Published: November 19, 2009 12:55 am      

CITY OF LOCKPORT: Holiday Gift Show signals change of season

It takes a small army of volunteers to pull off the Kenan Arts Council’s annual Holiday Gift Show.

Thanks to them — decorators and bakers, artists’ assistants and cash carriers, able moving crews and gracious hostesses — it’s gone off without an obvious hitch every weekend-before-Thanksgiving since 1981.

As 50 artisans set up shop in the Kenan House for this year’s show, they’re being aided by upwards of 100 volunteers, all working the show because they’re drawn to the lush setting and the cause it represents: support for the arts.

Arts Council member Eunice Hernberger, 95, has given her time and effort to the show every year since it began. In recent years, she’s been both a baker for the now-famous “Goody Booth,” where shoppers stock up on holiday treats, and a cashier at the booth, where she gets a chance to catch up with old friends.

Due to recent surgery, Eunice is on “standby” to work the show this year; volunteer coordinator Charlotte Witte won’t assign her to a station unless someone else backs out.

Eunice plans to be there anyway, preferably at the Goody Booth, where she can take satisfaction in her homemade cookies and fudge being sold out.

“All my life, volunteering is all I’ve done. They tell me it’s what keeps me young,” she says cheerfully.

Peggy Smith, who’s worked the past 25 or so shows, is a substitute receipts runner this year. Her job: Go from artist to artist collecting cash receipts, count the money and get it ready for bank deposit.

The show is held in three buildings and the stream of visitors is at times a flood.

Peggy, 94, can’t wait to dive in.

“It is work, but it’s such a pleasure to be with people who are there,” she said. “It’s for a good cause.”

The money raised from admission fees and several Arts Council-sponsored raffles goes to Kenan Center programming, a scholarship fund for local high school students pursuing arts and a grant fund to help local schools advance art education.

Gift show volunteers come from all age groups and walks of life, according to Witte. Men are most likely to sign up for “moving” duty, that is, helping to arrange vendor spaces and move artists’ inventory. Women take charge of the rest, from hosting the artists to greeting shoppers and operating hospitality stations including the Greenhouse Cafe. That’s a temporary restaurant set up in William Rand Kenan’s original greenhouse and presented by Shamus Restaurant.

Children get in on the act, too. Pupils from the Kenan Center nursery school made centerpieces for the tables in Greenhouse Cafe, and students from Lockport schools will be caroling all three days of the show. That’s a first-time event under the direction of Lockport High School chorale director Connie Allison.

Folks who’ve worked some aspect of the gift show in the past usually are eager to return, Witte said. That, alone, is proof of a great event, she suggested.

“We’re very fortunate. Most everybody you call, they don’t say ‘no,’” she said. “It’s quite a production, getting everything covered and making sure it all runs well — and we’re looking forward to it again.”

The 29th annual Holiday Gift Show will feature works by 50 juried artists, according to co-chairman Joyce Lane. In addition to returning favorites, these artists are participating for the first time:

• Pam O’Brien of Youngstown, who recreates photographs in embroidery.

• Ann Peterson of Buffalo, who composes greeting cards from photos taken on her travels around the world.

• Carol Conwall of Buffalo, whose photographs are the basis for a line of products from note cards to luggage tags.

• Lisa McCausland of Wilson, who teaches crocheting and offers an array of handmade accessories.

Artists are selling their wares in all price ranges and mediums: wicker, clay, wood, glass, fibers, fabrics, metals, even herbs. Bath-and-body products and gourmet confections are featured works of art, too.

The Kenan Quilters Guild is raffling a quilt and the Arts Council is hosting a basket raffle.

The Holiday Gift Show will be held at the Kenan House and grounds, 433 Locust St., from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 433-2617 or visit www.kenancenter.org.