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The work of more than 75 craft artisans will be available for purchase as The White Oak Crafts Fair returns for its 27th year from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, September 10 and Sunday, September 11.
The show annually offers something of interest for anyone who delights in items and products that are individually designed and hand crafted.
The Arts Center of Cannon County will host the top craft artisans from throughout the region who will offer for sale their original textiles, jewelry, woodcarving, metalwork, pottery, photography, chairs, baskets, ironwork, stained glass and much more.
The White Oak Craft Fair takes place along the banks of the East Fork Stones River just down from the Arts Center.
Participating artisans will present an enormous variety of work, all of which is chosen for it excellence and integrity by a highly respected selection panel.
In an age when mass production makes so many things widely available, the White Oak Crafts Fair celebrates the inspiration and skill of the individual maker as well as being an opportunity to appreciate uniqueness. This is an event, whose reputation has spread to attract new attendees from across the region as well as appealing, year after year, to regular visitors.
In association with the Cannon Association of Craft Artists, The Arts Center of Cannon County has developed and coordinated this event for the past 26 years.
Although a high percentage of the participants in the show are typically perennial favorites, new exhibitors join the show each year, so there is always something new and fresh for visitors to look forward to.
Admission to this event is free with a $3 donation for supervised parking to benefit The Woodbury Lions Club and The Arts Center of Cannon County.
The Cannon County area has a long tradition of fine crafters. In fact, many local families turned to making white oak baskets and chairs as a means of survival during the Depression. They traded them for lamp oil, sugar, coffee, cloth, thread and other things they couldn't grow or hunt. The stores hauled the baskets and chairs to major cities like Detroit, Miami and New York and peddled them on the streets.
In the 1960's, a wave of newcomers yearning to get "back to the land" began to settle in the area and put down roots. Today, many of these "Transplants" have joined with the traditional local crafts families (now fifth and sixth generation crafters) to create a vibrant crafts community.
This rich crafts tradition, couple with the activities and reputation of The Arts Center of Cannon County, caused Woodbury to be the only town in Tennessee selected by John Villani in his book, The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America.
So make your plans now to visit the White Oak Crafts Fair, but be sure that you give yourself plenty of time because you will not want to miss all that this year's fair has to offer. The 27th Annual White Oak Crafts Fair will be held September 10th and 11th, 2016 just down from The Arts Center of Cannon County, 1424 John Bragg Highway, just west of the town of Woodbury, approximately 20 minutes from Murfreesboro, Manchester, and McMinnville and one hour
