Bella Vista Arts and Crafts Festival celebrates 50 years
In 1969, the 30-member Village Art Club decided to put on an Arts and Crafts Festival. That first year, it rented a large tent and set it up in a pasture not far from the campground which was then located on Little Sugar Creek, north of the dam.
According to a story published in The Ozark Mountaineer in October 1983, the first festival was a success and the little club signed up 23 more members. But the next year, 1970, it rained. The organizers were surprised to realize that didn’t stop some of the shoppers. They wore plastic bags on their feet and negotiated the muddy pasture to shop. After that, the author notes, the committee knew to keep a supply of straw and heavy plastic on hand.
Another article published by the “Festival Magazine” reports that the exhibitors saved the day when the large circus tent began to sag and lean. The exhibitors were used to outdoor shows and they knew to clear the standing water and tighten the guylines while they waited for the tent company to send workers down from Joplin.
The dates were changed to correspond with the War Eagle Craft Fair in 1972.
In 1973, the festival moved to Blowing Springs Park which had restrooms, a picnic area and paved roads. By then, there were three tents, 150 artists and 50,000 people in attendance.
The “Butterfield Tram” drawn by a tractor and used to bring festival-goers into Blowing Springs debuted in 1975. The first wagon was built by volunteers. Now there are two wagons drawn my tractors lent by Bobcat of Northwest Arkansas and driven by volunteers.
In 1993, the festival moved again to its current location, just south of the junction of Highways 340 and 279.
Martha Anglin remembers bringing sock dolls to the Bella Vista Arts and Crafts Festival in 1969. At one time, she and her husband Robert went to 18 craft fairs all over the region, but now they only go to Bella Vista. They no longer sell dolls. Now, she has jackets and felt bags.
Anglin said she likes the Bella Vista fair because it’s still all handmade items. The last craft fair she attended in Branson was all “commercial stuff.” Also, Bella Vista is close to home for the Anglins, who live in Siloam Springs.
She returns to the same booths each year and sees many of the same customers. Some of her customers call her at home to make sure she plans to be there.
“I’ve always gotten along with the committee,” she said. Although the individuals change, the attitude remains the same.
In honor of the festival’s 50th anniversary, Director Elaine Reinke is planning to add a gallery tent. She realized that many of the artists who sell their products in Wishing Spring Gallery aren’t able to have a booth at the festival. It’s not easy, she said, to spend three days outside in a tent. She’ll collect the artwork, set up the display and assign volunteers to man the booth, she said.
One thing that hasn’t changed about the festival is the volunteers, Reinke said.
“We couldn’t do it without the support of groups like the Rotary and the Kiwanis,” she said. Several churches send volunteers. Last year, a 4-H Club joined the ranks of Festival Ambassadors. Ambassadors run the booths when the owners need a short
break. The exhibitors loved having the young helpers, Reinke said.
There are also volunteers manning the large item service. They use a donated golf cart to pick up large items after a customer makes a purchase; transport it to a tent in the parking lot and wait for the buyer to drive up and retrieve it. They also use golf carts to pick up customers who need a lift.
There’s a family tent again this year where children can do their own arts and crafts or have their face painted or watch an actual beehive. A trio of musicians will be traveling throughout the fair.
This year there are 12 food trucks, each with a unique menu ranging from “fair food” like cotton candy to stir-fried vegetables.
From the very beginning, the Bella Vista Arts and Crafts Festival has been a juried show. A committee looks at the products and chooses
which artists can exhibit at the show. If an artist is found selling something purchased elsewhere, the artist is asked to leave and not allowed to return, Reinke said. She doesn’t expect that policy will change anytime soon.