Week 100: The 30th Anniversary of the La Mesa Craft Fair

Week 100(!!!): November 24th-30th, 2024

Happy 100th week of Something New Every Week! It's been a great experience and I think I'm going to stick to it for as long as I can. It is a great way to get myself out of the house, especially on weeks where I am low on spoons. (If you don’t know what that means, you can read about spoon theory here.)

This week, I accidentally came across a craft fair in La Mesa as I was trying to sell some clothes at a thrift shop called Act II. The result was a bit disappointing because they hadn't bought as much as I thought they would. Normally I am able to sell a majority, if not all, of what I bring to Act II. This time, I only got $25 in store credit and still have three big bags of shoes, purses and clothes to get rid of. I now have over $100 in store credit, which I have yet to spend. I think I’ll just keep saving it until I can get one of the second-hand designer purses they have on display in a locked glass cabinet. On my slightly pouty walk back to my car, I saw a sign for a craft fair at the La Mesa Community Center. Then, as I was driving, I saw three more signs! I figured that was a sign (haha…) that I should check it out, since I am a craft-lover, especially with the many gifts to be found for the holidays coming up.

The community center sits on a hill near downtown La Mesa and is next to a park area with grassy hills and a baseball field. I got lucky with a parking spot in the very full community center parking lot and headed inside. I found my way by following the conveniently placed “Craft Fair” signs.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but the fair was a Christmas and holiday explosion. There were decorations everywhere, and someone’s Christmas playlist was jingling along in the background. I signed up for the email mailing list at the desk by the entrance because the woman was so nice. I headed in, having to navigate around a cute pair of slow-moving old ladies. The majority of goods at each table were Christmas-themed. There were crocheted Christmas trees, handmade ornaments, and vegan skincare products with peppermint scents. It was really cool to wander around and look at the different crafts for sale, and I even got to try a sample of spiced candied nuts from “Tonni’s Treats.”

I was definitely one of the younger patrons at the craft fair, but I did see a cute grandson and grandma duo peering at some sterling silver jewelry. After spending about half an hour checking everything out, I figured I’d seen everything at least twice so it was time to go home. The exit of the fair took me past a very well-oiled machine of a cashier room. There were about five tables set up with checkout stations, QR codes for Venmo, and cash boxes. Each table was managed by a couple different crafty aunts and grandmas. Though I didn’t buy anything, I appreciated that they looked like they ran a tight ship. A hand-written sign on the way out thanked me for coming to the “30th Anniversary of the La Mesa Craft Fair!”

I’m glad I happened upon the signs that lead me to the craft fair at the La Mesa Community Center. It was a great way to see what people have going on as hobbies and some of the strange items people might want to buy. I wonder what their sales numbers looked like at the end of the day today. I hope Tonni sold a bunch of her inventory, because those candied nuts were good!

Bonus: Thanksgiving this year was great, as it always is when my brother-in-law is the King of the Kitchen. It was great to see my family and enjoy the delicious baked goods my sister made. I helped out mainly by eating but I did also do a lot of cleaning and keeping the kitchen organized during the chaos of the day.

See you next week.