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No Shortage of Unique Wares, Characters at Shorewood Arts and Crafts Fair

Over 32 years of the fair in Shorewood, the main fundraising tool for local school athletic programs, it has become a family affair in more ways than one.

Hot chocolate on a stick, hair feathers and mittens made of recycled sweaters. There was no shortage of unique wares as more than 130 vendors packed the gym and arena Sunday morning for the annual arts and crafts fair.

The fair ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., but turned into a ghost town around 3, right before the Packers kicked-off.

“You know I think we all have got some green and gold in our blood,” said organizer Bonnie Adams who has been in charge of the fair for the past 15 years. She also is responsible for doubling the number of vendors in the past couple years.

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Moneys raised help purchase sports equipment, uniforms, an athletic trainer, team banquets to say the least. Over the past 14 years, the booster club has raised over $100,000 for both athletic equipment and uniforms alone. Bonnie is still tallying the total funds raised during this year fair.

"Over the years, I’ve seen some [great ideas]. This is a livelihood. A majority, this is how they make a living,” said Bonnie talking about what the vendors make and the passion they have for the fair.

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SHS’s arts and crafts fair is ranked 10th in the state and brings in around 1,300 people each year. The booster club has relied on the arts and crafts fair for 32 years to make up for the lack of district funding.

Students, parents, volunteers and community members come out to the fair every year to find a variety of hidden treasures as well as gifts for the holidays.

“It’s just a cool way to see different artists here,” said SHS junior and track member Haley Holen. “I did some Christmas and birthday shopping for a friend of mine.”

The city of merchants

Families in all shapes and sizes came out to support the booster club, but the real family that shaped the fair were the vendors.

“I know a lot of people here already,” said Dan Rice, who sells his photography. Pointing around the room, Rice said one of the women even jokingly calls him her “stalker” because they show up to many of the same shows.

Some vendors will do anywhere from 60 to over 100 fairs a year selling their work, while others look at it as just a hobby.

“You know most of us at these shows have full-time jobs. We’ve got creative spirits I guess, and we express it in our own way,” said Rice.

But many vendors look forward to their favorite time of day during the arts and crafts fair when the crowd starts to dwindle and the bartering begins.

“When it gets late in the day we start swapping stuff,” said Rice. “She (pointing at women selling jewelry across the way from him) asked me to swap a print last year for one of her pieces.”

“We don’t shop at Walmart, we shop at craft shows,” said A.J. Ratsch, Mouseables owner. She sells seasonings that can be mixed in with other food to create specialty dishes.

For some, it was their first year entering the arts and crafts community.

Yvonne Morrissey sold her grandmother’s 100-year-old recipe fruitcake. It, however, was only her third time participating in an arts and crafts fair as she has just started marketing her family’s fruitcake.

“It’s much different than any other fruitcake on the market,” she said.

But some of the vendors were heard talking about the Packers throughout the day, some saying they had slower traffic because of the game.

“You know usually I would put Shorewood in my top 10, but today I’m not pulling in,” said Ratsch who attends over 120 art fairs a year. “If the Packers are doing well that really messes up Sunday shows.”

A community effort

The crafters weren't upset to miss out on their usual heavy lifting with students unloading all the vendors trucks and equipment as well as hauling it all back into the trucks at the end of the day.

Bonnie has the funding set up percentage-wise to help out the athletic programs and teams that provide the most student volunteers for the fair.

“We base it on the participation of the percentage of the athletes working here,” said Bonnie. “So if we have a team of lets say 20 guys and they only have five show up. Guess what. They don’t get that [full] percentage.”

About 70 student athletes came out to support the booster club Sunday, helping vendors set up, bringing food to vendors, helping customers and at the end of the day, tearing it all down.

During the day shifts, students helped run food orders to the vendors who then wouldn’t have to leave their booth in order to get food. Culvers along with catered the event with plenty of options to pick from including a baked potato bar.

Students weren’t the only ones lending a helping hand though, parents were right there along with students helping out wherever they could.

“Knowing we’re doing a good cause…and help support a bunch of local artists, I think that’s really important,” said parent Laura Gough who has volunteered at the fair for the past five years.

Students enjoyed volunteering despite the fact that they had to miss a bit of the Packers game if they had the later shifts.

“Everyone looks so happy and is social and is easy to talk to,” said SHS junior James Wakely, who is part of the golf team.

“It’s really fun to just look at all the arts and crafts to get the money that we deserve for our teams, and this is just a helpful way of doing it,” said SHS senior Ellen Gough, member of the tennis and soccer team.

The fair isn’t just a place to find treasures; it is a place to create priceless memories.

An Adams family matter

The Adams family includes five members who have all been involved with the fair for as long as they can remember.

“I’ve basically been involved with this all my life,” said Bonnie’s youngest daughter and SHS senior Carly Adams. Carly spent the day taking pictures for her mom to help document the day.

However, the fair doesn't fall on a convenient day for the Adams family. Carly’s birthday falls on the same weekend the fair does every year.

“I’m usually here helping out,” she said. “But we go out to dinner and stuff like that. I got used to it.”

Since Carly turned 18 this past weekend, Adams wanted to make more of a big deal about it and hung up “Happy Birthday Carly” posters around the fair with a picture of Carly.

“Yea I didn’t know that was happening thanks to my mom. It was cute,” said Carly.

But one family member was sadly missing from the Adams team this year. Their son who is attending Adrian College in Michigan missed the fair for the first time in 15 years.

“He called us this morning and said ‘good luck,’” Adams said.

Bonnie is mulling over passing the fair torch off to someone else next year since all of her children will be done with school. She said the problem is no one wants to take up the position.

Bonnie does have a lot to look forward in the next year though. She is going to be a grandma.

“Talk about coming the full circle,” she said.

Bonnie continued to be in full spirits and optimistic about the number of people as the day wore on, even as they dwindled closer to when the game started.

“It’s like weather, I have no control,” she said. “You might as well just take it in that everyone believes in the green and gold now.”

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