Mission CraftFest brings together artisans, nonprofits and the community
On Saturday, First Presbyterian Church 1793 will fill its social hall along East Wheeling Street in Washington with beautiful, vibrant wares and informational packets from local vendors for its first-ever craft show with a purpose.
Mission CraftFest brings together local crafters and artisans and small area nonprofits whose work often flies under the radar.
“The idea was to bring smaller mission programs in. Smaller programs that are still doing lots of really good things but maybe people don’t quite know about them,” said Jan Marietta, who is helping lead Mission CraftFest. “We want to give exposure to the community for all the good things that are being done by the citizens, for the citizens, and give them a chance to come see how they can help, what they themselves might benefit from.”
The event, which runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., is the brainchild of Linda Rall, a quilter who stitched the idea together in her head slowly for several years before Mission CraftFest came to life this year.
“People that are mission-minded will go to mission fairs. Regular people won’t. I always thought if you coupled a craft show with a mission display, it would work,” Rall said. “The idea is to get crafters, people who are coming in to shop, exposed to the missions.”
Small, local nonprofits will be set up between crafter and artisans’ displays. While nonprofits are welcome to fundraise during Mission CraftFest, many are simply going to be on-site to share their cause.
Causes like First Presbyterian Church’s own The Egg Project. Church volunteers partner with local farms to provide free, farm-fresh eggs to area senior citizens. Farmers who otherwise would have to donate or toss a surplus of unsold eggs instead sell to The Egg Project.
“We, in turn, give them to the seniors within the redevelopment authority buildings,” Marietta said. We’re helping to sustain local farmers. We’re also providing the seniors with really healthy, nutritious, farm-fresh eggs.”
Another nonprofit Marietta is proud to introduce to the community at Mission CraftFest is Resolution Power, which has served the community by providing hope, housing and purpose to those struggling with addiction for more than two decades.
“When I say to people, ‘Res Power,’ they say, ‘What’s that?’ Res Power’s an amazing organization,” Marietta said.
Other organizations that don’t often stand in the spotlight will also be on-site to educate the public about their missions and share ways to get involved.
“Upper 10 Mile Church has what they call Rise Against Hunger; they have their own food program. The Circle Food Pantry: some people know about it, some people don’t,” Marietta said.
The craft show is at its heart an event aimed at forging connections between area creatives and nonprofits and those who are either eager to support, or curious about, both.
“The hopes are to provide the community with more information about what is available. There are things out there that people don’t know about, things they could utilize, places where people could volunteer their time,” said Marietta. “People are always saying, what can I do to help? This’ll be a way that people can find out what’s going on.”
Mission CraftFest attendees will learn not only about the variety of local nonprofits working diligently to make Washington County a better place, but also about the creatives who make beautiful things to share with others.
“We have a potter, we have a woodworker, we have a photographer, we have somebody who makes handmade greeting cards; those kinds of smaller things that you don’t necessarily want to take to a great, big craft show,” Marietta said.
One parishioner is repurposing First Presbyterian’s old organ pipes.
“She paints and decorates the pipes. They can be turned into flower vases, things like that,” Marietta said. “Fun ideas that you wouldn’t necessarily see at a big craft show.”
Admission to the first Mission CraftFest is free. Food will be available for purchase, cash only, and while some vendors do accept cards and other forms of payment, many are also cash only.
“There will be food. There will be crafts. There will be people whose hearts are mission-oriented, spreading the news,” Rall said.
For more information on Mission CraftFest, visit https://fpc1793.org/.