Craft fairs draw thousands to the area

This weekend the Cape Girardeau area will be inundated with a select group of fans -- the craft fair groupies.

Three large craft fairs take place in the area starting Friday and running through Sunday -- the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri's Christmas Arts and Crafts Extravaganza, the River Valley Craft Club Christmas Expo and the Crafts, Gifts and Collectibles Show in Fruitland.

The Arts Council show takes place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Show Me Center and the Osage Community Centre. The River Valley show takes place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Arena Building and the Plaza Conference Center, formerly the Holiday Inn conference center. The Fruitland show takes place at the Fruitland Bavarian Halle from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Both the arts council and Rick Werner, organizer of the River Valley fair, said more than 10,000 visitors from all over the area come to each event over the weekend.

Dixie Burnett, organizer of the Fruitland fair, said about 2,500 visit the location on Friday and Saturday. Sunday's attendance is harder to gauge since admission fees are waived that day.

Chuck Martin, director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that no studies have been done on the economic impact of the fairs, but that they definitely do provide a great economic benefit to the city.

Each fair offers a variety of gifts, collectibles and decorative items, many with a holiday theme.

The arts council event, now in its 35th year, is all-important for the organization.

"It's a huge deal," said RebeccaFulgham, director of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri. "This event provides approximately 50 percent of our operating budget."

The Fruitland event provides money for local charities like Toys for Tots and others, and this year will have cookbooks from the former 1140th Engineer Battalion, Company C, on sale to raise funds.

The River Valley fair donates money to one of the two Cape Girardeau hospitals, said Werner.

Each of this weekend's craft fairs offer a large audience for local and out-of-state crafters. The arts council boasts members of out-of-state guilds and the Best of Missouri Hands, while Werner said he has crafters from a six-state area.

Elsie Eggiman has exhibited her crafts at the arts council extravaganza since its inception. She said the show is one of the best to exhibit in locally, and she gets calls even after the event from friends of people who attended, inquiring about her crafts.

More than 300 crafters will be in attendance at the arts council fair, more than 400 at Werner's event and 75 at Burnett's. Most of the items at the arts council fair and the River Valley fair are handcrafted, while the Fruitland fair offers other items like gift baskets in addition to handcrafted wares.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182