The Beaufort County Arts Council has taken the guesswork out of finding authentic, handcrafted gifts for the holidays by assembling more than 40 of eastern North Carolina’s best artists and craftsmen under one roof.
The annual Holiday Arts & Crafts Show will be held in the Washington Civic Center Dec. 6 and 7. Exhibit hours are Friday, from noon to 7 p.m. and Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The event is open to the public with a suggested $2 donation at the door.
The show may not be juried, but vendors are put to a certain standard. BCAC’s Eleanor Rollins said those who are not returning vendors are asked to supply photos of the goods they will offer or bring them by for a cursory inspection.
“We’ve grown beyond the toilet paper roll crochet covers,” she said. “This is the crème de la crème.”
The show will offer a variety of original hand-made items like knitted scarves, seasonal decorations, baked and canned goods, handmade soaps, birdhouses, stained glass, baskets, woodcarvings, herbs and spices.
“And jewelry, jewelry, jewelry, jewelry,” Rollins added. “Oh, oh and cheesecakes. There’s somebody from Greenville that brings cheesecakes. There’s even little individual ones that would just make a perfect little $5 or $6 gift.”
Rollins said vendors would have wreathes made of dried fruit, children’s toys and handmade ink pens.
“I’m telling you, those hand-done ink pens are exquisite,” she said.
The Pamlico Senior Citizens will be selling refreshments at the Grace Martin Harwell Senior Center on both days. The Center is located next door at 310 W. Main Street.  Cheese biscuits, muffins and coffee will be available until 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.  Lunch and dinner selections include homemade pimento cheese and chicken salad sandwiches, hot dogs, homemade chili and vegetable soup. Proceeds from the refreshments go to the Pamlico Senior Citizens group.
The Holiday Arts & Crafts Show will be held in conjunction with a variety of seasonal events taking place in downtown Washington including the City’s annual Christmas Parade and the Holiday Homes Tour.
The holiday offerings continue the following week with the annual HeArt of the City Christmas concert at the Civic Center Dec. 13 and the Beaufort County Community Orchestra Dec. 15 at the Beaufort County Community College.
The Beaufort County Arts Council and Civic Center are located in downtown Washington on the corner of Second and Gladden Streets.  For more information about this event and other BCAC holiday presentations, contact the Arts Council at 252-946-2504 or email beaufortcountyarts@embarqmail.com.