For 12 years, the Living Local Arts Fair has gathered Peterborough-area artists, crafters and makers together for one-of-a-kind holiday event.
This year’s fair is Saturday, Nov. 29, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Church on Main Street.
Roz Hanchett, founder of Living Local, said the goal of the fair is to support artists, bring community together and to give back.
“Living Local Art Fair is special not only because it celebrates the skill of many local artists and craftsmen, but because so many artists incorporate natural materials in their work,” Hanchett said. “Many artists use plants, animals, or our local landscape as a focus for their creations.”
Hanchett is also the founder of Robin’s Nest preschool, a nature-based preschool in West Peterborough.
Each year for 12 years, Robin’s Nest families and staff have put on a bake sale at the fair and donated the proceeds to local nonprofits.
“Over the past 12 years, we have donated to the Cornucopia Project, the Monadnock Conservancy, the Harris Center, the Audubon Society and many other groups with meaningful missions,” she said.
This year, Hanchett and her team decided to donate the proceeds from the bake sale to the three Peterborough churches that provide free community suppers each week: the Unitarian Universalist, which offers a Wednesday meal, All Saints Episcopal Church, which serves dinner on Tuesday nights, and Union Congregational Church, which provides a rotating menu on Thursday nights.
“We feel that these offerings of free food and community connection are extremely important. The Unitarian Church, where our fair has been held all these years, offers a spaghetti supper every Wednesday to anyone who wishes to go. It is a long-standing tradition and it provides an opportunity for people to make social connections, build relationships, and enjoy time with others. It has been a hard year for a lot of people, and the cost of food keeps rising,” Hanchett said.
Chad Creighton, who grew up in Greenfield and attended ConVal, is among the local artists who will have tables at the fair. Creighton, who recently moved to Maine, said he comes back to Peterborough every year for Living Local.
“I used to do the Broke Arts Fair years ago, so a lot of people know me from that,” he said.
Creighton produces what he calls his “original works,” which don’t fit a specific category.
“They’re kind of painting, kind of drawing. I also use Sharpies and pens,” he said.
Hanchett, who has known Creighton since middle school, asked him to design the poster for this year’s fair, which includes a bear peeking through a circle, with raccoons looking on.
“The bear kind of represents me, and the raccoons represent people coming to see what’s happening at the fair,” Creighton said.
Creighton also added a figure of a tiny cardinal in honor of his late mother-in-law, Peterborough native Heidi Kaufhold, who died this year.
“In many cultures the cardinal represents the spirit of a person who has passed away,” Creighton said. “I put that in there to remember Heidi.”
Creighton’s work can also be seen at Peterborough Marble and Granite Works, the Kaufhold family’s 175-year-old family business on Concord Street.
“I painted the two trailers in the back with murals, two big sleeping bears,” Creighton said.
Other local artists with locally sourced and nature-themed items include Kiki Post, of Peterborough, Joel Faucher, of Hancock, and Shana Brautigam of Rindge.
“Kiki recently became a bee farmer and will be selling her honey and beeswax candles,” Hanchett said. “She’s an avid gardener and she’s saved many flowers from her summer garden to use to decorate wreaths and ornaments. Joel will be selling hand-carved bird baths out of New Hampshire minerals and stone that he has collected over the years, and Shana uses the imprints of local plants and flora to decorate her pottery.”
New to this year’s fair is artist Joanna Spears, who grew up in Temple.
“Joanna will be selling watercolor paintings and cards that feature some of her most favorite animals,” Hanchett said. “We just have more wonderful artists than we can mention.”