On Sunday, the first December on a Dime craft fair will take place in the Peterborough Town House.
Mandy Carter, owner of Dragon’s Bite Handmade Retail, is organizing the event. It’s the second craft fair she has put on, after holding an event called Fall Festival in September.
December on a Dime will include 25 to 35 crafters and artists, and a requirement for this fair is that each vendor prices at least half of their items under $50.
“There’s a really good selection of people who are coming,” Carter said. “I want this to be affordable. I know things are hard this year.”
Carter hopes December on a Dime will become an annual event.
December on a Dime is also a fundraiser for the Peterborough Sunshine Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian support to local people in need. The vendor fees will go directly to the Sunshine Fund and there will be a raffle that will donate some proceeds there, as well.
The event will include handmade items and lots of gifts for children. Carter said one vendor sells Pop Its, a fidget toy that Carter said is certainly popular with her own children.
“I think it’s very important for kids to understand the concept, if you support local, you help local,” she said.
Carter has provided a space for children to discover this first-hand in her store. In the front corner, there are rows of cubbies designated for child crafters. They are able to make items and place them for sale.
From her job as a kinship navigator at The River Center to creating Dragon’s Bite Handmade Retail and promoting local crafters to making sure December on a Dime is affordable, Carter’s work is community-oriented.
“I just want to help people,” she said.
December on a Dime will take place on Sunday, Dec. 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Town House, 1 Grove St. in Peterborough.
Carter wants to hold more craft fairs in the future. When it’s warmer, she plans to have pop-up fairs in the parking lot in front of her store in the Monadnock Community Plaza at 1 Jaffrey Road in Peterborough.
Dragon’s Bite Handmade Retail is on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. It also has a website, dragonsbitehandmade.com. The store is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. and holds monthly child craft events and adult craft parties.