Holiday Hangout event offers variety, creativity

Additional shoppers–a total of about 215 by the end of the day–arrived every few minutes to visit the “Holiday Hangout” craft sale in the elementary school gym in Ellendale. Inside, they found 34 craft vendors offering  items made of everything from paper to metal. Four food vendors, including a “Norsemen Lobster” food truck outside and Boujee Bagels, All About the Cupcakes, and Tono’s Tacos inside, also offered their wares.

 

The school made its facility available because the fees paid by vendors to take part are all being used toward acquiring and installing equipment and landscaping for the eventual construction of a fully accessible playground, a project which has been in the works for about two years. The Holiday Hangout raised nearly $2,000 in vendor fees as well as about $500 in incidental donations from shoppers.

 

According to elementary physical education teacher Beth Schoenrock and Ellendale Community Action Group leader Allison (Groth) Muhlenberg, the special playground equipment constitutes roughly $60,000 of the $200,000 expected total cost. The remainder of the expense is for the time and materials needed to remove much of the former equipment, level the ground and cover it with appropriate materials, and add sidewalks and other landscape features.

 

Some of the work is likely to begin this spring, with various elements completed as circumstances and funding allow.

 

Business seemed brisk inside the gym, with finely crafted handmade goods the most common type of products.

 

“You never know what I’m going to make next,” joked Janae Janicke, who, in addition to being a custodian at the school, operates a home-based business she calls “Janae’s Wacky Workshop.” Janicke offered elaborately shaped wooden puzzles and other woodcraft products, but added that she uses a variety of tools and materials to make her projects.

 

Another local vendor, Nastassia Misgen is a New Richland resident and operates “The Candle Beesness” out of her home. Misgen helped advertise and organize the Holiday Hangout. At her booth were a wide variety of fragrant items made from beeswax, including candles, “wax melts,” and room cleansing sprays and crystal infused sprays.

 

Wyatt Holtberg, 13, of Hollandale was a vendor at his third craft show. Surrounded by a clothes rack and three tables, he sat crocheting at a rapid pace. For sale at his booth were crocheted spherical Christmas ornaments, mittens, hats, scarves, sweaters, and even a toy cow.

 

“He made every item here,” said his mother, Chrissy, who with Wyatt’s aunt Laura Varner has accompanied him to all three sales so far.

 

Wyatt explained not all his items were crocheted, some were knitted: he demonstrated the difference in the “texture and stretch” of two hats which had been made using the two different techniques.

 

He enjoys both, he says, but has a slight preference for crocheting, since it tends to produce results more quickly.

 

Wyatt has been crocheting since the age of 10; his grandmother taught him how. Chrissy speculates continuing the crafts is Wyatt’s way of commemorating his grandmother, who also had Wyatt help her with baking projects.

 

“He baked all our pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving,” said Chrissy. “They were very good.” Wyatt says he has also made lefse, and that baking cookies is his favorite.

 

For the most part, Wyatt says he has no need of a pattern to create a crocheted or knitted project. He sees a picture, he says, and can pretty well see what needs to be done.

 

Of all the products for sale, he said the crocheted cow was perhaps the most difficult. “I unraveled that about three times,” he remembers.

 

Wyatt says his yarn comes from a variety of sources. Some is donated to him, especially by folks from his church. He purchases some with his own money, and often receives it as a gift for his birthday or holidays.

 

“He’s always doing something,” comments Chrissy.

 

Wyatt suggests he has time to do so many craft projects because he doesn’t enjoy video games: “They’re loud, and I dislike them,” he comments.

 

However, he has to pace himself somewhat or he uses up his supply of yarn. “Over Christmas break, I’ll probably stick to knitting,” he speculates, “so I don’t run out so quickly.”

 

Wyatt admits that some of his school classmates make fun of him for his choice of crafts. “I just don’t answer them,” he says. “I ignore what they say.”

 

Of being a vendor at the Holiday Hangout, Wyatt said he had made a few sales so far, and was glad to know people like the things he makes well enough to buy them.