Seniors Site

How to Organize a Senior Craft Fair

Senior craft fair is a popular affair for creative seniors and senior artists wanting to give something back to the society. Younger adults—even the kids—marvel at seniors’ craftsmanship during these occasions but what makes it really great is that, for once, spending won’t give you that usual guilty feeling, instead it’s somewhat uplifting to participate in a senior craft fair knowing that you’re somehow helping the community.

Senior craft fair is an event best held annually. It can also be done on a weekly or monthly basis depending on the community’s level of interest in supporting such events. Events like this are usually organized to support charitable organizations that will benefit seniors. It can also stand for showcasing artistic talents of senior citizens living within the community; this is especially true if a notable artist happens to be a local. This is the best way to raise funds for benefits and causes the community provides for. Small craft fairs could be a stand-alone or be held together with bigger events such as festivals and expos.

If you are interested in giving your community their very first senior craft fair, here’s what you should do:

·    Select the best location for your craft fair. This location should be accessible to all kinds of seniors. The facility should be wheelchair accessible and well-ventilated. It should be big enough to accommodate booths, craft fair activities and expected number of participants and guests. Ample parking is also a must.
·    After choosing the best location for your senior craft fair, try to get the facility’s blueprint or if this is not available, get its measurement so you will be able to properly map out where to put the food section, sellers’ area and display section. Set fees and application forms for sellers. You can also invite organizations to put up their own information booths especially if the community supports them.
·    Apply all advertising strategies you know. Some of the successful events were advertised six months prior to the event itself; you can also do that by spreading the word anyway possible. Take advantage of social media sites to promote your craft fair.
·    A week before your event, make necessary follow-ups to participants. Confirm the event’s time, place and date to avoid confusion. Assign someone to be the consulting person if and when a question needs to be answered during the fair itself; the best person for this job is you.

To make your senior craft fair more interesting, hold workshops for kids such as pottery, scrapbooking and quilt making. Include other forms of entertainment as well to keep the ball rolling.