Beautiful weather for Fairhope Arts & Crafts Festival

FAIRHOPE, Ala. (WALA) - One of our area's biggest economic and artistic events of the year on the Eastern Shore is going on this weekend.

The 61st annual Arts and Crafts festival in Fairhope kicked off its three-day run Friday morning.

GREAT WEATHER

Spring was in the air, and so was bright sunshine Friday.

Sponsors said the festival brings a lot of people and money to the city and the area.

Darrelyn Bender, President of the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, said, "The last economic impact study we did for the Festival, it was a $9 Million impact on the area, and that was about five years ago, so, we really need to update that, because its probably close to double that right now." 　

ARTS AND CRAFTS DESIGNERS

First, there are the vendors who come from far and wide.

Bender said, "We have one artist all the way from Hawaii, and we have three from California, and a few northerners, up from Wisconsin."

VISITORS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

And plenty of shoppers and sightseers come from around the country, too, especially states where it's a lot colder.

Chris Schorder is from Bailey's Harbor, Wisconsin.

When asked why she came to the Festival, she said, "Because you don't have to shovel rain."

Raelene Towne is from Auburn, Maine.

When asked why she came here, she said, "Because I love people down here."

Darlene Gold from Port Huron, Michigan said, "We come for two months, and we always come for the fair, because we love it."