“This is a great time of year for this type of show because I think a lot of people are thinking about Christmas presents,” she said. This year’s crafts show will be Saturday at Fishers High School. An auto show will accompany the crafts show. Fishers Freedom Festival had been sponsoring a run on the same day but canceled it this year because it hadn’t grown at the rate the group hoped, said Jennifer Kehl, Fishers Freedom Festival executive director.
The crafts show will have a variety of holiday-themed crafts and gift items. “We’re looking at what vendors are selling to try to have something for everyone . . . a little bit of this and a little bit of that,” Kehl said. Artists already have registered for the event, but anyone can bring a vehicle to show. The first 50 vehicles to register will receive participation plaques, and judges will give out various awards. Kehl said vehicles range from classic cars to Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
Food and a raffle will accompany the crafts show. All vendors donated an item for the raffle, and tickets are free for people who bring nonperishable food items, which will be donated to the Good Samaritan food pantries. Monetary raffle ticket proceeds will go toward the Roy Holland Backpacks for Kids program, which has provided backpacks full of school supplies to about 1,500 children since it began in 2000, Kehl said.
Entrance and car show fees will go toward funding next year’s Fishers Freedom Festival and any ongoing projects the group has planned, Kehl said. The group took over the craft show in 1995 when the HSE Junior High parents ran it as a fundraiser. It had gotten so large that they needed help running it, Kehl said. Now the show attracts about 2,000 people and 140 vendors. Kehl said the show is a good example of what Fishers Freedom Festival is all about: helping the community.