Thanksgiving craft shows and their importance to the community

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Hannah Barton
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Photo by Tim Arterbury on Unsplash

The annual Ball’s Falls and Vineland Thanksgiving Festivals took place in the Niagara Region on the weekend of Oct. 6th.

Ball’s Falls 

2023 marks the 49th year that the festival has run. The first Thanksgiving Festival was held at Ball’s Falls Conservation Area in 1974 with the intention of raising money to help with conservation efforts and environmental programs that had no funding. This is still the intention of the festival today.  

The Festival featured: 150+ craft and artisan vendors; food, craft beer and wine; local farmers’ market produce; and finally live music. Ball’s Falls has been and continues to be an interesting opportunity to support small businesses and see what the community art scene has to offer. For people who don’t have physical, brick and mortar store fronts, craft shows like the one at Ball’s Falls are a good way for online businesses to get the word out about their work.  

Heritage tours and demonstrations were run during the Festival. Built in the 19th century, Ball’s Falls was founded as Twenty Mile Creek. By the 1840s, the area became known as Glen Elgin and was one of the area’s busiest industrial towns. The village included a barrel maker, a blacksmith and two lime kilns, as well as a general store and several houses. Only the gristmill, lime kiln and the Ball homestead survived and on the weekend of Thanksgiving, tours were given of the preserved buildings.  

Vineland ARTFest 

Since 1922, the Vineland ARTFest has been the biggest fundraising event for Twenty Valley Public School. This Thanksgiving weekend, ARTFest opened its doors to more than 130 exhibitors. The show had a wide variety of vendors that consisted of fine art, quality crafts, music and food and drink from all around the Niagara Region.  

Not only do these craft shows provide artists with the opportunity to sell their items, but they also allow them to network with other artists and form connections in the community. In this way, the Ball’s Falls Thanksgiving Festival and Vineland ARTFest are integral to the art and culture in Niagara and its surrounding areas.  

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Hannah Barton
Hannah Barton
Hannah Barton has been an Arts & Entertainment editor at The Brock Press since 2023. As a writer, she is dedicated to uncovering the vibrancy of the GTA’s dynamic music and theatre scene, uncovering and amplifying the voices of up-and-coming artists. From thought-provoking album analysis to narrative concert reviews, Hannah is committed to articulating the essence of each artistic endeavour she encounters eloquently and emphatically.

Outside of The Brock Press, Hannah has also been published in the First Person section of The Globe and Mail. Hannah is currently enrolled in the Concurrent Education program at Brock in the intermediate/senior stream. She is majoring in history with a particular interest in classical studies and ancient languages. During the 2024/2025 school year, Hannah was the President of Brock’s Concurrent Education Student Association. In this role, she led a team of fellow teacher candidates who helped provide opportunities for Brock students to make connections inside and outside of the classroom.

Since starting at the Press in 2023, Hannah has also been a member of the newspaper’s Board of Directors. In this position, Hannah has been a part of many important decisions that have allowed The Brock Press to remain completely student-run. In this role, Hannah also oversaw the digital archiving of 60 years’ worth of the Brock Press’ print editions for public access.
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