BRATTLEBORO — Fifty regional artists and artisans will showcase and offer their work for purchase at the annual Cotton Mill Open Studio and Holiday Sale.
“More than a holiday sale, it's a community event, an opportunity to be entertained, and to treat yourself to delicacies and activities you always wanted to try,” organizers write.
Besides artists, musicians, bakers, performers, and craftspeople based at the Cotton Mill, talented artists and artisans from surrounding communities have been juried to participate in this 17th annual seasonal celebration of the arts, which will take place on Friday, Dec. 4, from 4 to 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 6, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In addition to many of the past favorites, 15 new vendors will participate in the event.
Artwork by students in kindergarten through grade eight from the Putney Grammar School will be on display, and food will be available from Tristan Toleno's Entera Catering.
The Vermont Jazz Center's annual scholarship fundraiser, an evening of Big Band swing and dancing, begins at 8 p.m. on Friday. Tickets are required for this event and are available online at www.vtjazz.org/events.
On Saturday and Sunday, the tenants of the Cotton Mill will open their studios. Vendors who are not tenants will have booths sets up in the hallways on all three floors of the complex.
Visitors can purchase soft alpaca hats and brilliantly colored woven scarves, functional and decorative pottery and glass, jewels and ironwork, and more, “each booth a museum unto itself,” the event organizers promise.
Visitors can also enjoy pop-up hallway entertainment, studio workshops, and demos from the Vermont Jazz Center, the New England Center for Circus Arts, and SoBo dance studio.
Steve Procter, master potter of giant pots, will have ongoing demos of pot construction.
Maps of the building and the location of each vendor, as well as a schedule of performances will be available at the door.
A free raffle will offer a food basket with participating artisans' products. Additional raffle tickets can be purchased for products created by the artists and artisans.