Utica

Trouble at the Old Mill

By Brad D. Bates
C & G Staff Writer

UTICA — Because of a scheduling conflict, the Utica Parks and Recreation Commission is looking for artists and vendors to ensure another successful Old Mill Arts and Crafts Festival.

The 22nd annual Old Mill Arts and Crafts Festival, which runs July 28-29, is the only fundraiser for the commission, and this year it falls on the same weekend as Sterlingfest at Dodge Park in Sterling Heights.

The Old Mill Arts and Crafts Festival is held at Grant Park, located on Hahn Street, just east of Van Dyke Avenue, and will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 28 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 29.

“It’s very well-attended, literally 4,000 to 5,000 people over a two-day event,” Mayor Jacqueline Noonan said. “There are a lot of one-of-a-kind items there.

“We are encouraging vendors who have not come out to a local show to come out,” Noonan added. “It’s in a beautiful location in Grant Park. It’s a very pleasant venue with plenty of shade no matter how hot it gets.”

Because of the overlap with the larger Sterlingfest, officials said, there has been a decrease in vendor traffic. Noonan said the festival had only confirmed roughly 50 applicants, but would like to have at least 100, as many of the same outlets attend both events.

“We just don’t have as many as we should at this point in time, and we need help,” festival co-Chair Mary Grattop said, noting that interested vendors should call Utica City Hall at (586) 739-1600.

“We’d love to have 100. We’d love to have 200, but fighting with Sterlingfest, it’s going to be hard,” Grattop added. “We’re a little smaller, and it’s quieter. We don’t have the carnival music, and we don’t have the buy/sell vendors. We are focused on the handcrafted stuff.”

Along with more vendors, the festival is in need of more volunteers.

“We’re a very small show, so we need all the help we can get,” Grattop said.

The fee to host an exhibition booth at the Old Mill Arts and Crafts Festival is $100. Booths are 12 feet by 12 feet, and any artist requiring more space needs to purchase another booth. All exhibitors are asked to supply their own display units, tables, chairs, electricity and sun protection.

There are also limited “tent” spaces that are 10 feet by 10 feet for $105. They are for vendors who do not have their own tent.

Exhibitors need final approval by the Old Mill Arts and Crafts Committee and are asked to provide at least four photos of recent work to be exhibited, with one photo showing the artist’s booth fully stocked and one photo showing the artist making the art.

Winners from each media group will receive mayoral awards, and each artist is asked to donate one item valued at a minimum of $25 to the festival’s auctions.

“People who do handy crafts but have never been in a fair before, it will be a good time for them to get their feet wet,” Noonan said.

To address a growing issue of the sale of items not created by the artist, the festival committee adopted and will adhere stringently to new “rules for participation.”

The rules state, “No manufactured items allowed. This requires that the sale of items that are a buy/sell, mass-produced or manufactured in any way are to be strictly prohibited.”

The rule will be enforced through the rejection of “any applicant that does not adhere to this rule,” and the ejection of “any artist that is found to be exhibiting any unacceptable items (whether it is all or part of your merchandise) at the show.”

“It’s always been getting stronger, but we didn’t have to have it too hard and too fast because some applicants wouldn’t come back,” Grattop said. “But we are getting some coming back because they don’t like the buy/sell stuff, which is great.”

The application period for artists and vendors runs until July 1. Applicants may file after July 1 until the date of the festival, but will pay an additional $25 fee.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Brad D. Bates at bbates@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1029.