Keith Blaine took over as director of the holiday bazaar this year at Kent Commons because he didn’t want to see the event end due to city budget cuts.
“The biggest thing was the opportunity to keep the tradition going,” said Blaine, of Maple Valley, a former vendor at the show.
More than 100 vendors will display their goods at the 27th annual Kent Winter Craft Bazaar Dec. 3-4 at Kent Commons, 525 Fourth Ave. N.
The bazaar runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 3 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 4.
City officials ran the event for 26 years. But layoffs in the parks department caused the city to end or cut back several programs, including what had been called the Kent Holiday Craft Market.
“I was a vendor there the last two years and we heard the rumors last year that it was the city’s last year of doing it,” Blaine said.
Blaine sold custom-made, plastic-framed clocks with children’s themes at the past two holiday bazaars at Kent Commons. He no longer markets the clocks. Now he markets the entire show.
Mark Hendrickson, cultural programs coordinator for the parks department, said a lot of vendors voiced concerns last year about the holiday bazaar going away.
“It was one of the reductions related to staff time,” Hendrickson said. “We lost the coordinator who put that on.”
Blaine stepped forward to take over running the event. Blaine, Hendrickson and other park officials have worked to make the transition as smooth as possible with the event under private management rather than the city.
“He’s gung-ho about it,” Hendrickson said about Blaine. “He’s an organized guy. I think he will do great.”
Blaine grew up in Longview around holiday bazaars that his mother always attended.
“We went to shows in Longview, Tacoma and other places,” Blaine said. “It’s all familiar to me.”
Working off a vendor list from the city, Blaine started last June to get this year’s event off the ground. Blaine said the vendor list made a huge difference so that he could contact vendors to get them signed up for this year.
“I have some big shoes to fill,” Blaine said about taking over the craft show from the city. “But I have gotten a lot of support from Mark and others. The biggest thing is to find the right mix of vendors.”
Vendors will sell pottery, wooden toys, gourmet foods, handmade soaps, wreaths, snowmen, stained glass, jewelry, quilts, birdhouses, jams and jellies, stuffed animals and many other items. Attendees also can buy food and desserts. Raffle drawings are scheduled for every hour.
Admission is $1. Children ages 12 and younger get in for free.
Blaine has added more food vendors than previous years but wants to make sure anyone who comes to the show can find an item to make their holiday shopping easier.
“I want them to be able to come in and pick up a gift for anybody on their list,” he said. “They will see the typical holiday decorations but there also will be a mix of hand-crafted gifts for sale.”
Vendors filled up the 100 spaces at Kent Commons. Several vendors share spaces.
Blaine has attended several craft shows and gone to retail stores to hand out flyers and spread the word about the Kent Winter Craft Bazaar.
As many as 2,000 people have attended previous Kent shows.
“We’re trying to keep it this year pretty much the same as the last few years with the biggest thing a new mix of vendors and more food vendors,” Blaine said.
Hendrickson said Blaine has added a few tweaks to the framework of the event, but people should expect to find many quality items.
“I think he will do very well and have another popular event,” Hendrickson said.
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