Winterfest at Center for the Arts Evergreen was a delightful mixture of talented artisans, music, children’s crafts, food and more.
The fair on Dec. 3 in its 37th year sported more than 40 craftspeople with a variety of items that could be used as gifts or as some special to keep. Included were artisans in a variety of categories: food, bath and body, candles and luminaries, ceramics, craft décor, glass, jewelry, kids and pets, painting, photography and woodworking.
This is the second year Winterfest was at Center for the Arts Evergreen, and organizers were happy that for the second time, they had good weather for the indoor-outdoor festival. Attendees moved from table to table and from booth to booth to check out one-of-a-kind items.
Vicki Saxe with Two Sheds Pottery creates functional stoneware, sometimes using a potter’s wheel and other times by hand. She displayed her plates, bud vases, mugs and other kitchen items.
Liezl Kapastin with Lullabuloo returned for a second year, adding to the gnome décor she was selling last year. Now she had other home decorations and picture frames.
Friends Lisa Ringland and Deb Spurlock of Conifer perused the artisans’ wares, each buying an ornament to add to their Christmas trees. They were attending several craft fairs since there were two in Conifer on Saturday.
Kaitlin Austin’s outdoor booth smelled of fresh evergreen trees and roses, thanks to the wreaths and the fresh-cut flowers she brought. Austin owns Brooks Floral & Co. in Denver and heard from other vendors about Winterfest.
Artist Holli Shiro displayed both textile wall art and functional handbags. She did her first show in 2018, made masks during the pandemic and now has gone back to textile art. She heard about Winterfest from social media and was pleased with the nice people she had met at the show.
Artist Michael Erb brought his carvings and other woodworking to Winterfest, setting up in a booth outside. An artist all his life, Erb took a woodworking class in college. He moved away from woodworking during his career in construction, returning after retirement. Winterfest was his first art show.
Local Carley Dorsey sold her dog treats, called Lilah's Sweet Biscuits, as part of her business that supports someone with disabilities. Lilah was Dorsey's dog, and Dorsey sells the treats after losing her part-time jobs during the pandemic. She also sells Lilah's Sweet Treats at Chow Down in Bergen Park.
Some of the more unusual items were the mermaid festival braids that Linda Powers was selling. Powers, a face painter, said many little girls want to have their faces painted to be unicorns or mermaids, so she created colorful mermaid braids attached to hair ties.
“It’s creating joy and magic,” she explained.
