You came. You shopped. You braved blizzard conditions and venue changes to get crafty with us!
Whew! This year's annual Unglued Craft Fest on March 10th and 11th, 2023, was quite a whirlwind. Nestled nice and snug between closing our downtown Fargo shop at 408 Broadway after 10 years and magic and mayhem and opening in our new location inside the hyper-local entertainment wonderland that is Brewhalla, we had 70+ makers and artists sell their handmade goods at the West Acres Mall.
Each year, a jury of 7 folks who have worked, sold, or shopped at the fest in the past comb through the incredibly talented batch of applicants to curate a variety of 72 of these fine makers!
When we first started planning our biggest maker event of the year, we were excited to host it at a brand-spankin'-new space at Brewhalla. However, some pesky construction delays got in the way of that wild plan. In the eleventh hour, the incredible team at West Acres Mall (our own personal superheroes) swooped in and saved the day by inviting us back to host the Fest at the Mall. They made it possible for us to bring you the most fantastic crafty shopping experience. Even with an impending blizzard, you SHOWED UP!
Starting out Friday evening with our Crafty Lounge, Local Libations Lounge, and shopping all 72 Makers Booths.
The sold-out Crafty Lounge is a new addition to the Fest over the past couple of years and amps up the crafty vibes straight to eleven. With each ticket, Fest-goers get special access to two craft projects, a drink from the Local Libations Lounge, a rare Yeobo Sweet Shop cupcake, and a DIY kit to take home or work on anywhere at the Craft Fest!
And that's in addition to all the fun already happening on Friday night, including DJ 1PrettyRicky spinning some sick tunes and the DIY Mall Hall featuring three free make-and-takes!
Shoppers came out with a snowstorm vengeance on Friday, making a phenomenal night of all things handmade.
At the end of the night, the makers left the mall not knowing their fate for the following day because a big blizzard was rolling its way into Fargo.
A few makers had to make the difficult decision to head home early to escape the weather, but by 6 am on Saturday we had made the call. The Unglued Craft Fest is ON for Saturday. Through shoveling out driveways and unplowed roads, our makers found a way to get to the Fest and were thrilled to find out that shoppers had done the same. Thank goodness we all had Thunder Coffee to fuel us through another day of shopping handmade!
Again, we have to shout out the resiliency of Fargoans and Midwesterners who stuck with us, checking our social media for updates, and in the end, getting their butts out to West Acres for a second day of handcrafted magic.
The Craft Fest was full of so many unique goods, including screen-printed tees and hand-sewn pet bandanas, ceramic mugs with worm patterns and modern stained glass, cocktail-themed candles and wood turned cocktail smokers, banana rugs and hamburger cookies, henna tattoos and so much more!
