Richmonds artisan fair
in the wood shop courses to create peg boards for her. They worked to create a plan, modified it, built and installed them.
All of the proceeds – read ALL of the proceeds – went back to the students at Richmond Regional High School – to help pay for the sports programs so that more students could participate, and to support students who have other interests requiring funding as well.
“I want to bring community back.” Valerie insisted. “I don’t even have kids that attend school there – they’ve all graduated! Volunteering makes my soul happy.”
So, what is the difference between a craft fair and this artisans event being planned? In part, the appearance of the kiosks – black table cloths at every stand, adequate breathing room and space between each, plenty of room to navigate, and Valerie’s awareness of what creates a more artisan-friendly environment as well – including a food trolley that makes its way around the site to ensure that those selling their wares have an opportunity to eat and have refreshments during as the day goes by.
Establishing rules for the artisans on site, and insisting that they are followed ensures a quality event for all attending as well. Approximately 85 kiosks are anticipated on site for the upcoming 2017 edition, to be held at Richmond Regional High School again, on Saturday, September 30th from 10:00 – 5:00 and Sunday, October 1st, from 10:00 – 4:00.
A brunch will also be held, again with all proceeds going to RRHS school activities, taking place on the Sunday of the event (October 1st) in RRHS’S cafeteria.
Valerie hopes that in time the local retirement homes will also come on board, with a vision of buses of residents attending, given how many elderly folks also love hand-made goods. “Our whole site is wheelchair accessible – the entrances, gyms and the bathrooms.”
There will be give-aways over the course of the weekend as well – a cottage weekend for two that all who attend will be eligible to enter their names in a drawing for, and four door prizes per day (winners must be in attendance at the time of the draws).
Valerie’s love of the arts has been passed on to her three children, Amanda, Megan and Ryan. Her pride shines through as she states that Amanda will in fact be one of the artisans on hand for the weekend.
The list of work on site is long, “Painters, an artisans who makes beautiful hats and scarves, another woman who creates hand-made Barbie clothes, woodworking, another artist who solders and pounds her own metal for jewelry, a man who makes hand-turned pens, and Danny Perkins (who garnered great praise and attention for his impressive gates created for this year’s edition of Richmond Fair).” There will be food on site as well – honey and maple products, pies, cookies and specialty fudge among others!
A great crowd is expected, and Valerie is pleased with the response thus far with enthusiasm and awareness that it not only takes a village to raise a child (as the idiom goes), but also takes some passionate, dedicated folks to build community.
Richmond Regional High School is located at 375 Armstrong, Richmond, Quebec, J0B 2H0. There a few spots left for kiosks. For more information, please contact Valerie Bushey at 819-826-