After boasting an attendance of 5,000 shoppers in 2023, St. Peter’s largest exhibition of handcrafted artisan goods, Maker Fair Minnesota, is returning just in time for the holiday season on Saturday, Oct. 12.
With 190 vendors registered to set up shop at the Nicollet County Fairgrounds, visitors will find specialty items galore at Maker Fair Minnesota’s 12th annual celebration. Whether customers are looking to decorate their homes with laser-cut holiday items, add some custom clothing to their wardrobe or take home a selection of artisan jams for the family, community members can find just about everything they’re looking for.
Since 2015, Maker Fair Minnesota has been organized by the Dirkx family: Karen, her husband Scott, daughter Sarah and niece Kelly after inheriting the event from the original organizer who founded the bazaar in 2012. What started as a small marketplace consisting of 20 artisans and 200 vendors has rapidly expanded into a shopping destination 10 times its original size.
With growing vendor participation and a widening customer base, Maker Fair Minnesota had to find a more expansive location as well. Starting in Vernon Center, the event moved to the Blue Earth County Fairgrounds before outgrowing that location too and moving to the Nicollet County Fairgrounds in 2017, which has been Maker Fair Minnesota’s home ever since.
Key to the event’s success, says Karen Dirkx, is the family’s efforts to cultivate an environment that’s friendly and welcoming to vendors.
“Word of mouth from our vendors — they have really good successful sales days with us,” said Dirkx when asked about the factors behind the event’s growth. “We heavily advertise it and these vendors are kind of our friends and family. They treat us well and we treat them well.”
That includes curating the market to ensure there isn’t too much overlap or competition between vendors offering similar products. Each year, before the fair begins, the roster of 190 vendors are handpicked through a competitive, juried exhibition process based on the quality of their products, how they match up with other vendors’ products and if they add something new to the market.
“We review all of them and we pick the best of the best. We try for a great mix of vendors because obviously we don’t want to oversaturate one area — wood, jewelry, whatever the case may be — so we get that good mix and spread them out over the fairgrounds and all over the buildings so that you’re not walking by 20 wood vendors,” said Karen.
The Maker Fair also encourages personal connections between artisans and customers by requiring every handcrafted vendor be present on-site so they may explain their products to buyers.
Dirkx noted that some of the returning vendors have been mainstays since Maker Fair Minnesota since the event was founded 11 years ago.
In addition to the 190 craft vendors, the Maker Fair will have 10 food vendors on site serving culinary options like kettle corn, coffee, soft pretzels and cheese, BBQ, Mexican, Greek, Asian and jerk chicken.
Maker Fair Minnesota runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14 and it’s recommended guests come as early as possible if they want a chance to receive goodie bags handed out to the first 50 adult and 50 youth shoppers. The bags contain discount coupons and free samples specially made by the attending vendors.
In addition to the vendors, the event also features activities for kids including the Great Pumpkin Hunt in which children are encouraged to search for a hidden pumpkin in each of the Fairgrounds buildings Once they find a pumpkin, the kids receive a stamp on their pumpkin hunt passport which they can exchange for a goodie bag.
Admission to the Maker Fair is $5 per car and $1 per walk-in visitor. Customers will be able to park outside the two entrances off Union Street and the rear entrance off Swift and Summer Street. The event is also handicap accessible.
Vendors determine the types of purchases that can be made at the Maker Fair. There is an ATM on site for patrons to use.
Local News
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