Got photos of the Arden Fair? If so, post them on-line and then email the Web address to Danny Schweers. He'll share the link with the world!
Photos from this year's Fair and from previous Arden Fairs.
The 104th Arden Fair was
Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m
in Arden, Delaware
Rain Date: Sunday, Sept. 4, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Want to sell your crafts at the Fair? Click here for details.
Click here for map | Photos
Contact Us:
- Coordinator: Steve Cohen, 475-5814
- Antiques Market: Lynda Kolski, 475-1658; or Mary Marconi, 475-6819.
- Craft Booths: Steve Cohen, 475-5814
- Food and Beverage Vendors: Edmond Bischoff - 475-8253
- Musician Contact: Click here to email Allan Kleban.
About the Arden Fair
Every year, the Arden Fair and Antiques Market is held the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend. The Fair features children's games and rides, handmade crafts by over 100 vendors (many of whom are local), an Antiques Market, used books (inside Gild Hall), plants, live music in the Shady Grove, delicioius food and drink, an art exhibit, and more. Admission and shuttle buses are free!
The Arden Club is a non-profit organization. Proceeds from the Fair help maintain the Arden Gild Hall, where the public can enjoy concerts, musicals, plays, dances, suppers, and programs throughout the year.
Most of the event is outdoors which includes macadam, grassy hills and knolls, and the Shady Grove, and there are two indoor exhibit venues - Gild Hall and the Buzz Ware Village Center. There is a Food Court. Also, food and refreshments are offered for sale down in the Shady Grove, plus free live music all day long. Much of the Fair - the craft vendors, children's games, and inside Gild Hall -- are wheelchair accessible.
Pets
Friendly pets are welcome but the owners need to be aware that they are responsible for cleanup of their pets. Pets must be on a leash at all times. The Fair has many tantalizing smells and sights – which could prove very stressful to dogs. No dogs are allowed on shuttle buses except guide dogs (a.k.a. "seeing-eye" dogs).
The 2011 Arden Fair:
- Free Admission
- Free Shuttle-Bus Service Park free at the Hanby Outdoor Center on Chestnut Road between Marsh and Darley Roads. Click here for a map.
- ATM Machine On Site.
- Over 100 Vendors of Hand-Made Crafts and Jewelry. Click here to see the vendor information further down the page.
- Antiques Market: over 50 vendors with a small admission fee. For details, call Lynda Kolski at 475-1658 or Mary Marconi at 475-6819.
- In the Shady Grove:
- Free music by a variety of talented musicians as listed below:
- 10:00 am to 11:00 am Diamond State Concert Band
- 11:15 am to 12:00 pm Mule Train
- 12:15 pm to 1:00 pm Pearl Street Trio
- 1:15 pm to 1:30 pm Local Chaos
- 1:45 pm to 2:30 pm Kalai King & the Fractured Hearts
- 2:45 pm to 3:30 pm Hippocampus
- 3:45 pm to 4:30 pm JD Malone & The Experts
- 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm Mad-Sweet Pangs
- Drink: Beer and Wine by the glass, soft drinks and bottled water are for sale.
- Food: Swim Gild Meatball Sandwiches, Dinner Gild Grilled Corn on the Cob, and other delicious items are for sale.
- Free music by a variety of talented musicians as listed below:
Peddlers, Potions and Practitioners: Exhibitors who aspire to improve our health, wellness, and quality of life. In the Buzz Ware Village Center.- Shakespeare Gild children’s games, rides, including pony rides (11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.). Tickets can be purchased for all games and rides. All offer prizes.
- Upper Food Court (across from Gild Hall) with hamburgers, veggie-burgers, hot dogs, sodas, iced tea, Hawaiian shaved ice, french fries, pizza, funnel cakes and more!
- Library Gild Book Sale with thousands of books (inside Gild Hall)
- Gardeners' Gild Plant Sale
- FOLK Dancing demo with audience participation on Gild Hall stage.
- Baked Goods, Kettle Corn, Balloons, T-shirts and more!
- An art exhibit in Gild Hall's Backstage Gallery. Click here to learn more...
- Also open will be the Arden Craft Shop Museum.
Shuttle Bus Parking:
There is plenty of free parking at the YMCA Hanby Outdoor Center with shuttle buses every few minutes. Click here for a map. Location: Parking for shuttle buses is on Chestnut Road, between Marsh and Darley Roads, just north of Arden. NOTE: No dogs are allowed on shuttle buses except guide dogs (a.k.a. seeing-eye dogs).
The Arden Fair: Volunteers Make It Happen!
September 3, 2010 is the date, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Here are some volunteer opportunities:
- Fair set-up on Friday (we’ll feed you dinner afterwards, including vegetarian items) Children are more than welcome to help. There’s a lot that goes into setting up the fair – ALL HANDS ON DECK!
- Fair Day opportunities on Saturday include helping with children’s games, sandwich stand, soda/beer booths, baked goods, balloons, books, plants, T-shirts, face painting, and more.
- Fair take-down on Sunday (we’ll give you breakfast afterwards: bagels, fruit, etc.)
- If you want to stay at home instead, cook us some sugar goodies and drop them off 12:00 - 8:00pm Friday the 2nd in the Upper Gild Hall – someone will be there to receive them or you may drop them off by 8:00 a.m. on Fair Day, Sept. 3rd at the Moonlight Theater. Please include your name and a description of your dessert on your donation.
I can guarantee you won’t be bored if you volunteer – we’ll fit you in somewhere. Call for questions/comments. Remember, the proceeds from the Fair help to provide services for those inside and outside of Arden. I can’t wait to work with each and every one of you and look forward to your input.
Artists:
Some previously featured artists at the Fair were:
Alan Burslem (2011)
Ken Mabrey (2010)
David Burslem (2009)
Linda Celestian (2008)
Linda Parks (2006)
Hunter Clarke (2005)
David McClintock, Roberta Perkins and Danny
Schweers (2003)
Attention crafts people, artisans!
Area craftspeople are invited to apply for registration in the 104th Annual Arden Fair to be held Saturday, September 3, 2011, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Arden Gild Hall, 2126 The Highway, Arden, Delaware, 7 miles north of Wilmington, Delaware.
Craft artisans who want to exhibit may send slides, photos or CDs of their work (with a self-addressed stamped envelope with enough postage to ensure their return if you want them returned) to the Arden Fair, 2126 The Highway, Arden, DE 19810 before June 1, 2011. You will be notified if you are accepted or not. If you have questions, please call Steve Cohen at 302 475-5814.
If you are accepted, registration forms are mailed (address required) the first week in June with one month to respond, but it is on a first-come, first-served basis, with past exhibitors given preference to previous spaces. Space fees are $50 ($40 for Arden Club members) plus 10% commission on sales of the day.
Past exhibitors need not re-submit photos. Past exhibitors will be notified in early June.
Thank you for your interest in the Arden Fair!
Food and Beverage Vendors
Please click here to send an email to Edmund Bishoff or give him a call at 302 475-8253.
Come to the Fair! You Are Welcome Hither!
The Arden Fair was originally conceived as a farewell to summer, in the days when Arden's population shrank perceptibly after Labor Day. Today the Fair is the Arden Club's premier fund-raiser of the year, the proceeds going to the maintenance of Gild Hall and to our many activities.
The Arden Club, Inc.
2126 The Highway, Arden, DE 19810
Graphics by Connee McKinney & Danny Schweers