A Bigger, Better –– And Free –– Crafts Show Will

Welcome Holiday Festival Attendees

By Shannon Hicks

The response from vendors for the crafts show that will run during the 18th Annual Family Counseling Center Newtown Holiday Festival next weekend has been phenomenal. Co-chairmen Laura Miller Kurtz and Leslie Troy have 53 booths filled for the event, which moves to the cafeteria of Newtown High School this year, and a waiting list that continues to grow as more people contact the two women with hopes for a last-minute opening.

In addition to its new location, something else has been changed about this year’s arts and crafts show: admission is free and open to everyone, whether they hold tickets to the holiday festival or not. Attendees do not need a Holiday Festival ticket for entry to this year’s arts and crafts show.

“We’ve had too many people come to the door in the past who just wanted to enjoy the arts and crafts show,” co-chairman Miller Kurtz said. “Not everyone wants to, or is up to, doing everything else that is offered at the holiday festival. Even with the shuttle buses, it’s a lot of walking between the homes on the walking tour and the separate events at the town hall, the library, and the churches for some people.

“This year the doors will be open to everyone, regardless of whether they will be attending the rest of the festival,” she said.

The arts and crafts show and sale will be open from 10 am to 5 pm.

With more than 50 vendors, the show has exploded to more than three times its size of just one year ago. Vendors from four states will be participating, and offering everything from New England/country-style decorative accessories, Shaker furniture, pottery and paintings to Native American and Old World crafts, and clothing for children and dolls.

There will also be a booth staffed by parents from Housatonic Valley Waldorf School, a chainsaw wood carver, gourmet dog biscuits, personalized children’s books, purses, marble inlay boxes and pins, and handmade soaps, according to the co-chairmen.

Matt and Dione Sordi, who recently moved into Newtown, will be at this year’s event. The Sordis create cutting boards out of melted wine bottles. The Sordis had their first child this year; Luke was born in February. When Dione was looking for something to do from home, it was Matt’s sister who stepped in with the idea of turning wine bottles into cutting boards. She showed the couple how to make the decorative –– and functional –– accessories.

Lanae Moline of Newtown, the owner of Wild Woodturnings, is a wood turner who makes pens, desk sets, kaleidoscopes, and more.

Last year Mrs Moline’s husband Gary set up a woodworking shop in the couple’s garage. Mr Moline made a cradle out of African paduak for the couple’s youngest son (the Molines have two children), and Mrs Moline was, she said this week, “instantly hooked on the beauty of wood.”

With the possibility of a layoff by the state, Mrs Moline looked for a stress reducer and found relief in wood turning.

“We’ve purchased our first lathe in December and I’ve been turning ever since,” she said. “We now have two lathes –– a mini for turning small items such as pens, key chains, kaleidoscopes, and laser pointers, and a larger lathe for turning bowls, salt and pepper shakers, candlesticks, and spindles.”

Many of the woods she uses are exotics, including purpleheart, cocobolo, and kwila from Africa, South American, and New Zealand, respectively. She also uses spalted maple and walnut from Canada and the United States. Mrs Moline also continues to work full-time.

Karen Yacovelli, also of Newtown, designs fabric-covered baskets for The Priscilla Rose Collection. The baskets are individually crafted, one-of-a-kind heirloom baskets and home accessories, and all are stitched by hand. There are fireside baskets, bread baskets, single and double bottle wine baskets, hand baskets, pet beds, and bridal baskets. The collection also includes catnip pillows, soft puffy stars, ponies, rabbits, silk favor wrappings, and favor sachets. Most of the fabrics used are rich, with vintage inspired prints.

Don Greenwald will be making his arts and crafts show debut with next weekend’s event. Mr Greenwald has studied jewelry making since beginning his retirement, and will have at least 50 handmade pieces to show and sell from his collection.

One team that is coming in from out of town is Marikyl Creations, a multi-generational operation from Thomaston. Marian Bellavita has been making crafts for friends and family for about 30 years.

