DEERFIELD — When the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association’s Old Deerfield Fall Arts & Crafts Festival returns for the 49th year this weekend, 105 vendors from across 13 states will fill Memorial Street.
The event will be held Saturday, Sept. 20, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. According to festival Co-Coordinator Jennifer Fay Smith, the 105 vendors include returning crafters and about 23 new artists.
From art resembling Black Death artifacts at Of Grave Concern’s booth, to BrandyWine Pottery’s ceramic characters and creatures and Forest Doe Botanicals’ toxin-free organic soaps, serums and salves, Smith said the new vendors take “a really different twist on traditional art.”
“We’ve all seen turned bowls, we’ve all seen carved things, we’ve all seen pottery,” Smith said, “but to see a new look to it or a different feel to it is very exciting.”
Smith said visitors also return to the festival to check out their favorite booths’ latest creations. Along with decor and crafts, she added that vendors will sell honey, tea, spices, sauces, vinegar, oil and Ahlbin’s Homemade Fire Cider for shoppers to “add that little pizzazz to [their] own home kitchen.”
According to Smith, the prices start low, with “something for every price range.”
Between booth stops, visitors can pick between Roadside Grill’s apple crisp, Ginger Love Cafe’s Filipino food and even specialty pickles at a new food stand in the festival’s food court. With shopping, food and activities like crafting for children, “There’s something for everyone,” Smith said.
She expects the Old Deerfield Fall Arts & Crafts Festival will attract between 4,000 and 6,000 attendees over the two days, if the attendance of past festivals is any indication.
“It’s quintessential New England,” Smith added. With the leaves changing and air still warm, Smith said, “It really does have that fall festival feeling to it.”
Admission is $7 for adults and free for children ages 12 and under. Smith said coupons are available at deerfield-craft.org/index.php/fall.