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Thursday, November 12, 2020
GO! magazine — A&E in Northeast Oregon
12th-annual Handmade Holidays
■ Capacity will be limited to 50, but reservations are available
LA GRANDE — Handmade
Holidays returns to Art Center
East with a few modifi cations in
place to keep shoppers and vendors
safe.
As Art Center East’s annual
holiday market, Handmade Holi-
days features a curated selection
of giftable goods made by local
artists. With a plethora of holiday
craft sales to choose from this time
of year, Handmade Holidays is the
only one that focuses on regional
working artists — several of whom
also teach their craft throughout
the year at Art Center East.
Handmade Holidays will take
place on Friday, Nov. 13, from 4-8
p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 14, from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m. at Art Center East,
1006 Penn Ave.
The sale will be set up with a
minimum of six-foot spacing be-
tween booths and larger aisles than
in past events. All vendors and
customers will need to follow social
distancing and mask requirements,
and a 50-person building capac-
ity limit will be monitored by Art
Center East Staff and volunteers
to keep the event in compliance
with the State of Oregon’s current
regulations for social gatherings.
Because this may cause lines
to form outside occasionally, Art
Center East encourages those plan-
ning to attend the sale to reserve
a shopping time in advance. Visit
artcentereast.org and click on the
Handmade Holidays link to make
your reservation.
“Artists have taken such a hit
during the pandemic, from loss of
revenue due to restricted farmers
markets and cancelled art fairs, to
loss of opportunities to earn income
through teaching or exhibiting.
When Union County went into
Phase 2, we decided to go forward
with Handmade Holidays, an im-
portant sales opportunity for work-
Submitted photo
Find a variety of handcrafted gift items at Handmade Holidays, Nov. 13-14 at Art Center East.
ing artists in our community,” said
Darcy Dolge, Art Center East’s ex-
ecutive director. “An essential part
of our mission is enhancing the
economic impact of the arts in our
rural community, and this event is
one of the ways we do that.”
Art Center East elected to reduce
the number of vendors by about
30% from last year. Even so, the
2020 sale will have several return-
ing artists and a handful of vendors
new to Handmade Holidays.
“We have a great mix of artists
including fi ber, leather, ceramic,
jewelry, edibles, glass, wood, screen-
print and more,” said Jennifer Durr,
Art Center East’s program as-
sistant. “The ACE Gift Gallery will
WEEKEND OUTLOOK
also have fresh inventory of art and
handmade items for sale through-
out the duration of the event and
throughout the holiday season.”
Art Center East staff and board
members have taken several pre-
cautions to keep the event safe.
“We adjusted our plan to align
with Governor Brown’s most recent
‘pause’ orders, which allow small
gatherings of people indoors with
space for a minimum of 6 feet of
distancing, mask wearing, and fre-
quent sanitation,” Dolge said. “We
feel confi dent that our vendors and
volunteers will do everything they
can to keep shoppers safe.”
“It is going to feel a little differ-
ent than previous years,” Durr said.
“There will be a lot less mingling
and hanging out, but we hope that
the quality of goods available will
still bring in shoppers, giving local
artists a much needed economic
boost. And it’s such a great oppor-
tunity to get a head start on your
holiday shopping with unique,
handmade gifts!”
Handmade Holidays is made
possible in part by support from the
Oregon Cultural Trust. Find out
more about this event and others
at artcentereast.org. Regular gal-
lery hours are Wednesday through
Friday from noon to 5 p.m. and
Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Gallery exhibits and receptions are
always free and open to the public.
Founded in 1977 as Eastern
Oregon Regional Arts Council,
Art Center East is a registered
nonprofi t organization providing
arts learning opportunities and
experiences for rural schools in its
10-county service area.
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