By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The Needham High School PTC recently hosted their 41st annual Artisan Craft Fair and Bake sale. This event, which lasted from 9 am to 3 pm, was held in the Needham High School (NHS) gyms A & B.
Over 100 local vendors were seen set up with their booths between the two gyms. In the hallway leading up to them, both NHS parent and student volunteers sold delicious baked goods including cookies, cupcakes, donuts, pies and more. These baked treats were all donations from families and restaurants in the area.
Also in attendance was Chair of the Craft Fair Committee, Beth McCarthy. When speaking with her about this event, she detailed just how much time, work and effort goes into planning this spectacular fundraiser. “All that we do here for this craft fair,” McCarthy stated, “is to fundraise money for the school. It really is a community event that gets so many people involved. There has been a lot of hype for this event in which we had a huge waiting list of vendors who wanted to participate. It is basically a year-long planning process to put everything together. We start sending applications out to vendors late January, we ask for them to be filled out in March, and then we go through a whole selection process. We have these vendors committed by spring time because we have to get a solid count with the fall season being so busy.”
With this craft fair gaining increasing popularity year after year, McCarthy additionally explained that they have doubled their attendance last year and are continually looking for new ways to improve. “We are always looking for ways to get better each year. After each craft fair, we will go over what went well, what can we do better, what will make vendors happy, what will make the students happy, all of those things,” McCarthy stated.
As family, friends, community members and more filed into NHS, they paid a $5 admission fee. All of this money raised goes towards student scholarships, guidance support, staff appreciation, different grants including D&D dioramas, author visits and murals, additional furniture such as chairs and display cabinets, and to support athletics and fine & performing arts.
There was certainly something for everyone at this craft fair. One could find jewelry pieces, wooden art works, paintings, clothing, figurines, custom stationery pieces and so much more. The event this year was another huge success for NHS and all are hopeful for its return for years to come.
