Hyde Park Spring Fair draws some crafty folk

By Owen Boss

WINCHENDON — Residents of the Hyde Park Community Mediation housing complex held their annual Spring Fair on Saturday, offering visitors the opportunity to make their own arts and crafts, shop for antiques, and participate in a Chinese auction. President of the community, Carol Bender, said that planning the annual event took several months, and that it has been an annual tradition for as long as she has been living at Hyde Park. “We have been holding the spring fair for a long, long time,” said Ms. Bender. “It’s generally been bigger than this, but I think we had a lot less people participating from outside the living community this year.” Resident of the complex, Helen Palmer, used her booth at the fair to sell antique collectibles and video tapes that she had acquired over the years. “I had worked the fair once before, and I was very successful in selling some of my things,” said Ms. Palmer. “A lot of these collectibles I’m selling belong to me, but I am also offering up some older pieces that my mother had given me a long, long time ago.” Christina Lindley, a special education teacher at Murdock High School, was one of the few vendors at the event that did not live within the community. Ms. Lindley used the fair as an opportunity to sell handcrafted jewelry she had designed and created in her spare time. “I’ve been creating jewelry in my spare time for over 34 years,” said Ms. Lindley. “I decided to come to the fair this year because I thought I had a lot of really nice pieces that the people here would enjoy.” Managing a booth for the first time at the fair was retired Winchendon resident Lydia Horan, who said selling her handcrafted decorative floral arrangements at Hyde Park was particularly fun because she enjoyed the fair’s laid-back atmosphere. “I’m retired, and in my spare time I do various hobbies such as painting and making these artificial flower bouquets and wreaths,” said Ms. Horan. “So far the fair has been a relaxing experience, and the people shopping here have been really nice.” oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 5/5/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 107)