The Dolores River Brewery served up a wide variety of work by local artists on Dec. 10 for the town’s annual holiday arts and crafts show.
Michele Martz has organized the event for about 12 years as a way to bring more exposure to Montezuma County artists, and as a fun way to get some holiday shopping done. This year, about a dozen vendors came to show off their work, and although not as many people attended the show as in past years, the brewery was still crowded throughout the day.
As in past years, the show also featured live music by the Dolores band Last Nickel.
“It’s a big old celebration for the town and all of our friends,” Martz said. “I think we have a really good showing of the artists in our community.”
In order to get into the show, vendors need to sell only handmade, local products. Most of the artists who participated on Saturday came from Dolores, although a few made the trip from Mancos and other nearby towns. Martz herself brought soap, preserves and other products from her farm. Other vendors sold leather goods, felt dolls, pottery, jewelry and many other crafts.
Lyn Nance, of Colorado Wildflower Leather, has sold her products at the show for a few years in a row. She said the event is usually so packed that there’s a line of customers wrapping around the building. But that mostly happens in years when it is held on the same day as Dolores’ other holiday shopping event, the Christmas Bazaar. This year, the arts and crafts show happened a week after the bazaar, because Martz and the other organizers didn’t want it to be too close to Thanksgiving.
The arts and crafts show isn’t just about making money, although Mancos pottery artist Marilyn Kroeker said she always sells enough of her work to make the one-day event worth the drive. It’s also an excuse for local artists to get together with their neighbors and fellow creatives.
“Some of these folks, I only get to see once a year,” Kroeker said.
The arts and crafts show is traditionally held on the first or second Saturday of December, and is open to vendors and shoppers from throughout Montezuma County.