TURNERS FALLS — As shoppers passed by the table where she sold raffle tickets Saturday, Little Drummer Craft Fair organizer Martha Maloney regularly called out “Hey, how are you?” and waved to familiar face after familiar face.
“People come back every year to shop,” Maloney said. “Even when we’re writing out names for the raffle, we remember the names … It’s kind of like a little reunion every year.”
Hundreds filtered through the gym, hallways, and culinary and welding classrooms at Franklin County Technical School browsing the booths of 65 artisans and craftspeople. The juried craft fair, Maloney said, raises money for Tech School student scholarships through vendor fees and the sale of food and raffle tickets.
Because it supports students, Maloney said many of the vendors are Tech School parents or alumni. Meanwhile, the students themselves help vendors bring in their goods in the morning and take them out in the afternoon, or sell their own welded or culinary creations.
“It really feels like community,” Maloney said of the vendors. “They’re here to support the students.”
Some may remember the fair as the Candy Cane Carnival that was held at the Holy Trinity School. However, when the school closed, Maloney sought to move it to the Tech School, where she was involved in the music department through her brother-in-law, former music teacher David Maloney.
At the same time, her brother-in-law wanted to raise money for his drum line’s uniforms. That sounded just right to Maloney, who appropriately renamed the fair the Little Drummer Craft Fair as a fundraiser for the drum line.
“They’d wear jeans and T-shirts,” Maloney remembered. “Now people, when they see the drum line, they see these amazing uniforms.”
However, this year money raised will support scholarships not only for college-bound students, but for soon-to-be graduates to purchase tools or other supplies, allowing them to enter their trade immediately.
For attendees, not only does the fair support a good cause, but it allows them to get unique gifts for the holidays.
“The artisans are exquisite,” said Jeanne Milton, of Bernardston, who remembers attending the fair back when it was at Holy Trinity Church. “(The items) are very well-crafted.”
“I think people come here expecting unique and well-made items,” added Christine Pellerin, who sold jewelry, fiber art and other felt items like children’s booties through her business Dunroamin Farm Design. “We get great crowds.”
Milton was particularly fond of JL Ozzywood, a Montague business overseen by Jim Logan, who makes hand-crafted cooking utensils and Milton’s favorite style of cutting board.
Elsewhere, Carole Adams of Whispering Pines Fibers & Herbs out of Colrain, used a spinning wheel to make her own yarn to the fascination of passersby. Having recently learned about the fair from her neighbor Christa Snyder, a baking instructor at the Tech School, Adams was one of the new vendors this year, though Maloney aims to ensure even returning vendors offer something different.
“We hope that returning artists bring new things every year,” she said. “Their work process takes them to new levels every year.”
Reach Shelby Ashline at: sashline@recorder.com
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