Whiskerino Wrap Up and Holiday Show Announcement!

Whew! Whiskerino Crafterino was a blast! So many amazing vendors and so MUCH facial hair! Thank you to all of the vendors and shoppers and participants! Check out all the photos on our facebook page!

We are thrilled to announce that we will be doing a holiday show this year! It's scheduled for Sunday, November 28th and is once again at the fabulous Hotel Petaluma. Applications will be up tomorrow!

Announcing Whiskerino Crafterino!

Hello!
We are now accepting vendor applications for the Whiskerino Crafterino! This fun show is organized by the same gals behind last year's super successful holiday show at the Hotel Petaluma. This show will be in conjunction with the popular annual Whiskerino contest at the Petaluma Farmer's Market and will held Saturday, October 9th from 11am to 5pm at Walnut Park. Here are the details:

• Each vendor space is 10' wide by 10' deep.
• Booth spaces are $50 
• Yes! You may share a booth. 2 vendors maximum allowed per booth. There is no surcharge to share a booth. Fill out one application for the whole booth with info on all the vendors who will be sharing but designate one person as the main contact.
• Space does not include tent, table or chairs. If you need to rent one, we recommend Cal Rents here in Petaluma.
• Electricity is not available. If you need lights, you will need to provide your own battery powered lights. 
• We are looking for man-friendly crafts and mustached themed crafts. There will be a lot of dudes at Whiskerino showing off their fine facial hair. But everyone is welcome to apply!
• Event goes on rain or shine. There will be no refunds for inclement weather.
• By applying for the show, you agree to hold harmless and indemnify the City of Petaluma, the Petaluma Farmers’ Market, Erica Burns-Gorman and the Petaluma Downtown Craft Mart from and against any and all claims or damages and any or all loss.
• Application deadline is Tuesday, August 31st at midnight. Acceptance or decline emails will be send on Saturday, September 4th, If you are not accepted, please don't take it personally! It just means we already have a vendor selling something similar. We don't want any turf wars!
• Booth fees are due with your application. Your space is not reserved until we have your payment and you have an acceptance email from us. If you are not accepted your booth fee will be refunded immediately.
• Once you have been accepted, booth fees are non-refundable.
  
• To apply, send an email to petalumadowntowncraftmart@gmail.com with the following info:
• Your name
• Company name
• Phone number
• California ReSeller's # (required! If you don't have one they are free and easy to get here)
• A 2 to 3 sentence description about what you make (this will be used for promotion)
  
• 3 photos (these will be used on our website for promotion)
• A link to your website
• Any special or unusual display set up?
• Send your $50 booth fee to us through PayPal. Our PayPal address is petalumadowntowncraftmart@gmail.com. If you don't have a PayPal account you can use a credit card through PayPal. It is safe and secure.
  

If you have any questions, please send us an email!

Egg Centric - Butter and Eggs Day

Tomorrow is Petaluma's annual celebration of our town's heritage, history and future. The whole town always turns out for the family fun event and the Craft Mart ladies will be there too!

The Mail Depot on the corner of 4th and C will be hosting a bunch of community organizations and non profits. You'll find great seats to watch the parade, pizza by Pizza Politano, coffee drinks and ice cream sundaes by the Bus Stop Coffee Cart, face painting by Wendy Z, chair massage by Kit Lofroos Massage Therapy, jewelry from Blue Ribbon Salvage, art by Rock n Roll Crafts, journals from Vinyl Frontier, Petaluma tees and more from Blockhead Press and music by the GREEN STRING FARM BAND!!!! There will also be space for the kids to play. If you don't want pizza or coffee, Fourth and Sea is right across the street.

The Craft Mart ladies are each donating a percentage of of their sales to benefit the Petaluma Farmer's Market. You may have heard that the Wednesday evening show is short on funding. Help us help them!

Get to know more about our community and visit with Heritage Salvage, Heritage Homes, Petaluma Bounty, Tara Firma farms, Mentor Me Petaluma, Petaluma Progressives, Petaluma Neighborhood Association and me. We will be in the Mail Depot parking lot until 4:00pm. Stop by!

If you go:

	April 24, 2010 at 11:00am to 4:00pm the Mail Depot
	on the corner of Fourth and C

Making a Difference!

The Craft Mart ladies were thrilled to spend part of Christmas Eve handing over a big check to COTS!

Yes, you all read that number correctly! We raised $1297 at the first Petaluma Downtown Craft Mart! We had almost 800 people attend the event and people were so excited about the awesome raffle items that they bought TONS of raffle tickets. Thanks so much to our generous sponsors for donating such wonderful items to our raffle and swag bags. We are so thankful!

