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Photo by Kevin Zini
Photo by Kevin Zini
CASPIAN – This year’s event kicked off with Small Business Saturday and a craft fair here at the Iron County Museum in Caspian. About 300 visitors sampled tasty treats, coffee and cocoa, listened to holiday music, purchased raffle tickets and got a start on their holiday shopping by perusing vendor tables and the museum gift shop finding unique and varied hand-crafted items.
This year’s theme is an Old-Fashioned Christmas. The handmade crafts offered by local vendors at the craft fair lent themselves perfectly to that theme. Eleven vendors offered everything from hand-made jewelry to holiday décor, knit and crocheted items, hand-made soaps and preserves, bird houses, wooden laser art and so much more. In addition, the museum’s gift shop was popular for local swag, coffee mugs and Toti’s pint glasses, books on local history and other unique and locally created crafts. “We even have hand-made Christmas cards,” exclaimed Museum Director, Kathlene Long.
Jimm Haney of WIKB was on hand to keep things lively and help all of Iron County kick off the Christmas season. “We work with ICECA to support Small Business Saturday. It is built into the DNA of this organization to support this community every way we can. This is just one of the things we do to give back to the community that supports us,” Long stated. “We are constantly asking our community to help us. And they do. There are not many opportunities for us to give back. We certainly can’t write checks. But we do have an absolutely beautiful location to host events like this and we are happy to do so!”
On Monday evening, the museum’s annual Family Night saw another couple hundred people enjoying hot dogs, chips and sweets, face painting, craft and game tables, visits with Mr. and Mrs. Claus and a photo booth. “This event is a favorite here at the museum. We love seeing families do family time. We are so happy to put this event together! As in years past, admission was free for adults. Each kid was asked to bring a Can-A-Thon item. This year we collected plenty of food that will all be shared with families right here in Iron County.”
“The Galleria is the museum’s most important fundraiser,” explained Long, “but part of our goal is also to offer free family fun, support for our local businesses and provide opportunities for art and cultural engagement.”
Long was quick to chime in; “It goes without saying, but bears saying anyway; we can’t do any of this without our sponsors and the army of volunteers that show up before, during and after these events.
There is still a lot of Galleria left! This week, Forest Park and Stambaugh Elementary are trekking to the museum to see all the pretty trees, enjoy some crafts and a visit with Mrs. Claus. Residents of assisted living facilities are also making trips to see all the decorations and enjoy sweets and coffee while listening to holiday tunes.
On Thursday, Dec. 8 we are hosting a cribbage tournament. This has an $11 buy in. Registration will begin at 5 p.m. with play beginning at 6 p.m.
You can check online for more information on these two events.
On Saturday, Dec. 9 at 11:30 a.m. we will have a Santa Lucia Celebration with Swedish music and treats.
On Sunday, Dec. 10 we will have a Volunteer Appreciation Ceremony honoring the five volunteer fire departments that serve Iron County. At 1 p.m. we will begin selecting the winning raffle tickets.
From now until the end of Galleria you can stop by Monday – Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday – Sunday from 10 a.m. –to 2 p.m. Admission is free to enjoy music, sweets and the coffee bar, walk around and look at the pretty decorations and trees and purchase raffle tickets.
“We’re so grateful to all the businesses, non-profits and individuals who make this event possible year after year, and we hope our community will come out to enjoy it” Long said.
For more details on the event, to purchase gift basket raffle tickets, visit IronCountyMuseum.org/galleria, visit the museum’s Facebook page, email kl@IronCountyMuseum.org or call 906-265-2617.
Photos by Kevin Zini