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December can be stressful for students at times, with finals coming around the corner and high academic pressures and tensions running rampant. However, one thing to relieve student’s stress is the annual Fremd Craft Fair, which takes place every year on the second Saturday of December. This year, the Craft Fair took place on Dec. 11, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Craft Fair has lots of crafts and items to offer, including toys, stuffed animals, shirts, and even volunteer hours for students.

Vendors have the opportunity to set up booths and sell their wares in a safe place with lots of customers.This year, more than 280 booths at Fremd filled the halls. Fairgoers were even treated to a concession stand where you could buy food if you were planning on being at the fair for a while. 

Booth vendor Frank Moriarty speaks to his experience with booth applications, and what items he sells.

“There’s a form online that you can fill out, and if all goes well, you’ll get a booth number at the fair,” Moriarty said. “I sell gourmet honey, which you can put in stuff like tea, and spread on toast.”

The booth application process is quite simple, and can be accessed by everyone. However, you will only be notified of your booth location a few days before the event, meaning that some booths might be more accessible to fairgoers than others, due to their location in major hallways instead of less populated areas. 

Booth vendors Julia and Connor touch on a few challenges with location, and selling items in general.

“Well, being on the second floor can be a bit challenging, as more people generally explore the first floor first,” Julia said. “However, you still get a lot of customers as people will want to explore the whole fair at some point.” 

Booth location may present some challenges at the start of the day, but at the end of the day, even the booths in less frequented areas will still get some customers, and sell some of their wares. Additionally, having booths in less populated areas doesn’t mean that people won’t buy products; fairgoers will still purchase interesting and appealing items.

Customer and fairgoer Anne lists what she likes about the fair, and some aspects that could be improved.

“I think the maps were hard to find, especially since I didn’t know that they were online.” Anne said. “But I really enjoyed the creativity, especially with so many items that I thought wouldn’t be here!”

The Fremd Craft Fair blends together creativity and fluidity, creating a flexible “market” where everyone can have fun and raise funds. The Craft Fair is something all students can enjoy, letting them take a break from the looming finals.

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