“As a child I started making crafts as gifts for my family,” said Mrs Bellavita. “After I married I made gifts for holidays. As our family was so large, making gifts was a necessity. I always enjoyed it and the family was always surprised.

“I’ve been told over and over through the years ‘You’re so talented, you should start a business,’” she continued. “Well here I am after some 30 years, and I’m starting a business. It’s a miracle, hence the business name.” Marikyl is a compilation of letters from Marian, Kristy and Laura’s names, pronounced miracle.

Mrs Bellatia’s daughter Tammy and daughter-in-law, Laura Lescrynski, who has been creating for more than 13 years, represent the second generation, and Laura’s daughter Kristy is the team’s “apprentice … [who] has a little spot at shows for her fairies, shell candles, etc, that she creates,” called Kristy’s Kubby.

Laura Lescrynski lived in Sandy Hook most of her life, so next weekend’s show will be a homecoming for her. Her mother, Irene Cappellini, still lives in town. Marikyl Creations’ items are all handmade and decorated, and most are one-of-a-kind.

“There will be a really nice representation of what’s out there,” promises Leslie Troy, who mentioned that there were well over 100 applicants for the show this year.

“The thing we’re really excited about is that we’ve kept the competition for the vendors down,” Mrs Troy said. “We purposely looked for a variety of items, and then only accepted one or two vendors of each style in the show.”

“This is also one of the last shows of the season, and one of the largest,” Mrs Miller Kurtz added. “We’ve really tried to make it an event worth attending.

In lieu of the admission charge, attendees can opt to participate in a raffle. For $5, attendees will receive eight tickets that they can then use to take chances on items that will be donated by some of the show’s vendors.

Proceeds from the sale of raffle tickets, in addition to the vendors’ booth fees,   will be donated to Family Counseling Center of Newtown, the benefactor of the Holiday Festival. Any donations received at the arts and crafts show will also be forwarded to the center.

Both ladies have been involved with the arts and crafts event for the Newtown Holiday Festival before. Mrs Miller Kurtz has been a co-chairman for four years, and Mrs Troy has been co-chair for three years. Neither has been to the other events of the Holiday Festival.

“The show is time-consuming,” Mrs Troy said. “By the time we get the show fully set up, it’s time to open the doors. Then we keep an eye on everything that’s happening during the full duration of the festival, and then we’re there to help the dealers break down their booths and cleanup the area where the show has been presented.

“We haven’t been out to the festival for a few years, but we hear good things about it,” she laughed.

The Holiday Festival

The 18th Annual Family Counseling Center Holiday Festival will be presented in buildings and homes on and near Main Street in Newtown on Sunday, December 7. It will be the capping event in a weekend that has become Newtown’s official entry into the holiday season –– beginning with the lighting of the town’s holiday tree on Friday evening, continuing with countless public events on Saturday, and running right into the afternoon-long festival on Sunday.

The festival offers an antiques show, an arts and crafts show, ballet performances, The Festival of Trees, a Victorian Tea with live music, New England Café, and a walking tour of private homes that are opened only for the festival –– and they benefit of Family Counseling Center, a United Way agency on Mt Pleasant Road in Newtown. The Holiday Festival is the counseling center’s largest fundraiser each year.

Most events will begin at 11 am; the antiques show and the arts and crafts show will both open at 10 am.

The Festival of Trees is a raffle event that offers centerpieces, miniature decorated trees, wreaths of all sizes, and baskets and gift certificates created and donated by Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, families, individuals, and businesses in and around Newtown.

Ballet performances are offered by students of Newtown Centre for Classical Ballet.

Admission to festival events is by ticket. Adult festival tickets are $20 in advance, $25 on December 7. Tickets for seniors and children between the ages of 6 and 14 are $15 in advance, $18 the day of the festival.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at Drug Center Pharmacy, on Church Hill Road; Family Counseling Center, 121 Mt Pleasant Road; and Newtown Savings Bank branches in Newtown, Bethel, Monroe, and Southbury.