It is estimated about 12,000 people will attend the 48th annual Arts & Crafts Festival Friday and Saturday in downtown Hutchinson’s Library Square.
For two days, the population of Hutchinson almost doubles. What draws people to this event year after year? To hear tell it, the reasons are many ranging from handcrafted artwork and the beautiful outdoor setting to convenient parking, mouth-watering food and hand-clappin’, toe-tappin’ music. There’s also the joy of seeing old friends and making new ones.
What’s new this year? According Mary Hodson, president of the Hutchinson Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, there’s a special program for children 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday — Balloon Creations by Heidi.
“We’re also excited to have an online program via QR code,” Hodson said. “It’s easier for people to read and access, less waste and litter. There (also) will be some new signage and wayfinding this year.”
Hodson credited the longevity of the festival to the location — being right downtown in Library Square, and on a main state highway.
“It comes with its own set of challenges, but is iconic to downtown,” she said.
Hodson also credited the level of community involvement that’s needed to make this event happen.
“It’s not just the chamber staff and board,” she said. “It’s the entire community from the city, to the police, to park and rec, to volunteers, to businesses ... it’s a unique collaboration.”
Vendors are selected through a process, which allows the chamber to vet those who have selling potential and desirable products. For those who have been in the festival before, they look at on-site jury notes from previous years and they take into account those who follow the rules of sale and behavior in the past.
“There are vendors who are not invited back because our rule here is to ‘be kind and honest,’” she said.
While this weekend’s Arts & Crafts Festival will run like clockwork, it’s actually a 12-month process.
“Once we get past the event, we start again in October for the next year,” Hodson said. “What worked well, what didn’t, what needs to be adjusted. We take a lot of notes during the actual show. We give vendors the opportunity to share ideas, and comment on the show from their perspective as well. Our application goes live by Jan. 1, so we have a pretty quick turn around for the application to be ready. Since we are, of course, managing other programs, services and events, we do a lot of juggling to make it happen in time. Staff does a lot of the work in the background before a committee is brought into help with details and ideation.”
Once vendors start applying, the chamber staff is managing a large spreadsheet of information, and fielding phone calls. There is a lull in April through June and then vendor applications really pick up from there.
“We’ll get calls right up until Tuesday of the event week,” she said. “Yes, we really do! This is why we don’t publish the vendor map before vendor check-in ... too many moving parts right up until the end and we try to have the most accurate information possible for the public.”
Next up is volunteer recruitment. Hodson said they used to have about 70, 10 to 12 years ago, but that isn’t true anymore.
“Volunteers are so much harder to engage now, so we run with about 40,” she said.
Like events everywhere, the Arts & Crafts Festival was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Interestingly, we lost and gained vendors due to COVID,” Hodson said. “We had many that went to online sales and found they did very well, and honestly didn’t need the inventory they need for a festival season. Others gained as they may have lost a job or needed a hobby during the shut downs, and they ended up with a side hustle.”
In our world of instant communication, it’s worth noting when an event has legs, meaning longevity. In the case of the Hutchinson Arts & Crafts Festival, it’s 48 years. Hodson credited its staying power to “adjusting its sails.”
“Vendor numbers have gone up and down, food has been added, entertainment was added a few years ago on the Ambassador side for Taste of Hutchinson,” she said. “We hear stories about sisters’ weekends, and friend reunions just for this weekend. We’ve also had a number of businesses have their own events the same weekend. It goes back to being an iconic event.”
Looking back at past festivals, Hodson said two things stand out for her.
“I have some pieces of jewelry from past vendors that I am very sentimental about,” she said. “I typically wear them throughout the year and during Arts & Crafts. For me personally, it’s about the ‘ah-ha’ moment I see something I must have. I have a bracelet I treasure, it tells my own life story. I was able to add my daughter-in-law before the vendor retired. We both cried his last day with us.”
The other is the relationships she’s built with vendors over the years.
“There are some that instantly get and give hugs,” Hodson said. “I’m a hugger. I may have my share of challenging vendor stories over the years, but this group is really good to work with and appreciates the effort we put into having a good vendor experience.”
