Western Home hosts annual holiday sale

The Western Home Communities hosted their annual free crafting event for three hours on Oct. 24. Residents and members at the retirement home created a variety of handmade items to showcase and give back to the community.

According to the Director of Style Enrichment, Carolyn Ayers, the event started 11 years ago, and was small. “The craft sale started out as a craft show, just residents showing some of the things they make. Then they wondered if they could sell some of their things since they didn’t have anywhere to ‘get rid’ of what they made. Many of their families already had samples of what they make, and they wanted to keep making it, but needed an outlet, so, it became Friends of Western Home Communities Handcrafted Holiday Sale. Sometimes people still just show their things without selling it, but mostly it’s for sale. In 2018, when we moved the sale from Windridge to Diamond Event Center, we had enough space to invite crafters from the community, not just residents. This year we had a good balance of residents and community members.”

This year, the event was a success, with 35 vendors and several hundred guests attending, making it the most visited and successful year since the event began. Attendees were able to purchase a variety of items. According to Ayers, “We had a wide variety of items for sale including wood toys and puzzles, paintings, knitted items, jewelry, quilted items, beaded bracelets, original artwork, handmade cards, and gift bags, popcorn, hand-tooled leather items, doll clothes, loom woven scarves and towels, fall decor and fused glass items.” 

According to Ayers, the event sparked lots of positivity in the Cedar Valley. “The craft sale brought together people, both from Western Home and from the general community.  Lots of friends found each other at the sale and vendors have mentioned how fun it was to see all the people. Even if they didn’t sell as much as they wanted, all the vendors said it was fun to participate. For those shopping I think it provided an opportunity to purchase small handmade items that they can give their families and friends who don’t want to have a lot of ‘stuff’ or are of the age where they are trying to get rid of stuff. Many of the shoppers commented on how many vendors there were, the quality and variety of the crafts that were offered.”