Pittsfield's Holiday Shindy Returns at New Location
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After a hiatus in 2020, the Holiday Shindy is returning for its 14th year at a new location.
Co-producers Lauren Barenski and Liza Gennari felt it was important to bring the crafters market back this year and reunite the community.
The planners are partnering with Zion Lutheran Church on First Street for a venue this year. The event will be slightly smaller with more than 30 vendors and contained to one day, Saturday, Dec. 11, in light of COVID-19.
The event runs from 10 to 5 with an admission fee of $3 for adults.
"This year, after everybody has taken a good long pause, and then kind of going into the unknown with all the variants and all the kind of continued COVID complications, we felt like it was even more crucial to get together in a more intentional and more intimate way as much as possible," Barenski said.
"So we're really excited to kind of relaunch the Shindy in a new space with a new partnership with the common room at Zion Lutheran Church."
The Holiday Shindy was founded by Crispina ffrench and began as a collective of artists that did a pop-up market in the basement of the former Shire City Sanctuary on Melville Street. Barenski and Gennari helped with the events, becoming co-producers before ffrench sold the sanctuary in early 2019 to the Al-Khalil Cultural Center.
At that time, ffrench decided to transition away from the Shindy as well.
"So [Gennari] and I were able to step into the roles as co-producers, and so we have an equal partnership in what we do in promoting and producing the Shindy," Barenski explained.
Gennari emphasized that this is a local, handcraft event with a common theme of sustainability.
"I think it's important to note that most of our vendors are local and it's obviously a handcraft fair, so a lot of the vendors use local resources, local farms," She said.
"Sustainability and environmental mindfulness are definitely at the forefront for most of our vendors, and that feels really good given the shop small shop smart movement that's happening right now, so we hope to be able to grow on that."
Ffrench is a textile artist who turns discarded clothing into functional art in the form of home furnishings, apparel, and more. The Holiday Shindy started with these values and continues with them.
"I can't think of one vendor who's not already doing something in the way of making things more sustainable or upcycling or, moving in that theme," Gennari added.
"So that feels like a really important thing to note because I know Crispina was sort of founded in that way as well when this was a juried show that was taken into consideration, environmental sustainability, and conscious use of materials."
The market was held at the sanctuary until 2019 and did not happen in 2020, similar to many events, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Calling off the event was difficult for the planners but they knew it was the safe thing to do.
"It was so hard to make the call to not do the Shindy last year," Barenski said. "We were trying to find different ways that we could connect folks and it just it felt it just wasn't the right time."
The two are pleased to be working with Zion Lutheran Church because it echoes the Shindy's values on inclusivity. The church has also intentionally renovated its main space to be a community venue.
This includes an air-purifying filter to make vendors and shoppers more comfortable in the space in regard to the virus.
"Our crowd is typically not young or young as in children, our crowd is adults and we are really conscious of COVID and how that is going to affect our shoppers as well as our vendors," Gennari said.
"And so their air circulation system that is really brand new, I think in the last year, is going to really give us a sense of comfort in that space."
In addition, the market will have added space in between booths for social distancing and will have a mask requirement regardless of vaccination status.
"We have a like a core family of vendors that have been with the Shindy since the beginning, some of that has changed because of COVID because there are varying comfortability ease and, and abilities to actually be in person right now," Barenski said.
"That being said, there's still a very definite continuation of our family being present, and I would say that [Gennari] and I take a lot of consideration in how we support and handpick vendors so that we can showcase them and make sure that they really shine in their fields, and it's going to be more intimate this year than it has been."
She added that making quieter moments to celebrate feels a little bit safer for some and is a really great way to re-enter.
Over the past couple of years, the Holiday Shindy has had anywhere from 40 to 75 vendors at most. Thankfully, no vendors have canceled for this year due to fears about the virus. This is leaving the planners feeling positive about the event and the protocols they have put in place.
Barenski and Gennari usually have a decompression after each Shindy to discuss how it went and begin proper planning around July. They take into consideration any feedback that is provided to provide the best customer service to vendors.
There may be a few last-minute vendors trickling in over the next day or so and they are hoping to have live entertainment but had not yet solidified permits through the city when they spoke to iBerkshires.
"It's been really cool to have everybody so excited to get together again," Barenski said.
Tags: artisans & crafters,
