Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen‘s annual Juried Holiday Fine Art and Craft Festival is back after being canceled last year due to COVID-19.
The 71st annual show will be on Saturday, Nov. 6, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m., at Kutztown University’s O’Pake Fieldhouse on South Campus Drive (corner of Trexler Avenue and Baldy Street).
Barry L. Bennecoff, president of the Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen, says the show is a great place to find unique gifts. At least 67 craftspeople are booked for the event, he said. The show is juried, which means that artists must apply and be selected for the event.
“You will be able to feel the warmth of the handmade wearables, touch the pottery, gaze into the photography, hold the baskets, talk to the photographers, smell the wooden arts and furniture, smile at the folk art, feel the metal work, and yes, truly immerse yourself in the experience,” the guild said in a news release. ” As you wander through the aisles you will enter into the individual craftsmen’s shops that were created with you in mind. ”
The Acoustic Road Show will offer entertainment and the Virginville Grange will provide food for the in-house cafe. Back again this year will be the popular student gallery with emerging artists.
The first 50 patrons through the doors each day will receive a prize. Hourly door prizes and organizations of interest add to the festival, organizers said. Plus, the popular scavenger hunt is back.
Admission is $6 by donation. Children 12 and under are free. Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen is a chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen. Proceeds benefit the educational programs of The Reading-Berks Chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen.
