Christmas in June Craft Fair draws crowds to Belpre park
Friends Austin Coffield, 11, left, and Jett Rader, 11, center, work on a wooden rolling pin turned by Mark Johnson of Sugar Grove, Ohio, Sunday afternoon during the Christmas in June Craft Fair at Civitan Park in Belpre. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Nancy Pyle, left, of Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, sells some of her wares to fellow vendor Karen Richmond of Parkersburg Sunday during the second day of the Christmas in June Craft Fair at Civitan Park in Belpre. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Friends Jett Rader, 11, left, and Austin Coffield, 11, center, watch as Mark Johnson cuts off the wooden rolling pin he turned Sunday during the Christmas in June Craft Fair at Civitan Park in Belpre. The boys sanded and applied oils to the pin. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Friends Austin Coffield, 11, left, and Jett Rader, 11, center, work on a wooden rolling pin turned by Mark Johnson of Sugar Grove, Ohio, Sunday afternoon during the Christmas in June Craft Fair at Civitan Park in Belpre. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Nancy Pyle, left, of Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, sells some of her wares to fellow vendor Karen Richmond of Parkersburg Sunday during the second day of the Christmas in June Craft Fair at Civitan Park in Belpre. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Friends Jett Rader, 11, left, and Austin Coffield, 11, center, watch as Mark Johnson cuts off the wooden rolling pin he turned Sunday during the Christmas in June Craft Fair at Civitan Park in Belpre. The boys sanded and applied oils to the pin. (Photo by Evan Bevins)
Trending
BELPRE -- Vienna resident Kelley Dobkin had such a good time at the Christmas in June Craft Fair Saturday at Belpre's Civitan Park that she came back on Sunday.
"I came back to get my arms full again," she said.
Dobkin said the event, which assembled 125 vendors plus food trucks in the park, was the "first time in a long time" she'd been out and about, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It was pretty hot yesterday, but still, it was nice to come out," she said.
The fair was organized by Meigs County residents Robin and Todd Erwin, following up on a Christmas-themed event they put together last fall in the Albany area. After the venue increased its prices, Robin said, they looked for another location and settled on Belpre.
"We found the next available place, and the city has been amazing," she said.
The crowd was larger on Saturday, with threats of a storm scaring some people off Sunday, Erwin said.
In addition to a host of crafts for sale, Erwin said she encouraged people to demonstrate their work. Sugar Grove, Ohio, resident Mark Johnson found an eager audience for his wood turning in the form of 11-year-olds Austin Coffield of Mineral Wells and Jett Rader of Coolville.
"They sat in chairs all day yesterday and watched me," Johnson said.
When the boys returned Sunday, they wanted to get one of Johnson's rolling pins as a gift for Coffield's mother. Johnson turned the wood but let the boys sand it and apply the oils.
"Best demonstrators I got," he said with a smile.
The event drew vendors from the Mid-Ohio Valley and beyond. Among those in the latter category was Nancy Pyle, who brought her Aunt Nancy's Tasty Delights from Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania.
"I love to travel, and I love doing shows," she said.
It was her first time at a Belpre event, but Pyle said she plans to be back in the future, including for Belpre Homecoming.
Erwin said they're considering another event in the area, perhaps planning one for the fall, when the temperatures won't be as high.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.