20th anniversary of the Chipita Park Association’s Arts & Crafts Fair Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 2-3
Bring your friends and family to the 20th Anniversary of this much anticipated and celebrated Arts & Crafts Fair in the Ute Pass, a perfect time to gather in beautiful Marcroft Hall with friends, local artists and crafters to begin your holiday shopping!
DeeAnn Brown, chair of the Fair for the past seven years, explains that this is, “The only fundraiser that the Chipita Park Association holds. It’s a really wonderful time where the whole area, the neighborhoods, come together … a family event … many of the vendors have been coming for all or most of the [20 years].” Carolyn Houchin, who coordinates marketing for the Arts & Crafts Fair, agrees!
The Fair engages 25 vendors, including tried and true loyalists as well as new artists and crafters. (There is a wait list for those who wish to showcase their wares.) A diverse art and craft selection includes braided rugs, woodcraft, jewelry, pottery, holiday decor, books, metal art, textiles, etched and painted glass, candles, birdhouses, bird feeders and wind chimes.
In addition to the wide variety of arts and crafts, the Chipita Park Association will be offering homemade cinnamon rolls, soups and sandwiches, and baked items for enjoying onsite and/or purchase.
All monies raised go towards the maintenance and updating of Marcroft Hall, a place with a history that dates back to the 1940s. The property’s open pavilion was transformed in 1962 with the addition of pine-paneled walls, kitchen and bathrooms. The building is presently home to social gatherings of the Chipita Park Association and offered for events and rentals. Marcroft Hall was named in honor of Frank W. Marcroft, the original developer of Ute Park, later named Chipita Park.
The Arts & Crafts Fair takes place Saturday, Nov. 2, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 3, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Marcroft Hall at 9105 Chipita Park Road, Chipita Park. Entry is free. For more information, go to chipitapark.org.
All onies raised go towards the maintenance and updating of Marcroft Hall, a place with a history that dates back to the 1940s. The property’s open pavilion was transformed in 1962 with the addition of pine-paneled walls, kitchen and bathrooms. The building is presently home to social gatherings of the Chipita Park Association and offered for events and rentals. Marcroft Hall was named in honor of Frank W. Marcroft, the original developer of Ute Park, later named Chipita Park.
The Arts & Crafts Fair takes place Saturday, Nov. 2, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 3, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Marcroft Hall at 9105 Chipita Park Road, Chipita Park. Entry is free. For more information, go to chipitapark.org
Two artists who showcase their crafts at the Chipita Park Association’s Arts & Crafts Fair Michael Stansbery, woodcrafter
Michael Stansbery is a mountain man residing in Cascade. His artistic talent centers in working with wood, creating all manner of woodcrafts from “furniture to toys, drums, chess sets, cutting boards, whatever strikes my fancy at that moment. Or what someone custom orders.” He sources reclaimed and repurposed wood from near and far, including Brazilian wood from a garage sale, scraps from thrift stores, dead or windfallen trees, beetle-kill, ponderosa pine, aspen, yew … from any available place or source.
Michael opines, “It’s called a crafts fair, but in a real way, when we start looking around at what’s being done, it’s actually art. It’s creative things that have come from our imagination, or from stimulus from something we saw, that’s put out for others to admire … Sort of like giving birth … it gives what we do and share with others a sense of well-being and authenticity.”
Michael asserts that, “Whoever comes [to the Arts & Crafts Fair] should be pleased with what they see. They’ll find one or more items that they will become intrigued by!”
Lisa Cintron, etched and painted glass
Lisa Cintron, whose business is called “Draw It Out,” etches and paints all manner of glassware. She is a professionally trained forensic artist. Sketches come easily and quickly for her, thus enabling her to demonstrate and customize glassware art on site during the Arts & Crafts Fair.
Lisa affirms, “I am very supportive of reclaim, recycle, reuse. So, all my glassware has been either given to me from leftover events, or from hunting and pecking at thrift stores. My craft is multi-faceted. I hand-etch every piece of glass with a Dremel, whatever is in my head ends up on the glass. The same applies to the painting. I look for pieces of glass that are unique.”
Lisa picks up a beautiful piece of rose-colored pigeon blood glass she acquired, very rare and hard to find, that she has etched on. “If you can think it, and create it in your head, and you can explain it to me, I can put it on glass.”
She specializes in custom designs for weddings, events and family gatherings. She also offers glass-painting parties during which she brings all the supplies, and guides participants to bring out their own inner artist, often over a glass of wine.
Lisa feels that this Arts & Crafts Fair is “a camaraderie of mountain vibe people that live up here. We all share a similar culture, a local culture. Everyone likes something made with your hands, from the heart, right? It’s unbelievable, the talent that you find in this small community.”
Lisa concludes, “The [Chipita Park Association’s Arts &] Crafts Fair for me is my love, way my favorite thing to do.”
