ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

Fall is in the air, which means cooler weather and for many, outings to local arts and craft fairs.

The 44th Annual Pumpkin Patch will be taking place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Texas County Activity Center at 402 N. Sunset Lane in Guymon, Okla. Coordinator Kathy White said there will be a lot for attendees to see.

“This is a juried show where photos must be presented and approved to be in our pumpkin patch show, and we are excited because we have a lot of new vendors coming this year,” White said. “We’re really excited about the new vendors, of course, because new vendors coming in always brings new people out to see. People don't want to see the same old stuff every time, so it’s great how we have new vendors coming. We’ll have booths for everything from handcrafted items to baked goods to pottery. We have a new lady coming who makes jellies, and we’re really happy she's going to be here this year. It also looks like the weather's going to be good, there’s no rain expected for those days, and this is the first year the Artist Incubation Art Gallery in Guymon has taken this over, so this is kind of a learning experience for us. But we're working out what to do and hopefully doing it right. I know there are other arts and craft shows going on that same weekend, including in Liberal, so there are multiple opportunities for people to get out and visit some craft shows, and hopefully get some items crossed off their Christmas shopping lists.”

White added discussions about the Artist Incubation Art Gallery taking over the event for this year have been going on for a little while.

“Our large sorority in Guymon had worked this event for several years, and like many other groups, their members just were dropping out, and it came down to the point where there were only two members left,” White said. “There was just no way they could keep handling it, so one of a friend of those women said, "We have a artist group in Guymon that they might be interested in doing that,’ so the head of our artist gallery ultimately said ‘Absolutely, let's do it.’ We rather walked into it, and we're learning as we go, and it's been great. We're even looking forward to things we found out we could have done better, so we're looking forward to next year being even better. We started too late this year as far as getting the word out, so next year we're going to start a lot earlier and get in touch with our artists And I will say, the two women left are helping us tremendously – they know what to do, so they haven't just dropped the ball on us and left, they’re right here with us and helping us.”

White said she hopes everyone who comes out to the festivities ends up having a good time.

“I believe Liberal’s about 50 miles from Guymon, so that's not too far to drive, and like I said, I know there are some other craft shows going on, so this is a great way to make the round of all of them,” White said. “I love to go and Christmas shop and get things you can’t find in regular stores. Whether you’re Christmas shopping, birthday shopping, or shopping for something else big that happens to be coming up, you can probably find that unique gift at shows like ours. We’ll also have a concession stand that's going to have homemade chicken and noodles and mashed potatoes, Italian salad, and peach and apple cobblers to go with that. We think everyone who comes out should have a great time looking at everything.”

However, White said, she is being somewhat cautious in terms of her expectations on turnout.

“We have some concerns because we've traveled to some other craft shows, and they're not doing as well this year as before,” White said. “The biggest show in Oklahoma is the Affair of the Heart in Oklahoma City, and it usually has four or five of those huge buildings at the state fairgrounds full, but they only had two buildings fill this year, so that kind of woke us up. I also think the economy is tight right now, and I think people are not buying so much fun stuff as they are food and clothes and bills that need to be paid. That said though, I know a lot of women who love to go to craft shows – even if they don't actually buy anything, they love to go see what's there, so we're hoping the crowds will come out because there will be so many vendors to shop from. We're just hoping people are going to say, ‘Hey, fill the car up and let’s go shopping.’”

And even though the event has not yet happened, White said there are already some ideas being shared for next year.

“We might decided to have it earlier. It seems like everybody's kind of waiting until this last rush and having a lot because once December's here, pretty much everybody's got most of their shopping done,” White said. “We're also thinking, since the activity center we're using is charging us a lot of money for two days, about  looking into some other avenues and maybe different buildings we could get maybe a little bit cheaper and offer more to our vendors. The community overall has been great – we have a hotel that's lowered their rates for the vendors, we're offering breakfast both mornings for all the vendors, and most of them have said they've never had that offered before. We also have a little hospitality room where they can just go and rest for a few minutes if they want to. We're wanting to make it as pleasant as we can for them because most of them are traveling from out of town, including from Amarillo, Texas, Colorado, and even some from Kansas along with several from Guymon. Overall, We want this to be as pleasant as possible for everyone possible.”

Overall, White said, she is hoping for a successful event.

“I want to say 'Thank you' to the community and everyone involved for their support, because we would not be able to do these shows without that support,” White said. “We would love to have everyone possible come out. And if you're a small business owner, maybe you'll get inspired to have a booth of your own at a future show. Just come out and see everything, because there will be something for everyone.”