GREENE – A spectacular array of craft vendors will once again convene for the 13th Annual Treasures and Treats Craft Fair, Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m, in the Greene Intermediate School gym. The proceeds from the fair will be used to fund the school district’s Arts & Education program, which, despite massive state funding cuts, is still up and running, thanks in large part to the annual succes of the fair.

“We started the fair 13 years ago as a way of supplementing the funding for our arts education programs,” said event coordinator and kindergarten teacher Mary Lake. When the state cut the school’s grant money, the fair, as well as the school’s arts education programs, had grown strong enough to survive the budget slashes.

The Treasure and Treats Craft Fair has grown so successful it has attracted 60 vendors this year, a far larger number than ever before. The Intermediate School’s gym is not even grand enough to contain the vast quantity of vendors this year and many will have to set up their booths in the hallway.

“We make sure all of the vendors are selling handcrafted items and that nothing is store bought,” said Patt Washburn, special education teacher aide in the Intermediate School and the vendor coordinator for this weekend’s event. The list of unique goods to be displayed is boundless. “You name it and well, we just have about everything,” she said.