Arts and Crafts Festival
The Arts and Crafts Festival has evolved from a clothes line art exhibit begun in 1962 in front of the Pletcher Furniture Village in downtown Nappanee. Held during sidewalk days, the exhibit displayed the water colors created by the arts and crafts program from the parks and recreation department. Joseph Wrobble, well-known teaching artist from South Bend, Indiana, and Dory Crane, a Nappanee promoter, were instrumental in the early years of the event. Over the next several years vendors were allowed to sell their arts and crafts from booths along the city streets and alleys. Professional judges were employed to choose winning art work from entries. The festival expanded food offerings and added entertainment.
Visitors began asking for Amish-related products and services. Baked goods, meats, jams and jellies were added. Horse and buggy rides plus countryside tours were added to the festival. By 1968 the festival had taken on enough Amish flavors that it became in essence the feasibility study for the creation of Amish Acres. In 1969, during restoration of the farm, the festival remained downtown. Visitors were shuttled to the farm for preview tours. An Amish church held a homemade ice cream social in the bank barn. A year later the festival was moved to the courtyard of the farm which included the original relocated barn that became Amish Acres' first restaurant. As the festival grew and the number of booths expanded into the farm’s orchard, the marketplace was relocated to surround the pond. There it remains with nearly 350 vendors from over 35 states participating each year and competing for over $10,000 in cash prizes. Three stages are filled with continuous entertainment.
The festival has been named one of the Top 100 Events in North America by the American Bus Association in 2003, 2006, and 2008. It has been in Sunshine Artist magazine’s Top 200 Shows since its inception, ranking as high as the number 3 traditional arts and crafts show in the nation.
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