Back in full swing for 2022!
The Tasmanian Craft Fair is already celebrated as the largest working craft fair in the Southern Hemisphere and while COVID caused disruption over the last couple of years, this year we’re back in full swing!
This November long weekend, the fair returns to its full size with a few new additions that promise to give attendees of all ages a great day (or two) out. Around 20% of the exhibitors will be there for the first time.
Each year there are new crafts being added, some to tempt tastebuds, others to be worn, or even more to furnish your home. Organisers have noticed more younger couples attending in recent years as they look for some bespoke items as part of their interior design.
This year’s Craft Fair Director Michael Plunkett says “Our Rotary committee have had a busy couple of years adapting the event to keep up momentum - in 2020 it was online and in 2021 it was Tasmanian only. We know that for many craftspeople, our event is their major selling event of the year so that’s why there’s a real buzz about getting back to full size.”
There will also be a calendar of masterclasses being announced in September, as well as the return of the highly esteemed $10,000 Tasmanian Premier’s Arts Prize. This year the emerging artist being featured is Emma Magnusson-Reid, a visual artist whose instagram handle, @theflowerthief gives some insight into the materials used in her work. The fair also features Mae Finlayson, a Tasmanian with accomplishments abroad who makes soft sculpture blending familiar and ordinary materials in unusual ways. Then of course there are over 240 exhibitors to have a chat with and ask all the finer details of the works they have on display.
There’s been a welcome addition to ticketing too.
In a normal year, around 13,200 different people attend, with nearly 19,000 attendances overall according to the last Neilsen survey. This means that almost half of our guests are attending more than one day. As such the Craft Fair organisers have now made all tickets available for the full 4 days, you no longer need to buy a 4 day ticket.
The impact of the fair to the Northern region extends far beyond the long weekend with almost half of interstate visitors advising in surveys that they intend to come back to explore more of Tasmania within 12 months!
Over 10,000 volunteer hours goes in to this event, which also pays volunteer groups as well as raising funds for community projects in Tasmania and abroad. More than 7500 attendees came from outside of the Northern region in 2019, and officially 26% of them shared their trip to Deloraine on social media.
Fair Director Michael shares excitement for this return, “we’re really looking forward to being back at full scale, it means a lot to all the small businesses who share their works so if you’ve never been before, this is a great year to make it happen!”