Items on display at the Pop-up Crafts Fair in the Bismarck Hotel, 16 Union Ave., Westfield, Dec. 4-5. (SUBMITTED)
WESTFIELD — Today and tomorrow, Dec. 4 and 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is the second of four weekends for the Shop and Stroll Pop-Up Holiday Crafts Fair at the Bismarck Hotel, home of Pilgrim Candle, at 16 Union Ave., Westfield.
The fair features 20 different artists, crafters and vendors, many of them local, filling the halls and first floor of the historic hotel, built in 1899. Hotel owners Donna and Joseph Shibley have lent their antique furniture in the space to vendors to be able to display their crafts, adding to the atmosphere. They are also donating all of the vendor fees to the Westfield Food Pantry.
Casey Goudreau of Southwick, a consultant for Tastefully Simple, is organizing the crafts fair. She said she was approached by Donna Shibley, a family friend, and readily agreed. All of the table fees paid by crafters and vendors will go to the Westfield Food Pantry. On the last day, Sunday, Dec. 19, Donna Shibley will present a check to the pantry.
Admission to the fair is free for shoppers. Door prize tickets, donated by vendors, will be given out with purchases, and to any shopper who brings a nonperishable item for the Food Pantry.
“We the vendors have donated items to use as door prizes. A customer just has to spend money at a vendor’s booth and they will get a ticket for some amazing door prizes donated by the vendors. We are also giving tickets to shoppers if they bring in non perishable items for the food pantry. It’s a win-win!” Goudreau said.
J’aime Dubois of Westfield is selling her Ember’s Art and Jewelry at the Pop-up Crafts Fair in the Bismarck Hotel 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this weekend. (SUBMITTED)
She said many of the vendors are local and unique. For example, J’aime DuBois of Westfield will have a table at the fair featuring her creations from Ember’s Resin Art and Jewelry.
“I love to use real nature items in my resin so fragile things like flowers and leaves will stay strong and beautiful forever,” DuBois said.
Shoppers can also stop at Soup’s On, also located in the Bismarck, for a bite to eat before or after they shop, Goudreau said, adding, “Yummy food there!”
“There’s lots going on in town, but I want the town, the community and surrounding communities to know our cause,” she said. “We want them to shop our local crafters and vendors this holiday season and help the food pantry all in one,” Goudreau said.
