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CLARINDA, Iowa — Jan Moses of Clarinda and more than 200 of her friends will be celebrating a very special golden anniversary on Saturday, Oct. 17.
The 50th Annual Clarinda Craft Carnival will welcome more than 200 exhibitors from Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri to the landmark event sponsored by the Clarinda Chamber of Commerce.
“We’re full and we have a pretty big waiting list. The people really responded well this year and got registered, but (the chamber) is still getting calls about it every day,” said Moses, the event’s chairwoman.
The 50th anniversary is especially meaningful for Moses because she has been involved since the festival was started by the Page County Farm Bureau Women.
“A friend of mine belonged to the Farm Bureau Women and she was an exhibitor. She was the one that got me involved. Then, when the Chamber of Commerce took it over, I guess they inherited me,” Moses said.
Every year Moses said she looks forward to the carnival, adding that said it is hard to believe the event is celebrating its golden anniversary.
“It doesn’t seem possible it could be that long. I never thought I would still be doing this,” Moses said.
Booths will be set up at four locations — the Page County Fairgrounds, the Iowa Western Community College gymnasium, the Clarinda Academy Activity Center and the Clarinda Pavilion.
The show will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and shuttle buses will serve all four locations. Admission is $2, and children under 10 are admitted free. Food booths will also be available throughout the day at each site.
“We have good parking at all of the locations, and with the shuttle buses they can start at any building and leave their car for the day. That has really reduced the congestion that was created when people would move to the different locations,” Moses said.
Organizers will be wearing special T-shirts to commemorate the 50th anniversary, and exhibitors that have attended for at least 10 years will get a certificate of recognition to display.
Two exhibitors from Auburn, Neb., have been coming for over 35 years despite having a chilly initial experience.
“As the show got bigger we had to look for other locations. So we cleaned out a storeroom ... to use, but there was no heat. So we had to have a farmer bring in an old heater with a very noisy blower. The two exhibitors from Auburn were among those that used the facility that year,” Moses said.
When the Page County Farm Bureau Women started the carnival, participants demonstrated how to make homemade crafts and the show rotated between Clarinda and Shenandoah.
But as the show grew, Moses said, Clarinda became the permanent site because it had buildings to house vendors. Meanwhile, the transition was also made from demonstrating how to make items to selling the crafts offered by the exhibitors.
“I think the quality of the craft items has gotten so much better over the years. When we started people were making things out of egg cartons and milk jugs. Now we have beautiful handmade crafts and the possibilities of what you will find are unlimited. It’s a great opportunity for people to start their Christmas shopping, and there are always plenty of holiday decorations available,” Moses said.
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