A change of date for the annual Hackett Park Craft Fair has left organizers a tad worried about attendance this year. The very popular juried fair gathers over a hundred artisans, 60 per cent of them from the Coast, to the shady Sechelt park every year. For $2 admission, visitors can wander between the craft booths, listen to live music, have their tarot cards read, enjoy food and a caffeine jolt and shop for a variety of handmade items: wood, pottery, glass, metal, leather, beeswax, jewellery and soaps. There's even a North Vancouver vendor who makes and sells crystal nail files. Children under 12 get in free and can have their faces painted or do crafts. The fair is a fund-raiser for the Sunshine Coast Arts Council, and a number of professional artisans rely on such fairs to make a living. Usually the event is held in conjunction with the Festival of the Written Arts, which will take place Aug. 12 to 15. This year, by error, the decision was made to hold the Craft Fair on the weekend of Aug. 7 and 8, prior to the festival. Organizer Clarice Frost is hopeful the change of date won't hurt the gate and reduce sales for the participants. Frost says they wouldn't have planned it this way, but she's ready to be pleasantly surprised. However, the craft fair will run in conjunction with another popular activity, the ninth annual visit of the Sleepy Hollow Rod Run and Show and Shine, the Coaster Car Club's show that takes place on Cowrie Street on Saturday and Sunday. Participants in the car show will each receive a free admission to the craft fair and generate some traffic from one site to the other. The fair runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 7, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday in Hackett Park in Sechelt.
