By By CHRIST PROKOS
Staff Writer
Even though the autumnal equinox is two weeks away, the leaves are turning red and fall is in the air at The Blind Center on Harvey Street in Washington.
Area artisans will be displaying and selling their wares at the annual Autumn Area Craft Show from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The show is one of several fundraising functions hosted by The Blind Center each year. It is free to the public.
“We have a year-round retail gift shop here,” said Debbie Waters, the center’s assistant director. “The crafts and items the clients make are sold in the gift shop. That generates 40 to 50 percent of what it takes to keep this place in operation.”
Items available for purchase during the show include jewelry, wood turnings, caned stools, waxed items and honey, yarn and alpaca items, fused glass and ceramics and sewn items such as aprons, pillow cases and dish towels. The gift shop will be open both days of the show, and there will be a food court at the show.
Gourd turkeys are among the featured items at this year’s show. Crafters use gourds and other materials to fashion the turkeys, some complete with wattles. A wattle is the red thing under a turkey’s neck.
“We do this in the autumn, and then we have the Kris Kringle Craft Show in December,” Waters said.
Under the direction of the Beaufort County Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, The Blind Center also raises funds with a pancake-and-sausage dinner in October, a rocking chair Rock-A-Thon in April and a homemade-ice cream social in July.
“The Rock-A-Thon in April every year is one fundraiser our clients can and do participate in,” Waters said. “As soon as one ends, they start the next month in May getting people to pledge for the following year.”
A large number of volunteers help ensure the success of The Blind Center.
“(The clients) have a place to gather together with other people in the same situation and feel productive and they are contributing,” Waters said. “We could never do this if we didn’t have a huge number of volunteers who are very dedicated.”
For more information on the Autumn Area Craft Show, visit The Blind Center website at http://www.theblindcenter.org or call 252-946-6208. The Blind Center is at the corner of Harvey and East Third streets in Washington.