The flurry of holiday events in Pownal starts early this year, as both the Bradbury Mountain Arts show and sale and the Coffin’s Corner Christmas sale are on tap the weekend prior to Thanksgiving.
The Bradbury Mountain Arts sale at Mallett Hall is Saturday, Nov. 21, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 22, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Opening weekend for the Coffin’s Corner event, at 66 Loring Lane, is Nov. 21-22, and the sale tentatively winds up on Nov. 27-29, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. all five days. Connie Coffin said she might extend the event to the first weekend in December, depending on the number of items left over.
Loring Lane, once again, is the center of activity for Pownal’s holiday events. The Fuego Diablo Holiday Sale, at 52 Loring Lane, and the Blueberry Ridge Farm Holiday Sale, at 67 Loring Lane, are both three-day events that take place on the weekend after Thanksgiving and the first weekend in December.
The Bradbury Mountain Arts event is two weeks earlier than usual.
“We decided this year to move it up a couple of weeks,” said Alice Kirkpatrick, Bradbury Mountain Arts member and manager of this year’s show. “There are a lot of holiday shows on that first weekend of December, and we thought we could get a jump on that.”
Kirkpatrick said that the Bradbury Mountain Arts show will feature fine art and high-end crafts.
“The prices are from small to significant,” she said. “It’s a nice mix for Christmas gifts.”
There will be eight returning and three new artists. Offerings will include a mix of media, including paintings, prints, photographs, wood turnings, sculptures and more.
“We’re excited about that,” Kirkpatrick said. “And it’s fun to have new talent.”
Girl Scouts from Pownal Elementary School will provide a luncheon and baked goods table.
While the Bradbury Mountain show is about art, the Coffin’s Corner Christmas Sale will offer items of comfort. Connie and David Coffin will sell homemade pies, whoopie pies, bread, tarts, pickles, relishes and jams. In addition, a few local artisans will offer wreaths, mittens, hats, scarves and pocketbooks. Their son, David, will have his wooden utensils for sale.
“It’s all fun,” Connie Coffin said.
Fuego Diablo, known year-round for its open mic music nights, switches gears for the holiday season. Its holiday sale is open from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Nov. 27-29 and Dec. 4-6.
Jamie and Wren Pearson will serve up hot pulled pork sandwiches, hot sauces, jams, barbecue sauces, Irish marmalade and gluten-free baked goods. They will have folk art, jewelry, wreaths, pet toys, heirloom knits and a Maine-made pet product call the Coat Hook.
“It takes over the whole house,” Wren Pearson said. “We pack it in. We don’t have enough room to do the music night and the holiday sale both, so we’re taking November off for the music night.”
The Pearsons are busy preparing the goods weeks in advance of the sale.
“Most of it is ours,” Wren Pearson said. “Jamie and I create a good deal of it, and then we invite other artisans to participate.”
The Blueberry Ridge Farm Holiday Sale, presented by the extended Hogue family, mirrors the dates and times of the Fuego Diablo sale.
“We’re friends and we’re trying to coordinate stuff,” Kathy Hogue said. “Our focus is nature-inspired hand crafts using natural materials.”
Hand knits, felted items, stained glass, Christmas ornaments and stockings, Advent calendars, beeswax candles, children’s items and dolls and hard-carved spoons will be available. Hogue’s sister-in-law, Mary Hogue, makes the stained-glass window decorations, ornaments and lamps.
“It’s a family show,” Hogue said. “I feel like all our stuff is really unique. It’s all hand-crafted with our own designs, by seven family members.”
The hot mulled cider is hand-crafted, too, with cider pressed on the farm, and served with cookies.
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