With the holiday season approaching, holiday events around Malden are beginning. On December 2nd, the Beebe PTO (Beebe Parent Teacher Organization) hosted a Craft Fair alongside the Beebe 8th grade class, which centered on bringing the holiday spirit to the Beebe and Malden community while helping the city’s small businesses.
This is the second annual Craft Fair, and it has come back after a successful run last year. The idea for this event originated from past experiences Beebe PTO board members Amanda Spayne and Sherri Jackson had working at vendor events, who wanted to try it out at Beebe. The most recent Craft Fair, held on December 3rd, hosted over 50 businesses and vendors, like Texas Roadhouse and the Girl Scouts. But regardless of the “big-name” vendors, they hosted a majority of small businesses in the Malden and Boston area.
The event was brought to Beebe to give “small businesses… exposure.” While this event was centered around supporting local businesses in the area, it also helped fund future field trips for the current 8th-grade class as they held a cookie frosting station at the event. Vice President of the Beebe PTO, Sherri Jackson, also emphasized on the emergence of this event and added that “we were looking for ways to make money so that all of the Beebe students could go on field trips.” Although the businesses received exposure from their booths, the fair hosted a raffle where attendees could buy a ticket for a chance to win prizesfrom any of the vendors.
Alyssa Chung, a senior at Malden High School, also attended the event as a vendor, selling hair products like scrunchies, bandanas, bonnets, and neck scarves with her family and their small business The Enchanted Magnolia. She and her mother both appreciated the event as it is “always enjoyable.” They sold items in the previous year and had the opportunity to “meet really nice people, whether it be customers or other vendors.” In addition to the positive environment seen at this event, the family also noted that they “made a profit at this craft fair… which is sometimes more than we can say at other events.”
After welcoming hundreds of local buyers interested in the crafts presented, the raffle tickets were picked and the Craft Fair came to an end.
