Benton craft fair celebrates 20 years this weekend

Organizers are busy setting up in Benton, Missouri, for this weekend’s 20th annual Winter Wonderland of Treasures craft fair.

About 50 vendors will be set up in the St. Denis Parish Center on U.S. 61 in Benton, and include several familiar offerings, with some new items.

A woodworker will have a booth this year, and vendors will be selling many quilts, Christmas crafts, antiques, handmade jewelry and rosaries, and more.

Door prizes, a raffle, and a 50/50 drawing will also be held.

A kettle-corn vendor from St. Louis is expected to be set up outside the front doors, co-organizer Jolene Felter said.

The concession stand will offer homemade chicken noodle soup and chili, along with homemade breakfast foods, including cinnamon rolls.

Felter said the event is a great fundraiser for the school and is popular with shoppers.

“It’s just really built up over the years,” Felter said. “Everyone enjoys coming to it.”

Three Sisters Alpaca Farm owner Jan Ward said she’s been a vendor at the show for the last three years, and she loves the relaxed, celebratory atmosphere.

Other, larger shows might be bigger moneymakers, Ward said, “but Benton is more local, and benefits St. Denis School and St. Jude [Children’s Research Hospital].”

That makes her feel even better about doing the show, Ward said, knowing there’s a tangible boost to someone else because of her participation.

Ward and her husband, Jimmy, raise alpacas on a farm in Bollinger County, she said, and they often set up a booth at the farmers market in Cape Girardeau, the Osage Centre, and a couple of other places.

“There’s a big variety at the show,” Ward said. “It’s also low-key, calm, happy. It’s just a good feel to it.”

Because admission is free, Ward said, visitors might feel less pressure to buy, so they can better relax and enjoy the experience of shopping for gifts or treats.

“It’s just a good, good feel,” Ward said of the fair.

Winter Wonderland Treasures will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, and admission is free.

For more information, contact St. Denis School at (573) 545-3017.