WILLIAMSBURG – Homegrown produce, baked goods, and handmade arts and crafts will be on exhibit and for sale and auction at Saturday’s annual Williamsburg Grange Fair.
“We will have an assortment of vendors outside this year and inside the building, there will be exhibits,” Williamsburg Grange President Candy Smith said.
According to Grange secretary Shannon Wade, items on exhibition will include things like vegetables, flowers, baked goods, hand-sewn, knit and crocheted items, woodworking, drawings and photography.
The fair, held at Grange Hall at 10 Main St., opens at 11 a.m. There will be a day-long bake sale, a ham supper at 5 p.m. and auction that begins at 6:30 p.m.
Smith said that all money raised by the event supports the Grange and its activities.
“We don’t make a ton of money at the fair because we have to pay out prize money to people who exhibit their items,” Wade said.
One of the most expensive projects currently facing the Grange is the installation of an elevator to make the building more accessible.
A community organization with its roots in agriculture, the Williamsburg Grange was founded in 1900, and its building stands between the Williamsburg Historical Society and the Williamsburg General Store,
In 2016, the building was almost put up for sale due to low and aging membership, and the need to make expensive repairs and upgrades to the structure. But a successful push for new members and an increase in activities staved off the need to sell the building.
“Things are going pretty good now, we got 10 to 15 new members who are really participating on a regular basis,” Wade said. “That has also brought the median age of the Grange down. We were mostly seniors and now we have members from teenagers to people in their 30s and 40s.”
Along with supporting agricultural endeavors and the 4-H, the Grange also offers space for educational programs, community gatherings and events, as well as making donations to schools, food banks and other charitable groups.
“We have had programs on everything from master gardening, invasive plant species and beekeeping, to the merchant marines and shipwrecks,” Wade said.
To learn more about the Williamsburg Grange, email Burgygrange@gmail.com or visit the organization’s Facebook page.