Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/592323
OCTOBER 28 - NOVEMBER 3, 2015 UCW 11 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM For nearly half a cent ur y t he Junior Leag ue of Fayet tev ille has hosted t he area's biggest and best holiday shopping experience. A long-t ime t radit ion in Fayet tev ille, t he Holly Day Fair mark s t he beginning of t he Christ mas season for many. This unique event is t he largest holiday gif t and craf t show in Eastern Carolina w it h 200 vendors. It 's not unusual for t he event to draw 20,000 plus shoppers over t he course of it s four-day run. This year, t he Holly Day Fair is scheduled for Nov. 5-8. One of t he many t hings t hat makes t he Holly Day Fair so special is t he one-of-a-k ind gif t s and many handcraf ted items available t here. The Fayet tev ille Junior Leag ue work s hard ever y year to f ind vendors t hat of fer gif t s t hat are hard to f ind any where else. From Christ mas decorat ions to craf t s, jewelr y, clot hes, toys, specialt y foods household items and more, t his is t he place to go for t hat special gif t for t he discerning person on your shopping list . Jami McLaughlin has worked on the Holly Day Fair committee for the past six years and loves ringing in the holiday season at such a lively event. "There are so many people that have been doing this a lot longer than I have. Once you start it is really hard to stop," she said. "This is one of the few fundraisers that raises more than a quarter million dollars for kids in our community and it is through the efforts of a four-day festival. It is a lot of fun behind scenes, and all the money goes right back to the community." Jennifer Gasque is t he chair of t he Holly Day Fair and she is excited about how it is all coming toget her. "This is so excit ing. For t he past few years we have been right at t he capacit y for our venue. The Holly Day Fair just keeps grow ing. We host more t han 20,000 v isitors each year. We have close to 200 vendors t his year t hat include some long-t ime favorites t hat of fer any t hing f rom w ind-up toys to k ids clot hes, monogrammed items as well as specialt y item including ant iques and more. And t hen we've got new local vendors. Blush Bridal w ill be t here as well as Vibra's. They have opened a locat ion in Fayet tev ille. Ever y year g uest s are t reated to somet hing ex t ra special in t he Junior Leag ue's area of t he Holly Day Fair. There w ill st ill be cook ies and ot her goodies but t his year, instead of w rapping paper and a w rapping st at ion, v isitors can look for ward to Fayet tev ille t hemed ornament s. "Our t heme is Christ mas in t he cit y. We had ornament s made t hat focus on t he cit y of Fayet tev ille," said Gasque. We w ill have ornament s t hat have photos of t he Cameo Ar t House Theat re, t he Market House, t he Airborne and Special Operat ions Museum and more. We have six dif ferent pict ures t hat we have of places in t he cit y. We wanted to do somet hing dif ferent . We get so much suppor t f rom t he communit y it just made sense to highlight some of t he local landmark s." Sponsored by t he Junior Leag ue, t he Holly Day Fair of fers more t han a f irst rate k ick-of f to t he holiday season. The f unds raised f rom t he Holly Day Fair benef it t he local populat ion in t he form of Junior Leag ue of Fayet tev ille Communit y A ssist ance Program grant s. The grant s go to organizat ions and programs t hat suppor t t he Junior Leag ue of Fayet tev ille's childhood ment al healt h init iat ive. The 2014 Holly Day Fair raised more t han $270,000, all of which went back into t he communit y. "This year we have not earmarked any money yet . Our larger grant s, t he impac t grant s, are st ill accept ing applicat ions. They are available online at w w w. jlfay.org ," said Gasque. "If organizat ions want to v isit our site, 100 percent of our f unds do go back into t he communit y." The Junior Leag ue of Fayet tev ille is an organizat ion of women commit ted to promot ing volunteerism. The group has more t han 400 members and par t ners w it h many agencies t hat focus on child healt h and welfare. The Junior Leag ue of Fayet tev ille is educat ional and charit able, teaching it s members about volunteering and leadership while helping t he communit y. The organizat ion f irmly believes t hat a st rong f ut ure for t he communit y means helping local children. By work ing w it h organizat ions like t he Boys and Girls Clubs and Operat ion Inasmuch, t he Junior Leag ue of Fayet tev ille touches many lives each year. Addit ionally, t he group awards Communit y A ssist ance Program Grant s to local organizat ions in Cumberland, Hoke, Lee, Bladen, Robeson and Sampson Count ies t hat prov ide ser v ices related to t he healt h and welfare of women and children. The Holly Day Fair opens for Super Shopper t icket holders on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 9 a.m. From 9 a.m. to noon, t here are no st rollers permit ted at t he Holly Day Fair. Super shopper t icket s are $14 and well wor t h t he money for hardcore shoppers look ing for t he f irst pick of t he merchandise w it hout hav ing to compete w it h crowded aisles. Reg ular shopping hours on Sept . 5 run f rom noon to 8 p.m. Reg ular t icket s cost $9. Nov. 6-7, t he Holly Day Fair hours are 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, t he hours are 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Ticket s are available on line at w w w.hollyday fair.com. They w ill be available at t he door at no ex t ra cost . Kick Off the Holiday Season at the Holly Day Fair by STEPHANIE CRIDER STEPHANIE CRIDER, Editor. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910.484.6200. Banquet rooms available up to 100 guests