Lee Beaton, Manager of Gallery Operations at Prairie Fusion Arts and Entertainment, says the gallery is gearing up for its annual holiday craft market on November 6, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Beaton notes this event has become a strategic complement to the local Chamber of Commerce’s business awards night, drawing many of the same attendees into the gallery space. She says it offers local artists and artisans a chance to showcase work they might not typically present at other markets. “Annie Beach is bringing her hand painted apparel and other items, Sandra Proulx is bringing her oil paintings and resin, Christina Plett from Simply Shar is bringing her wax melts and skin care,” Beaton continues. “Vern and Pat Crandell are bringing their quilts and their woodturning, Barb Murray is bringing her fused glass, Audra Ellis her pebble art, Iris Jones is bringing her beeswax and honey.” She adds that the market includes fresh exhibitors beyond their regular gift shop roster, noting, “Cindy Smith is bringing her jewelry, Neil Sander makes shaker oval boxes … Sherry and Ron Harrison are bringing Christmas wood crafts … Tara Roberts is doing knitting … Ark + Arrow, her candles and room spray … Alanna Kushniryk and her stained glass.” Beaton says she will also bring some ceramics and paintings of her own. “There’s a couple more, but they haven’t officially gotten back to me, so I don’t want to list their names.” With about 20 artists expected to participate (some confirmed, others still pending) Beaton says the venue will span the atrium and gallery floor, and perhaps more if space allows. The market, she says, has evolved significantly since its inception. “We started off just in the atrium … now we have quite a few tables in the gallery.” She adds that interest has grown: visitors entering the gallery now frequently learn of the craft market, and some express surprise, saying they “wish I’d known this was here.” Related stories: New E.D. at Prairie Fusion embraces role with artistic flair A Year of Growth and Change at Prairie Fusion Arts Beaton says vendor feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. “They love coming here. They like being part of it. … It’s just such a fun event to be at … they get to meet people … some of the people last year were like ‘oh I wish I’d known this was here.’” She says market planning is done in-house, though she refers inquiries about fraud or suspicious payments to assist tools such as Google’s screening services. Beaton says their main goal is simple and local: she hopes “the public comes out and checks out some of this fantastic … get starting their Christmas shopping and supporting local artists more than anything.”