Arts Dockside is, for some, a time to stroll around the St. Ignace waterfront to purchase crafts, enjoy music and entertainment, and relax during the Labor Day weekend. For others, the show is a tradition.

Donora and Richard Stauffer of Lansing have traveled to St. Ignace for 31 years to present their cloth books, puzzles, and woodcrafts to the residents and visitors of St. Ignace.

"We get the same spot every year and it’s really neat to see the same people year after year," Mrs. Stauffer said. The show is seen as a vacation by the family.

Arts Dockside takes place this year Saturday, September 5, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, September 6, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Vendors will be set up along the St. Ignace waterfront boardwalk and in the parking lot around the marina.

While in St. Ignace, the Stauffers and their children camp out for days before the show and enjoy spending time with each other. Following the show, the family walks the Mackinac Bridge before heading back home.

The Stauffers have attracted repeat customers to their booth each year owing to their 31 years of service at the fair. Their customers are often excited to see what new crafts they have to offer, Mrs. Stauffer said.

Her interest in needlework began early in her life, with her grandmother teaching her how to crochet. In high school she learned how to sew, and began to seriously make crafts when her children were toddlers in the early 1970s.

"I've always been a crafty person," she said.

Her husband creates puzzles, nativity scenes, and wooden puzzles.

"If he sees something and he wants to make it, he finds a way to make it. He's very handy," she said.

This year, Arts Dockside will have 75 vendors selling a wide range of arts, including jewelry, candles, fur puppets, ceramics, and pet supplies.

Musical entertainment, dancing, and street performances will take place throughout the weekend as crowds browse the goods offered. Juggler Crazy Richard, singer Kerry West, and the Marquette Folk Dancers will perform alongside many others. Food and drinks will be available at the show, with the Mackinac County Animal Shelter selling hot dogs to benefit the Mackinac Animal Aid Association and the Lions Club selling chicken dinners on Saturday.

A new arrival to the fair is Pat Hancamp of St. Ignace. Mrs. Hancamp will sell her wares at the Arts Dockside show for the first time, but has been attending art fairs for years.

She visits Texas during the colder months and often attends the art fairs there. Specializing in cross stitch crafts, she sells fall and Christmas-themed items along with cross stitch lighthouse pictures. She plans to have pictures of the Mackinac Point and St. Helena lighthouses.

Arts Dockside Schedule of Performers

9 a.m. - Arts Dockside Opens
10 a.m. - Kerry West
10:45 a.m. Jim Bishop
11:30 a.m. Catholic Girls
Gone Bad
12:45 p.m. - Kerry West
1:30 p.m. - Jim Bishop
2:15 p.m. - Marquette Folk
Dancers

2:45 p.m. - Dave Jasmond
3:30 p.m. - Catholic Girls
Gone Bad
4:15 p.m. - Kerry West
(Sunday) 5 p.m. - Arts
Dockside Closes
(Saturday) 6 p.m. - Arts
Dockside Closes