10th Annual Upshur Street Arts and Crafts Fair and Petworth Library book sale are this Saturday!

This sounds like a great place for holiday gifts (or gifts for yourself) and a lot of fun. The 10th Annual Upshur Street Art and Craft Fair is this coming Saturday, December 12th, from 11am-4pm on the 800 block of Upshur Street NW.

There will be lots of crafts, artists, food, plus music and more, as well as kids’ activities indoors. There’s also the Petworth Public Library’s book sale the same day, continuing the cool gift theme.

Here’s more from the organizers, the Petworth Business Association (PBA):

The Upshur Street Art & Craft Fair began 11 years ago as an indoor craft market inside Domku, then the only sit-down restaurant in the area. Domku owner, Kera Carpenter, saw the event as a way to introduce the community to the few new businesses on Upshur St. but also as a way to bring the community together to support local producers. In it’s first year, the fair hosted 15 vendors, mostly from the immediate Petworth neighborhood, transforming the small restaurant into a bustling European-style market hall. Today, the event draws vendors from all over the DMV and has outgrown the confines of Domku.

“It’s really gratifying to see the little project I started in 2005 turn into such an important part of the neighborhood’s cultural tradition,” said Carpenter. “It’s great for all of us small businesses on the block, and it’s nice to be able to support other small businesses around the city at the same time.”

As new businesses have opened, the fair has truly become a neighborhood event. The organizing committee includes the owners of Willow, Petworth Citizen, Crossfit Petworth and Nathan Hill Design, among others. As is the tradition, the Petworth Public Libary will host its annual book sale the same day.