Mother nature threatened rain, but was mostly kind to vendors and visitors at the Easter Arts & Crafts Show on Saturday at Brownwood Paddock Square in The Villages.
One couple grabbed lunch on a bench shielded by a red and white Maxfli golf umbrella, but most braved the few spritzes of drizzle to enjoy the special array of artisans’ wares. More adult children, grandchildren and pets than usual were in evidence on this holiday weekend, and the cool weather made strolling pleasant.
Haciendas at Mission Hills resident, Jan Glendenin, thought the crowd was “just right.” “Plenty of elbow room to move around, not squeezed in like these shows sometimes are ,” she said, as she purchased a large turquoise basket decorated with a sand dollar from the Beachy Wreaths stall. Glendenin’s new basket matched proprietor , Annie Gray’s , turquoise outfit perfectly, the women noted.
Gail Sirois, who lives in the Village of Alhambra, was stirring up business for a doggie duds stall. Quite a few passersby were admiring her papillon, Oreo’s, pink visor and sun glasses, and Gail was directing them to the source of the tiny pet accoutrements. “This is such fun,” Gail sald with a smile. “A lot of dogs don’t enjoy being dressed up, but papillons will put up with almost anything.”
Miguel Ruiz’ stall, with its large semi-abstract seascape paintings, was drawing a lot of attention. “I’ve been painting these for over twenty years,” said Ruiz, who traveled here from San Francisco to show his work. Rachel Feinberg, a snowbird from Oyster Bay, Long Island, was thinking about purchasing three of Ruiz paintings. “They would group nicely in our den which has bright blue walls,” she said. “Then the room would be complete — the ocean paintings would pull everything together.”
Paintings, pottery, hand-crafted jewelery, bric-a-brac, birdbaths, baby clothes and more — dozens of vendors offered it all! The Easter Arts & Crafts show continues from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Easter Sunday.