Residents filled the Farmingdale Public Library on Saturday, May 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the Friends of the Library’s annual craft fair. The craft fair featured over 75 vendor selling handmade items as well as popular products from businesses such as the Divine Olive on Main Street.
Manning the craft fair were Friends of the Library members Jay Eskin and Ken and Laura Ulric. They were especially excited about the large amount of people and vendors who attended the fair this year. They all worked hard to prepare for the craft fair and notified the vendors shortly after the winter holidays, so they could prepare.
“We posted an announcement on crafters websites, we contact people who participated in our previous craft fair and vendors have returned from previous years. A good amount of vendors showed up,” said Ken Ulrich.
“It is a win-win situation. It is a nice activity for the community, it helps us raise money for the library, and it provides a place for the vendors to sell.”
Over the years, the Friends of the Library has raised money for items for the library including a grand piano.
This year they raised about $3,000, and they hope to put some of that money toward a new sign for the library.
“The Farmingdale Public Library sign has deteriorated over time, and it would be nice to purchase a new one in the future for one of the best libraries in Nassau County,” said Eskin. “This is a great event for the community. People enjoy this type of thing, and we hold it right around Mother’s Day.”
Laura Ulric thought the craft fair and book sale was a great gift opportunity for those searching for the perfect gift for mom.
“The vendors provide many different options for Mother’s Day gifts. We had many selling jewelry and a good mix to choose from,” she said.
Three rooms were filled with an array of vendors and Ken Ulric explained that there was a strategy to organizing all of them. “With so many vendors, we made sure there weren’t a lot of the same kind of vendor in the same room,” he said. “We wanted people to see something different in each of the rooms.”
The vendors were also very happy to be participating in the fair. “There is good traffic here and a lot of people stopped by my booth. It is a nice opportunity to show off what I made to others and sell my products,” said Debbie Bespo.
Sisters Samantha and Amanda from Howitt Middle School also sold some of their handmade products. “We make headbands and silver starfish necklaces to sell. We saw similar headbands being sold at a lacrosse tournament and we found the starfish charms very pretty,” they explained.
Keri Markert of Farmingdale was glad to be supporting the library and showing off her handmade bows. She said, “I love participating in craft fairs because they are a lot of fun and it is a way to sell handmade products. I make bows from different fabrics, and it is nice to show them to others.”
