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Crafts show has art from diverse cultures

Steve Kadel
skadel@tahoedailytribune.com
Steve Kadel / Tahoe Daily Tribune

Bunny Fredericks and her husband, Keith, spent Friday morning browsing at the Arts and Crafts Show in the South Tahoe Middle School parking lot.

It was the third year the San Antonio, Texas, residents were in town for the show and Bunny Fredericks said there’s a simple reason they keep returning.

“It’s the quality of the booths,” she said while perusing sweet grass baskets made by former Ghana resident Mary Korkor.



The show, which features three dozen booths, continues today and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Korkor isn’t typical of the artists who travel hundreds of miles to display their work. The colorful baskets she sells are produced by her entire family, not just herself.



“My mom and aunties and cousins also make them,” she said. “It takes three to five days to make a basket, depending on the size.”

On either side of her booth, there was Navajo jewelry for sale and tie-dye shirts that recalled the 1960s and ’70s. The latter have provided a living for Dan Zehm for 24 years. He said he spends summers in California and winters in Arizona.

He showed a prospective customer a tie-dyed shirt with collar, saying, “It’s good in case you need to dress up to go somewhere.”

Bob Staniford, who sells metal art and is one of the show’s organizers, says he’s been part of the event for 34 years. A percentage of sale proceeds benefit the local Kiwanis Clubs, South Lake Tahoe Art League, Lake Tahoe Unified School District, the American Legion and Christmas Cheer, he said.

“There are different artists each week,” he said, noting the next show is scheduled July 4-7.

This weekend’s fare includes nature photographs, watercolors and oil paintings by Lex Munson and Peter Darvas, Blazing Wood barbecue sauces, pottery, wind chimes and quilted pillows.

The crowd was sparse Friday morning, but Don Matthew, who sells sterling silver jewelry, believes today and Sunday will be a lot busier due to the expected hot weather.

“You have to wait until it’s 100 degrees” in Carson City and other lower elevation places, he said. “It drives them up here where it’s cooler.”

Other vendors shared his optimism. But heat is relative, according to Fredericks.

“It was 101 when we left Texas,” she said. “If it only reaches 90 degrees here, we’ll have to break out our coats.”


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