Sandpoint, ID

People were talking about the storm, using phrases like “gully washer” and “frog choker.” A few individuals were propping up canopies and wiping rainwater from valuable artwork as a tentative crowd started milling through the fair. Several vendors, having attended to their own booths, were helping others tidy up.
Such is the life of an artist.
No doubt about it; Friday night’s pyrotechnical lightning display and the accompanying downpour did more than just inconvenience the participants of Sandpoint’s 36th annual Arts and Crafts Fair. Those who had set up on the lawn at City Beach the previous evening in anticipation for the two-day fair almost found themselves in Lake Pend Oreille. Big puddles still remained in several areas, and a handful of artists had to move their displays to get them out of the water. Everyone’s spirits still seemed high, although some folks were casting furtive glances to the western skies; even though the clouds were breaking up and the sun was spilling through, forecasters threatened more storms for the first afternoon of the fair.

113 vendors were taking part in this juried art show, rain or no rain. Canopies had sprung up on the green at City Beach like mushrooms in a fairy ring; products sheltered within the tents included hand-blown glass, paintings, photographs, stoneware, mosaics, jewelry, soaps, candles and a plethora of other fine arts and crafts. Around the periphery of the gathering, food vendors had set up their own booths and trucks.

Not far away, sailboats drifted serenely back and forth on the lake…not a bad backdrop for a scene that, 12 hours earlier, must have seemed a little Dante-esque, what with all the lightning, thunder, hail and rain.
Never mind. Everyone was already back in the swing of things: folks were trading stories about other fairs and other near-catastrophes (the weather always seemed to be the main character in these tales); a lot of really nice stuff was being purchased and carted off to the nearby parking lot; performers warmed up under the entertainment tent, and the smells of coffee, kettle corn, and hot cuisine were pulling people in for breakfast.
All in all, it was a really good morning to be out and about in Sandpoint. The Arts and Crafts Fair takes place annually in the middle of August. See the Pend Oreille Arts Council website for more information.