YMCA’s annual holiday craft fair returns
A school teacher by day, artist Ali Monaco spends most of her weekends busy with craft fairs. Her specialty is using heat to make “resin wave art.” Photos by: Madison Czopek
A selection of Ali’s resin wave art pieces. 
Ali’s business, Sticks and Stones, takes custom orders. Email sticksandstonesbyali@gmail.com or find her on Facebook and Instagram: @sticksandstonesbyali.
The YMCA’s craft fair had more than 30 vendors. 
A selection of Rachel Martin’s festive decorations. 
Martin’s holiday decorated bottles.
Sharon Smolinski was selling a variety of items, including some holiday wreaths. 
Winter-themed wreaths weren’t the only ones available. Smolinski also had these beach-themed wreaths for sale. 
A snowman themed wreath made by Sharon Smolinski. 
The YMCA’s Cathy Longfield said the fair saw “a steady flow of traffic” throughout the day.
A wreath made by Cathy Horton.
A glittery poinsettia centerpiece by Cathy Horton. 
A selection of “pinecone snowmen” decorations at Cathy Horton’s table.
The YMCA hosted a raffle during the craft fair. Proceeds went to the Y’s annual fundraising campaign. 
Ilene O’Donnell said her mother taught her to sew when she was about 6 years old. Now, O’Donnell is in her 70s and has turned her talent into a bit of a business. 
Some of Ilene O’Donnell’s blankets. 
A selection of Ilene O’Donnell’s work.
Amanda, also known as “the soap lady,” said she recently left nursing full time to focus on her natural soaps business, Scrub. 
A selection of Amanda’s soap. Anyone interested can find her product at www.scrub-soaps.com. 
Vendors lined the walls of one of the YMCA’s large gyms. 
Hilary Kanter of her Wareham-based business WickSmith was on hand to sell her hand-poured soy candles on Saturday. 
Kanter also had a variety of wax melts for sale. People can get in touch with her at wicksmithmass@gmail.com. 
The Kono Pizza food truck agreed to come to the Y on Saturday to provide food for both vendors and shoppers.
A school teacher by day, artist Ali Monaco spends most of her weekends busy with craft fairs. Her specialty is using heat to make “resin wave art.” Photos by: Madison Czopek
A selection of Ali’s resin wave art pieces.
Ali’s business, Sticks and Stones, takes custom orders. Email sticksandstonesbyali@gmail.com or find her on Facebook and Instagram: @sticksandstonesbyali.
The YMCA’s craft fair had more than 30 vendors.
A selection of Rachel Martin’s festive decorations.
Martin’s holiday decorated bottles.
Sharon Smolinski was selling a variety of items, including some holiday wreaths.
Winter-themed wreaths weren’t the only ones available. Smolinski also had these beach-themed wreaths for sale.
A snowman themed wreath made by Sharon Smolinski.
The YMCA’s Cathy Longfield said the fair saw “a steady flow of traffic” throughout the day.
A wreath made by Cathy Horton.
A glittery poinsettia centerpiece by Cathy Horton.
A selection of “pinecone snowmen” decorations at Cathy Horton’s table.
The YMCA hosted a raffle during the craft fair. Proceeds went to the Y’s annual fundraising campaign.
Ilene O’Donnell said her mother taught her to sew when she was about 6 years old. Now, O’Donnell is in her 70s and has turned her talent into a bit of a business.
Some of Ilene O’Donnell’s blankets.
A selection of Ilene O’Donnell’s work.
Amanda, also known as “the soap lady,” said she recently left nursing full time to focus on her natural soaps business, Scrub.
A selection of Amanda’s soap. Anyone interested can find her product at www.scrub-soaps.com.
Vendors lined the walls of one of the YMCA’s large gyms.
Hilary Kanter of her Wareham-based business WickSmith was on hand to sell her hand-poured soy candles on Saturday.
Kanter also had a variety of wax melts for sale. People can get in touch with her at wicksmithmass@gmail.com.
The Kono Pizza food truck agreed to come to the Y on Saturday to provide food for both vendors and shoppers.
Wareham shoppers who missed last weekend’s holiday fair extravaganza — or who simply realized they had a bit more shopping to do — had another chance to pick up a variety of holiday goodies at a holiday craft fair on Saturday, Dec. 11.
From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, the Gleason Family YMCA opened its doors to 34 vendors and many more shoppers.
Cathy Longfield, the Y’s special events coordinator, said the fair had seen a “steady flow of traffic” throughout the morning.
The fair was a regular annual event that started in 2016 — until the pandemic canceled the fair in 2020, she said.
Seven or eight of the vendors were people who’ve sold at the Y holiday craft fair before, she said. Others were new to the YMCA fair.
Because this year’s fair was near the end of the season, Longfield said vendors were excited to have another chance to sell their merchandise before the holidays.
Shoppers — including some YMCA members — were just as excited.
“Some of our members — when I came in this morning, I saw them coming in at 8 o’clock,” Longfield said. “They were like ‘well, we’re timing it, so we’re done by 9 to do some shopping.’”
She was also excited that the Kono Pizza food truck agreed to be on-site to provide food for both vendors and shoppers.
Vendors paid a fee for their table space at the fair, and Longfield said nearly every artist also donated a piece for the Y’s raffle.
“All that money just goes toward our annual campaign,” she said. The campaign is responsible for providing things like “financial assistance for our summer care program” or “membership for people who need a discount.”
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