Nancy Shaul (left), owner of Westport Island Pottery, traveled from Maine to last weekend’s festival to promote her products. (Photo by Chase Jordan)
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Sugar Mound A Sweet Treat
Annual Arts And Crafts Festival Draws Tens Of Thousands Of Eager Shoppers Despite Current Economic Woes
By Chase Jordan, chasejordan@miconews.com
Problems in the economy did not stop tens of thousands of people from attending a two-day arts and crafts festival last weekend.
The Sugar Mound Arts and Crafts Festival featured more than 500 booths Saturday and Sunday at the Linn County fairgrounds in Mound City.
Mark Pauls, and wife Miriam, from Inman, Kan., were two of the many vendors who participated in the event. The couple operates Kansas Kreations, a company that makes handcrafted items including tole-painted wood, wire and pins.
“It’s a lot of people and a lot better than what I expected, considering what you hear on TV about the economy,” Mark said. “I wasn’t expecting much, and I was surprised. There’s a lot of people that bought our things, which is surprising to me.”
The Pauls have been participating in the festival for several years and have been making crafts for 20 years. Mark said many arts and crafts shows don’t feature original material, which is a problem.
“If you go to a craft show, it should have unique material that’s made by the people in them,” Mark said.
Fanchion Shadden, co-chair of the festival, said the event started 37 years ago as an art show on the Linn County Courthouse lawn for a local artist. Shadden, who has been a festival board member for 20 years, said the event has continued to grow every year since.
“It can grow larger, but we would like to keep it where it is, so it can have that hometown feeling,” Shadden said. “We estimate our crowd to be between 20,000 and 30,000 for the weekend. It’s very rewarding to sit back and watch it come together.”
Shadden said income from the booths helps provides scholarships to high school students.
Brian Greer of Greenwood, Mo., attended the event with his son Andrew, 9, to purchase gifts for family and friends.
“There’s a lot of diverse items down here to be able to find something for a lot of people,” Greer said. “Personally, we buy things for display out in the yard such as Halloween, Christmas or fall items.”
Andrew said he also enjoys coming to the Sugar Mound festival.
“I like getting gifts for family and the food,” Andrew said.
Renae Rathbone of Madison, Neb., was one of the many people that traveled to Kansas for the festival. She went to the event with six of her friends and family members from Nebraska.
“It’s a tradition,” Rathbone said. “Every year we come down for the craft show on Saturday and stay overnight in Kansas City and go shopping on Sunday.”
Nancy Shaul, owner of Westport Island Pottery, traveled from Westport Island, Maine. Shaul said she likes interacting with the people at the festival.
“I do about 35 shows a year, and this one is top notch by the way it’s organized,” Shaul said.
Jeff Schneider of Mound City, who owns Schneider Mums, was one of the Linn County vendors that attended the festival.
“I love the festival, and it’s quite a draw for the town, and it’s been good for me,” Schneider said. “It’s good for my business, and I enjoy doing it.”
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The Sugar Mound Arts and Crafts Festival featured more than 500 booths Saturday and Sunday at the Linn County fairgrounds in Mound City.
Mark Pauls, and wife Miriam, from Inman, Kan., were two of the many vendors who participated in the event. The couple operates Kansas Kreations, a company that makes handcrafted items including tole-painted wood, wire and pins.
“It’s a lot of people and a lot better than what I expected, considering what you hear on TV about the economy,” Mark said. “I wasn’t expecting much, and I was surprised. There’s a lot of people that bought our things, which is surprising to me.”
The Pauls have been participating in the festival for several years and have been making crafts for 20 years. Mark said many arts and crafts shows don’t feature original material, which is a problem.
“If you go to a craft show, it should have unique material that’s made by the people in them,” Mark said.
Fanchion Shadden, co-chair of the festival, said the event started 37 years ago as an art show on the Linn County Courthouse lawn for a local artist. Shadden, who has been a festival board member for 20 years, said the event has continued to grow every year since.
“It can grow larger, but we would like to keep it where it is, so it can have that hometown feeling,” Shadden said. “We estimate our crowd to be between 20,000 and 30,000 for the weekend. It’s very rewarding to sit back and watch it come together.”
Shadden said income from the booths helps provides scholarships to high school students.
Brian Greer of Greenwood, Mo., attended the event with his son Andrew, 9, to purchase gifts for family and friends.
“There’s a lot of diverse items down here to be able to find something for a lot of people,” Greer said. “Personally, we buy things for display out in the yard such as Halloween, Christmas or fall items.”
Andrew said he also enjoys coming to the Sugar Mound festival.
“I like getting gifts for family and the food,” Andrew said.
Renae Rathbone of Madison, Neb., was one of the many people that traveled to Kansas for the festival. She went to the event with six of her friends and family members from Nebraska.
“It’s a tradition,” Rathbone said. “Every year we come down for the craft show on Saturday and stay overnight in Kansas City and go shopping on Sunday.”
Nancy Shaul, owner of Westport Island Pottery, traveled from Westport Island, Maine. Shaul said she likes interacting with the people at the festival.
“I do about 35 shows a year, and this one is top notch by the way it’s organized,” Shaul said.
Jeff Schneider of Mound City, who owns Schneider Mums, was one of the Linn County vendors that attended the festival.
“I love the festival, and it’s quite a draw for the town, and it’s been good for me,” Schneider said. “It’s good for my business, and I enjoy doing it.”