The Country Craft Fair is a highlight on the cultural calendar hosted by the St. Albert Place Visual Arts Council for more than three decades. The council represents the five guilds that make excellent use of the studio spaces found on the main floor of St. Albert Place: the St. Albert Potters' Guild, the St. Albert Painters' Guild, the Quilters' Guild, the Paper Arts Guild, and the Floral Arts Society.
The Art Gallery of St. Albert and the City of St. Albert’s Cultural Services department are also member agencies with the council. The gallery will have a booth set up with items from its gift shop up for sale. The council itself will also have its art bags for sale. This year, they have chosen to be inspired by Inuit art.
But, as Allen suggested, one of the big draws here will surely be where the members of the Floral Arts Society have set themselves up. Their prize offering: Christmas swags, freshly made and in limited supply.
“They are the star attraction. There’s a lineup down the hall and they’re usually sold out by mid-afternoon on Saturday,” Allen said.
That’s not to say that there aren’t other stellar exhibitors. The upcoming holiday season might mean that many consumers become interested in arts and crafts in general. Perhaps people don’t necessarily think of all of the craftiness that goes into the greeting cards and wrapping paper. Paper artists try to fill that demand with some gifts that are both contemporary and timeless.
The Paper Arts Guild will have its wares for sale in WARES, the Works of Art Representative of Every Studio store functional and decorative items created by council members while two of that guild’s members will have stations set up in the thoroughfare, including Allen who makes leather journals among other things.
Cover to cover, she does it all. She makes her own paper, binds it herself and does the leather cover too. The painstaking process takes hours and hours of detail-oriented labour over a period of days.
“The paper itself takes two days,” she remarked. “All of the journals that our guild does are based on traditional structures. There are traditional bindings that have been done throughout history. We use those bindings that have been given down from generation through generation.”
There are more than 30 other artisans from around the region who will also be participating in the show and sale.
The 31st annual Country Craft Fair runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow. Admission and parking are always free.
St. Albert Place is located at 5 St. Anne Street. To learn more about the fair or the council, please email [email protected] or visit its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sapvac.
