Another signature event in Ahwatukee is returning after the pandemic shut it down the last two years.
The annual Arts and Crats Fair at Ahwatukee Recreation Center, 5001 E. Cheyenne Drive, will be held 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 19.
Admission is free so people can get a head start on their holiday shopping with unique hand-made items that include stained glass and glass, jewelry, quilts, woodwork, clay and pottery, greeting cards and other paper gifts, candy, ceramics and more.
While most of the items are made by some of the 29 clubs that are based at the ARC, organizer Patti Burke and her team also selected six outside vendors, each with unique offerings that can be used for gift-giving or personal use.
They include Peg J Designs of Chandler, Memory Expressions of Gilbert, URockEveryday of Glendale, Custom Cookies By Lyn of Central Phoenix, A Cut Above Creations of Scottsdale and Nancy Derrig of Mountain Park Ranch.
A look at the ARC clubs that will be offering their work will be published in next week’s Ahwatukee Foothills News. Here’s a preview of the six outside vendors and what they will be offering:
Peg J Designs. Peggy Matanich will be selling greeting and note cards, wine gift bags, and note pads.
“My love for making these products all started 15 years ago while working at a stationery store in California,” she says on her website. “It was fun learning how to make products from start to finish. So much fun I decided to start my own business after moving to Arizona a couple years ago. That was when Peg J Designs was established.
Custom Cookies By Lyn. Lynette Geake offers 70% dark Belgian chocolate covered Oreos in an array of hand-painted seasonal designs and flavors. The business began over seven years ago when she was asked to create favors for her son’s wedding and she began taking chocolate classes.
This led to a passion for creating delicious chocolate treats in a wide variety of flavors, including a salted caramel flavor she created using Werther’s caramels and an original Oreo cookie. Over time, she has made and sold over 20,000 chocolate-covered Oreos for weddings, showers, birthdays, business promotions and other special occasions.
URockEveryday. Julie Brown started painting rocks as a hobby. As an outdoor enthusiast, she said, “combining the hunt for the perfect rock and then turning them into colorful works of art was a perfect match.” She has been teaching classes, selling and hiding rocks for the past four years. Her specialty is mandala design, saying, “the more colors, the better.”
A Cut Above Creations. This vendor will be selling woodwork, and baskets.
Memory Expressions. Janice Radakovich will be selling scrapbooks.
Nancy Derrick. She will be offering potholders, aprons and dishtowels.
The ARC is a happening place this month, as it also is presenting a special concert by one of the state’s most popular “sugar groups” – The Arizona Highwaymen – at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12.
The celebrated band will be playing its own tunes and those of Country Western’s legends like Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson.
Tickets are going fast for the show at the ARC’s 200-seat main hall and are on sale for $25 online at purplepass.com/ARC or at the center 9-11 a.m. today through Saturday.