Sugarloaf Craft Festival Features Local Artists

One of the nation’s biggest and most loved craft festivals will hit Gaithersburg for the 37th time, with more than 400 artisans from across the country showcasing and selling their crafts to the public—just in time for the holiday season.

Deann and George Verdier founded Sugarloaf Craft Festival in 1975. Until the foundation of the festival, no one had ever held an event that featured both two-dimensional fine art and three-dimensional craft, Deann Verdier said.

“There was a bit of snobbery, I guess you could say, about the different mediums. Some people felt that if they’re selling an expensive original piece of fine art, how could they possibly sell next to somebody selling a ten-dollar mug,” Verdier said.

The 1976 festival attracted 200 vendors and more than 10,000 visitors. It has since doubled in size to about 400 vendors and 20,000 visitors.

One of those vendors is Courtney Gillen, a local Silver Spring artist who makes sterling silver jewelry with sea glass, pearls and etched glass.

Gillen has sold her jewelry at the festival for several years. She says it’s a fantastic time of year for both vendors and customers, as shoppers can find many unique holiday gifts at the festival.

“If you know crafts, if you love crafts, there’s no way you do not hear about the Sugarloaf Festival,” Gillen said.

“As an artist, you’re usually alone in your studio for the majority of your time,” Gillen said. “You really look forward to the show because you get to talk to other artists.”

Other artists, like Sue and Bill Baldwin, who make leather belts and masks, have been with the festival every year since the beginning, Verdier said.

Having participated in past festivals does not guarantee the vendor entry into the festival. Each year, the artists have to apply to participate again, as the festival is juried.

“It’s a little like having to apply for your job 20 times a year,” said Gillen, who attends several festivals, including the Sugarloaf Craft Festival in Chantilly, Va., in December.

Sugarloaf runs about a dozen festivals throughout the year, primarily in the Mid-Atlantic area.

“We go as far north as New Jersey and as far south as Northern Virginia,” Verdier said. “It’s such a family community, between the artists and the people that work for us, that run the shows. Then the public comes in and a lot of these folks have been coming to the show for years and they’ve built relationships with the artists and it really becomes a unique community.”

Visit the Sugarloaf Craft Festival at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds (16 Chestnut St., Gaithersburg, MD 20877) on:

·       Friday, Nov. 22, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

·       Saturday, Nov. 23, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

·       Sunday, Nov. 24, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Parking is free, and admission is free for children under 12. Admission for adults and children 12 and over is $8 in advance or $10 at the door. Open rain or shine.