Washington Fall Craft Fair growing bigger

WASHINGTON — The Chamber of Commerce’s annual Fall Craft Fair will add up to 40 vendor booths and expand further onto Main Street this year, after the event drew record-breaking signups in its 36th season.

Washington Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Michelle Redlinger said the space for 130 booths, reserved for the event in Central Park roughly a year ago, was already booked out weeks ahead of the craft fair planned for Sept. 6.

“It’s the first time that we’ve had that capacity,” she said at a city council meeting Aug. 19, where the chamber requested more street space for the event. “Last year … it brought almost 5,000 visitors to the community on that day, so we’d love to be able to grow the event.”

Council members voted unanimously to close the eastbound lane of Main Street and mid-road parking stalls where the road passes the square for the event. Redlinger said the chamber would open booths for 10 vendors at a time until the new spaces are filled, in hopes of attracting more sellers to the craft fair.

Now in its 36th year, the Washington Fall Craft Fair is known for drawing a wide variety of sellers and handcrafted goods, who have offered everything from freeze-dried candy to metal yard art to wooden signs to marshmallow guns in previous iterations of the event.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com