Berea Craft Festival wraps up wet weekend
Vendors both new and old set up for thousands of people who came out
BEREA, Ky. (WTVQ) – Hundreds of vendors and thousands of people came through the Berea Craft Festival over the weekend, despite the rainy weather Friday and Saturday. Over 100 vendors, both local and out-of-state, gathered to sell their art in a rich, forest environment. Some vendors have been coming for decades, others, brand new and coming to experience the Berea community.
“I do think that we’ll find last year’s turnout to be a little more than we’ve had this year because we of course had some rain issues on Friday that really cost us. But people are still very much glad to be spending,” says festival coordinator Melissa Gross. “Some gas prices concerned us, what would spending look like, but you can see there’s lots of bags moving out the door here.”
Kevin Houtchens and his wife Karen are an art team enjoying their first year as vendors at the Berea Craft Festival. From Lawrenceburg, Indiana, the duo featured their beautiful colored quilt-work and repurposed metal art.
“We take things that people never dreamed that this would be and turn it into something new,” says Kevin.
He says while the rain did keep sales down a bit, they plan on making a re-appearance in the future.
“We love to be in art shows but we like to see art shows and there’s a lot of talented people here,” says Kevin. “It’s amazing the diversity.”
Right next to the Houtchens’ booths, veteran Berea Craft Festival artist Dean Hill, a native eastern Kentucky photographer with photography inspired by Appalachian Kentucky.
“It’s a great festival, I love being up in the woods among the oak trees and it’s just a fantastic place to have an art fair,” says Hill.
What keeps him coming back for around 15 years now?
“Probably the people running it,” says Hill. “They go above and beyond the call of duty to see that we are taken care of and we enjoy it, that’s it. The people make the fair, then you got the location, so what more could you ask for.”
Gross says the Berea community is steeped in history and art which makes it a natural place to hold so many artists.
