Selling at craft fair a 'fun job': ; Vendors who keep returning to sell their wares say they like the friendly atmosphere

It's not just the chance to sell their wares that draws vendorsback each year to the Mountain State Art and Craft Fair in JacksonCounty.

For many, the festival at the Cedar Lakes Conference Center, heldover the July 4th weekend, is a can't-miss opportunity to meet someinteresting characters and have a little fun.

For Carol Brown and Barbara Elsner, it's just the sort of eventthat got them into the arts and crafts business to begin with.

Both women had worked in the medical field before they startedthe Old West Kettle Corn Co., based in Port Orange, Fla.

Brown was a doctor of biochemistry and Elsner was a medicaltechnologist before they retired early to start selling their ownrecipe of kettle corn at places all along the East Coast.

"It's a fun job," Brown said. "You don't see death and dying -all you see are smiles."

Brown said it's the family atmosphere and the friendliness ofWest Virginians that has kept them coming back to the Cedar Lakesfestival every summer for the past 14 years.

She and Elsner make their sweet snack in large batches in a castiron kettle that weighs about 500 pounds.

The process involves popping mushroom popcorn in the kettle withoil that Elsner said is "good for your hips" and then adding sugarand popcorn salt. It takes about two and a half minutes to make abatch.

Elsner said many people buy several $5 bags of the snack andfreeze them so they can indulge in it long after the Art and CraftFair has ended.

"It's a little addictive because you get your sugar and you getyour salt," Elsner said.

"There's always someone who comes to the fair just for the kettlecorn," Brown said. "We've got lots of friends here because we'vebeen here so long."

The Cedar Lakes event is one of the biggest arts and crafts fairsheld in the state. Fair officials said an estimated $10 million inartisan products have been sold since the fair began in 1963.

Artist Wendy Summers is another vendor who has formed manyrelationships at the fair. Summers actually met the man who wouldbecome her husband, James, at the fair 15 years ago.

"He was playing music," she said.

"And she was smiling at me," he said.

James often performs while Wendy demonstrates pottery making forpatrons.

Wendy, who has a master's degree in art from West VirginiaUniversity, calls herself a "full-time mom, part-time potter." Shesells her Summer Hollow Pottery creations out of her home in ClayCounty and on her Web site, www.summerhollowpottery .com.

Summers has had success selling everything from bowls to ashtraysat the Cedar Lakes fair.

"Normally we do really well," she said.

She said fair goers respond well to her demonstrations - sheoften crafts pitchers and dishes while people watch.

"I went into pottery so I could make something that was useful,"she said. "I like what I do."

Other demonstrations taking place at the fair include glassblowing, woodcutting, piano playing and hammock making.

Chris Oaks was showing people how to weave a hammock on aspecially designed jig on Thursday afternoon. He has been sellinghammocks at the fair for the past eight years on behalf of Twin OaksHammocks based in Louisa, Va.

"We did really well last year," he said.

Twin Oaks Hammocks are made by residents of a planned communitywhere residents often eat, socialize and work together.

The Twin Oaks community produces 15,000 hammocks a year and usedto be a supplier for Pier 1 Imports, Oaks said.

Paxus Calta, who also lives in the community, attributed slowbusiness Thursday afternoon to the cool and rainy weather but hopedwarm weather would bring in more customers over the weekend.

"How many hammocks we sell depends on the weather and whatpeople's moods are," she said.

Other items for sale at vendor booths include clothes, jewelry,food and home decor.

The fair runs through Saturday. Tickets are $6 for adults and $2for children.

For more information on the fair visit the Web sitewww.msacf.com.

Photos / BOB WOJCIESZAK/DAILY MAIL All around the fair groundswere examples of vendors work, including decorative metal sculpturesthat are usually a big hit with customers.

Wendy Summers of Summer Hollow Pottery spends some time each dayat the Mountain State Art and Craft Fair doing live demonstrationsof her work. She said she took up pottery to create useful things.

Barbara Elsner of Port Orange, Fla., above, pours popcorn intoher kettle to make up the sweet treat that is so popular with fair-goers. Elsner and her partner, Dr. Carol Brown, have been runningOld West Kettle Corn Co. for 16 years. Jim Stafford, 58, of Elkview,at right, takes a turn stirring apple butter over an open fire atthe fair. The culinary display was sponsored by the West VirginiaSchool Nutritional Association.

Organizers of the Mountain State Art and Craft Fair say theyexpect more than 14,000 people to stop by before the fair wraps upSaturday night.

Sisters Hannah and Emilee Martin of Dunbar played an old-fashioned game - called "hoop and grace" - that was part of theHistory Hitting the Road traveling exhibit. The booth was one ofhundreds set up at the arts and crafts fair at Cedar Lakes.