NAHANT — The annual Women’s Club Holiday Fair featured vendors of all kinds selling art, crafts, jewelry, and clothing on Saturday.
The fair was one of the charity events that Nahant Women’s Club of the North Shore organized; 2022 was its 21-year anniversary. The club was founded in 1895 back when women had very little access to transportation and education, according to Mia Corina, the President of the Nahant Women’s Club of the North Shore.
Joel Dore is an environmentalist who lives in Nahant and presents his idea of ocean animals in his art. He is an experienced sea turtle biologist and currently works to rescue sea turtles with the New England Aquarium. He combines his love of the Ocean and Nahant into three-by-three inch canvas drawings, which present the abstract shape of Nahant.
“I’m from originally the British Virgin Islands, I’m surrounded by water 360 degrees. So, my love and passion for the environment come from waking up every morning, looking out and seeing the ocean, and knowing just how important the ocean is, we have to protect all of it.” Said Dore.
Betty Stone brought photos containing her memories from all over the world to this fair. She snapped quite a few during her service trip to Zambia. Stone is a retired teacher and was a part of Community Without Borders. She went to Zambia twice, in 2017 and 2018.
She took many pictures of Zambian people in front of a gate. The gate as a backdrop produces a picture-style documentary of Zambia people’s lives. She presented pictures in the form of picture blocks, which brings a more dimensional sense to the pictures.
The club sent emails to invite local crafters back in August, and artists secured themselves a table by submitting a fee. Artists also donated artwork as prize awards in the silent auction. There was no ticket fee for participants. The club was looking to raise between $3,000 to $4,000 dollars from this annual fair.
The proceeds will go to three different scholarships and support several local groups including the Haven project in Lynn, Girls Inc., and Stop Hunger on Campus. The scholarships focus on local graduating seniors. One is for academic excellence, and the other one wishes to pursue art in the future.
“Because not that many people support the arts. So, we want to support people going on in the arts,” said Corina. “The Women’s club generally does a lot of charitable work and we’re also a social organization. We welcome members from all over the North Shore.”