John Records at COTS told us that our donation will buy nearly 1000 meals this winter for people in need. Amazing! But you can also help COTS in many other ways. They are always in need of towels, blankets and sheets (especially twin size), toiletries, warm coats and more. Please contact them to see if you can help.

Happy New Year Petaluma!

Help us help COTS

You may not know that the Petaluma Downtown Craft Mart is a charitable event. We are trying to raise funds for COTS - also know as the Committee on the Shelterless. Every dollar donated at the door and all raffle ticket proceeds are going directly to COTS. So what does COTS do?

COTS offers help and hope to homeless persons in Sonoma County by providing safe shelter and housing, helping people develop steady incomes and helping them get back under a roof of their own. They help homeless families become stable and break the cycle of homelessness by teaching homeless parents to make their children's needs a high priority and to provide a safe, loving and secure home for their children.

You can help us by donating more than $1 at the door and by purchasing tons of raffle tickets!

Some quick facts from their website:

Kids

Each year we shelter and feed approximately 260 children. Our Center For Homeless Children and Their Families provides safe care, tutoring and assessment for children while their parents acheive goals related to housing, income and sobriety. At the core of our family programs is our Residential Parenting Education which underscores our emphasis on putting children’s welfare first. This is done through Kids First, counseling and case management.

Families

COTS serves families through our emergency shelter program at the Center for Homeless Children and Their Families and our Shared and Transitional Housing. We teach budgeting, life skills and parenting classes as well as provide case management and counseling to prepare families for a home of their own.

Adults

COTS serves approximately 800 single adults each year through the Mary Isaak Center. Rent Right™ and Work Right™ teach people budgeting, work and life skills. These, together with our internship programs, case management and counseling, prepare people for a home of their own.

Statistics
258	Homeless children served each year
250	Beds offered each night
1,700	Homeless people served each year
50,000	Volunteer hours annually
100,000	Meals served each year
500,000	Lbs of food boxes distributed a year

Facilities
	Emergency Shelters Mary Isaak Center (100 beds/adults only) Center for Homeless Children and Their Families (35 beds/children and adults)
	Transitional Housing Mary Isaak Center (30 units/adults only) Shared Housing (9 houses for families) Education Houses (2 houses for families)
	Permanent Housing Integrity House (6 beds/adults only) Vida Nueva (75 beds for families)
	Emergency Food Distribution Center The Petaluma Kitchen – hot lunch daily Food Box Program – weekly food boxes
Skill Building Programs
	Rent Right (getting into housing) Work Right (securing income) Kids First (strengthening the family)
Specialized Support Services
	Children’s Programs The Family Connection - family support teams Case management, counseling, medical care

Meet the organizers of the Petaluma Downtown Craft Mart!

Have you been wondering just who are the masterminds behind the Petaluma Downtown Craft Mart?

We are a hard working bunch of ladies who love to make stuff, love our wonderful town and want to contribute to our community's well being. Melissa, Carrie, Elaine, Nicole and Kristine have been planning and scheming and busting their humps to make this the greatest craft show the North Bay has ever seen!

We are so excited about all the amazing vendors that are participating! Have you checked out the vendor gallery yet? Wow! And did you know that the first 50 attendees will get a FREE swag bag? This isn't any old swag bag. Nope, it's a reusable canvas tote custom stenciled and stuffed full of prizes, coupons, discounts, magazines and treats. If you miss out on the swag bags (but we know you'll be waiting in line for the doors to open to get a bag) then there will be 4 raffle giveaways throughout the day. Awesome raffle donations have been arriving every day from local restaurants and stores and companies like Chronicle Books, Craft Zine and Stencil 1. Stay tuned next week for sneak peeks of all the prizes!

We have a location!

Yes! We have a venue lined up and are pleased to announce the  first Petaluma Downtown Craft Mart! It will be at the historic Hotel Petaluma located at 205 Kentucky Street at Washington on Sunday, November 29th. Thanksgiving weekend! Shop the malls on Black Friday but then come shop local on Green Sunday! 

It's such an ideal location and we are thrilled! It will be in the ballroom and is right next to the newly opened and awesome TAPS!

The organizers of this primo holiday craft fair are the creative minds behind StitchCraft, Rock & Roll Crafts, Queen Puff Puff, Vinyl Frontier, Blue Ribbon Salvage, Sin Kitty and more! We are committed to putting on a fun and well attended holiday show that will be family friendly and guy friendly! Grab a beer at TAPS and get all of your holiday shopping done in one fell swoop. We are giving away amazing swag bags stuffed with promos, coupons and special prizes to the first 50 attendees and all proceeds benefit COTS. There will even be gift wrapping available and chair massages to soothe away your aches and pains.

We are seeking creative artisans and designers for our show. Think you got what it takes? Stay tuned as applications will be up tomorrow!