The Mantua VFW event will take place both inside the post’s main building and in its outdoor pavilion.
The Mantua VFW will host its third annual harvest fair and craft show from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12, at its building and main pavilion.
The event will feature local vendors from the township and Gloucester County. According to coordinator Peg Wilson, about 50 of them will sell their crafts and anywhere from 200 to 500 people are expected to attend.
“There’s a variety of vendors that will be there,” she said. “A lot of the vendors are local crafters, some of which have come back year after year. There are wreaths, a purse maker and generally a good variety. It’s hard to predict who will come. It all depends on the day …”
Both the outside pavilion and bar at the VFW will be open during the course of the show. Post members will assist with set-up, cook food and interact with attendees. Still in the works is a possible K-9 trainer demonstration.
“I just handle the coordination,” Wilson noted of the fair, citing the VFW members who help pull it off. “They’re the ones busting their butts in moving stuff, cooking and setting everything up.”
The idea for the event came from Mantua VFW post commander Martin Valdez. Aware of Wilson’s work in event coordination at the Church of the Incarnation, he reached out to her about doing the post event. Wilson’s husband is a member of the VFW.
All proceeds raised from the harvest fair and craft show will benefit the post.
“The whole purpose of it,” explained Wilson, “is really to bring the community together and to let them know that this area is available there.”
