Niantic Lions Arts & Crafts Show an annual tradition

East Lyme ― Sue and Charlie Wyand of East Lyme visit the Niantic Lions Arts and Crafts Show every year to buy presents and items for the house, and also meet friends, family and neighbors.

“If you want something handcrafted to give people for gifts or at Christmastime, this is a great place to find things,” said Sue, who on Saturday bought items, including blueberry soap, handmade placemats and potholders, and a painted gourd birdhouse.

The Wyands are among the estimated 20,000 to 25,000 people visiting the crafts fair, in its 63rd year, running Saturday and Sunday at the East Lyme Town Hall Grounds.

Craig Woody, vice president of the Niantic Lions Club and chairperson of the Niantic Lions Arts and Crafts Show, said the art show features about 146 vendors selling art, candles, crafts, food, jewelry, photography, pottery, sculpture and soap, among other items, and is the club’s main fundraiser.

The Niantic Lions Club, which has a 75-year history, contributes to eye research, guide dogs, and a host of organizations, including Bikes for Kids, the Special Olympics, the Miracle League, Camp Rising Sun, East Lyme Care and Share, and Shoreline Soup Kitchen & Pantries.

Woody said the annual fair brings a lot of people to Niantic and “puts us on the map.”

Kirk Engel, chairman of membership for the Niantic Lions Club and co-chair of the arts festival, said people look forward to the event year after year.

“It’s a Fourth of July tradition, and it brings a lot of the folks here to the town green, and we love sponsoring it,” Engel said.

Kim Partridge of Waterford; her daughter, Lilly Partridge of Preston; mother, Adriann Smith of Griswold; and aunt, Barbara Isom of Griswold, were browsing the vendors on Saturday. They said they visit the fair every year together as a tradition to spend time together and view the artwork, and they make each other laugh all day.

Bill Horsman said he and his wife and son were looking for something to do on the rainy day and decided to stop by the fair near their summer cottage in Waterford. Horsman, a semi-retired commercial photographer, said he was drawn to some of the photographers’ booths and purchased a wooden spoon for his wife’s birthday.

“There’s a lot here,” Horsman said. “I think it’s really nicely done – some high-quality art.”

Brandy Ward of Torrington-based Brandywine Pottery, one of the vendors, said she’s been a potter for 30 years and used to make serious guild art. But since moving to Connecticut two years ago, she decided to make pottery featuring whimsical creatures, such as a smiling whale plant holder, to make people laugh.

“There’s lots of great artists here,” Ward said. “It’s a good area for what I do because it’s on the ocean, and it’s one of my favorite shows.”

Her 16-year-old daughter, Sage Ward, who helps make the pottery and has a print-on-demand store, SageSilhouette, on Etsy, said the best part of the fair is talking to the customers.

Terry Koziol of Teresa Koziol T.O.P. of Chicopee, Mass., who was selling painted gourd birdhouses, said this is her third year coming to the fair. She said people are receptive to her work and both the customers and organizers are nice.

In addition to the Lions Club, members of the Shoreline Leo Club, the youth version of the Lions Club, helped out at the event, from making lemonade to selling handmade hair ties and alphabet crayons, said Judy Engel, one of the co-advisers of the Leo Club.

Eric Yang, a rising senior at East Lyme High School and one of the secretaries of the Shoreline Leo Club, said it’s nice to help put on an event that so many people attend and are able to enjoy the food and support local artists.

“It’s nice to be able to have this impact,” Yang said.

k.drelich@theday.com