SUN CITY – Have you ever seen beautiful art painted on toilet paper? On October 16, at the Prairie Lodge, you’ll be able to see and purchase this fine piece of art along with 91 other exhibitors at this year’s art fair. It’s free and open to the public and begins at 10 a.m. and continues through 4 p.m.
Cutline: Maggie McMahon displays some of her arts and crafts. (Photo by Kay Clark/Sun Day)
Maggie McMahon, (N.3) the chairman of the craft fair, and retired nurse, has been organizing this event for the past eleven years.
“We’ve been in Sun City for twelve years and found that first year Sun City had a small craft fair where artists inside Sun City as well as outside of the community participated,” she said.
As Maggie has been interested in art, pottery being her medium for about twenty years now, she inquired through the Clayground Charter Club and soon found herself organizing the fair since then. You’ll see many of Maggie’s creations at the fair also. She studied with a potter in Lake Forest and then Harper College with a professor of pottery, ceramics and sculpture.
“Over the years the craft fair has grown steadily and this year we have ninety-two entrants who were accepted. Unfortunately we had to place twenty-seven on a wait list due to the remodeling of the sales area at the lodge. We lost nine spots there,” she said.
The enthusiasm for the craft fair has been such that “within eight days we had eighty-one entrants turn in their applications.”
Maggie went on to explain, “The fee is $25 and there are two rules; 1) you must be a resident and 2) your art has to be your own, not your sister’s, brother’s, etc. She told the people on the wait list ‘There’s always next year.”
The $25 fee covers an 8-foot table, a white table covering that goes to the floor and a sack lunch provided by Jameson’s this year. There will be two chairs at every table. They expect about 2000 people to come thru the fair this year.
Maggie begins her preparation about six months in advance and has a committee that meets once a month in her home. To date, they have one more meeting before the fair to make sure everything is in order.
“The craft fair isn’t juried and everyone is accepted as long as it is their own work,” she said.
Among the craft items offered for display and sale are: pottery, jewelry, woodworking, watercolors, embroidery, purses/hats, apple picker, origami, painting, wreaths, scarves, afghans, knitting, crocheting, wearable art, basketry, photography, doll clothes and new this year, large doll houses and, of course, painted toilet paper. See you Sunday, October 16 at the Prairie Lodge from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
