Four-thousand people are expected to look for beautiful gifts for the holidays at the annual PNA Winter Festival and Crafts Fair this Saturday and Sunday at 6532 Phinney Ave. N. The fair runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
The fair features a diverse array of crafts from 115 artists, hundreds of musicians and dancers on two stages, a quilt raffle, a bake sale, and yummy foods.
For the first time, childcare will be available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. both days. Montessori Garden staff members will babysit children ages 3-10 in the Brick Building. Cost is $10 per hour per child. You can leave your child for up to one hour, and it’s first-come, first-served.
Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for PNA members, and everyone’s encouraged to bring a can of food. Children 12 and under are free. Proceeds support PNA programs such as the soup kitchens, before- and after-school childcare, the Greenwood Senior Center, the tool library, the art gallery, as well as community projects for neighbors in need and local food banks.
While you’re there, check out the Giving Tree in the lobby. You can pick out a tag for a child in need and buy their requested gift at the fair. (Gifts must be returned by Dec. 13.)
Also at the festival, local author Maribeth Stephens and local illustrator Nina Seven will present a reading of their new book, “Theodore the Tree,” at 10:45 a.m. on Saturday, plus a sing-along.
From the time Theodore was a sapling, all he wanted was to be the perfect Christmas tree. But he knew he was too short and his lopsided limbs would never do. He spent every spare moment learning to hide his most distressing features.
One Christmas Eve he spied a family trudging through the forest looking for a Christmas tree. Theodore employed all of his tricks. They worked! But once home and decorated, the children shun him. Dejected and droopy, Theodore learns a heartwarming lesson about what it means to be part of a family.
