The 10th annual Christmas in Georgetown Handmade Craft Fair runs Sunday, Nov. 15, and organizers are asking shoppers to help the Georgetown Bread Basket, the town's food bank. Entry is free, and visitors are asked to bring a non-perishable food donation.
The fair is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Christ the King Catholic Secondary School, 161 Guelph Street. The first 50 shoppers through the door get a swag bag.
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More than 80 makers and artisans will have tables, selling everything from handcrafted jewelry and ceramics to artisanal candles and gourmet treats, the organizers say. Listed makers include Bears by Sherry, Crimson Cookies, Clay Tulips by C and Handcrafted by Pete.
Getting a table isn't automatic. A panel of five jurors picks the vendors, judging originality, creativity and quality of craft. Only handmade or homemade goods are accepted, so multi-level-marketing sellers such as Scentsy and Epicure, whose representatives resell a company's products, aren't part of the lineup.
The fair began with two crafters, Wanda and Tina, who met at a local craft show in 2013. A year later, in 2014, they started HandMade in Halton, a Facebook community meant to showcase the area's artisans. The group rebranded as Made This Way in 2024.
The first Christmas in Georgetown fair followed in November 2015 at the Gellert Community Centre, with 25 vendors. After two years it needed a bigger space, and the organizers began working with the town to run it as a public event. It now draws more than three times as many vendors and, by the organizers' count, thousands of shoppers.
| Year | Vendors | Shoppers |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 25 | Not reported |
| 2024 | Over 80 | 3,700 |
| 2025 | 83 | Over 3,500 |
The organizers say the 2025 fair raised more than 1,700 pounds of food and $1,735.35 for the Bread Basket, and local high school students put in many volunteer hours.
Over the years, the craft fair and the group's Crafting for Cans online auction together have raised more than 34,400 pounds of non-perishable food and $5,954.50 in cash for the food bank, Made This Way says.
