Park Blocks host to summer crafts fest

Thanks to the efforts of Portland State student Kristin Yount, the farmers market that spans the South Park Blocks Saturday mornings will offer a bit more than freshly picked blackberries or luscious cherries this week.

In addition to the market’s tasty fruit selection, arts and crafts will be available for consumers roaming the Park Blocks on Saturday, July 19, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., as Yount has organized a show to run simultaneously with the farmers market.

Yount’s show, entitled Summer Arts and Crafts Market, will feature craftwork and artwork from more than 40 vendors from around the Portland area.

The event is part of a three-show series, with one taking place earlier in the summer and another scheduled for Aug. 9.

“I have always thought it would be really cool to have a craft show next to an event that is always happening,” Yount said. “Just getting people out of the basement and into the park is a huge thing.” Yount, who has helped organize similar arts and crafts shows in Portland over the past decade, said to expect pottery, lamps, hand-screened T-shirts, jewelry, flip-flops, paintings and designer clothing, among other items at the show.

Unlike other shows around the Rose City, such as Saturday Market, Yount said all of the items are handmade and not imported.

The Portland State Women’s Resource Center (WRC) is sponsoring the shows, and will have a booth at the event on Saturday.

Yount said several capstone students from the WRC will staff a table with a wheel that customers who pay a fee can spin for arts and crafts items from the participating vendors.

The WRC will also receive a fraction of the proceeds from the show, approximately 20 to 30 percent of the total amount, Yount said, to help fund a project on which the group has been working.