by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Many thousands of people gathered for the ever-popular annual Rice Arts and Crafts Fair Sept. 12 and 13 in downtown Rice.
The fair, which featured more than 70 exhibitors in their white tents, was set up just west of Hwy. 10 and on both sides of Rice’s Main Street. Its coordinator is Mark Larson and his son, Nathan, of the Old Creamery Restaurant and Café in Rice, and many of the tents were set up on the grounds near that establishment.
People of all ages, including many families, enjoyed sauntering the grounds in warm – but not hot – weather, munching on treats, socializing in groups and perusing a staggering variety of arts and crafts, including oil and acrylic paintings, wooden carvings, jewelry, jams and scented oils and waxes, knick knacks of every description, homemade utensils, bath towels and dish towels, homemade sweatshirts and other clothing items, handcrafted furniture and metal works, and more – much more. The aroma of kettle corn wafted through the long aisles between the white tents. On the west end there was the tantalizing smell of barbecued pork chops cooked and served by the Rice Boy Scouts. The St. Stephen Lions served up refreshing cups of ice cream.
One exhibitor who attracted attention with her unusual, whimsical acrylic paintings was Dawn Addy whose “Party Animals By Dawn” booth featured her art works of pets, some of them depicting cats and dogs as “party animals” drinking champagne, beer or whisky, getting a bit loopy and a couple even looking cross-eyed and baying at the moon. Addy, who was working her exhibit with daughter Alison Legatt of St. Stephen, said her customers give her photos of their pets, and her wild fun-loving imagination takes over from there. Addy, who earned a master’s degree from the Minnesota School of Art and Design, lives in Minnesota in the summer months but winters in Miami, where she does most of her pet paintings.
“I enjoyed a fulfilling career trying to save the world,” Addy said, “and now I have passed the torch to others. I am moving into the next phase of my journey, following my artistic passions.”
During the two-day fair, mothers stopped to feed their children, teenagers sauntered by in casual groups and senior citizens took time to talk with the many exhibitors about their wares. A good time was had by one and all.
At the Rice Arts and Crafts Fair, artist Dawn Addy shows some of her whimsical boozy animal paintings, including one of two Jack Russell terriers imbibing a quart of Jack Daniels whisky. Addy does not promote giving alcohol to pets, not at all, as she herself is an animal-lover. But she likes to depict the off-the-wall whimsy under her rubric of “Party Animals by Dawn.” She paints at customer requests, based on photos provided from pet owners. She also does many paintings of pets with toys and other props.
Darwin Halstad of Fertile swabs the Korn Kettle with oil before he pops the corn, which people devoured with joy at the Rice Arts and Crafts Fair Sept. 12-13 in downtown Rice.
Bob Holthaus of Rice talks about his handcrafted wooden bowls and cutting boards to two visitors at the Rice Arts and Crafts Fair Sept. 12. He said he enjoys the woodworking hobby while he is wintering in Sun City, Ariz. He makes the bowls using carefully chosen choice woods on a speed lathe, often layering the woods for a dramatic aesthetic effect.
Lori Pogatchnik (left) of the St. Stephen Lions Club passes a dish of ice cream to Lois Weber of Andover at the Rice Arts and Crafts Fair Sept. 12 in downtown Rice.
Although it wasn’t – officially anyway – part of the Rice Arts and Crafts Fair, this very old rusty tricycle attracted the attention of many fair-goers. It is one of the many artifacts on permanent display at the Old Creamery Restaurant and Café whose owner-operator Mark Larson coordinates the arts-and-crafts fair every September.
Dawson Moen, 15, of Rice, takes a break in the shade of a tent as he eats an ice-cream cone. Moen is the grandson of Mark Larson of Rice, who coordinates the arts-and-crafts fair every September.
In a spot of shade at the Rice Arts and Crafts Fair Sept. 12, Laura Kerkvliet of Sartell feeds her son, Cody, some lunch. The fair attracted thousands of people from far and wide.
People enjoy light lunches during the Rice Arts and Crafts Fair Sept. 12.
Long rows of white-tented exhibitors show off their handmade wares at the Rice Arts and Crafts Fair Sept. 12-13 in downtown Rice.
