‘Tis the season for holiday happenings, and we thought we’d share a few from the last couple of weekends, which culminated with Ginger Boom at HOMES Brewery and a Tiny Expo.
Tis The Season
Local art and crafts are the best, and during the holiday season, they are on steroids. The only problem is picking which art events to go to. We love the Detroit Urban Craft Fair (which celebrated its 20th year this year), Christmas On The Farm at Waterloo Farm, and Kindlefest in Kerrytown (Ann Arbor). After much deliberation, we decided to do something old and something new.
Front Porch Textiles in Ann Arbor
Located in our old neighborhood on Traver Rd on the north side of Ann Arbor, Front Porch Textiles held a holiday sale. Mary Underwood, the owner of Front Porch Textiles, has an amazing studio where she spins and weaves wool products. She invited other crafting friends who had a variety of beautiful handmade items for sale.
One item we couldn’t resist was the handcrafted books by Jean Buescher Bartlett. She had a table full of wonderful books in various sizes and bindings. After wandering about to see the other creations, we returned to pick up some treasures.
Krampusmrkt at the Ypsilanti Freight House
We didn’t see Krampus whipping and carrying off anyone on Santa’s naughty list, but we did find plenty of wild and wondrous art at the fifth annual Krampusmrkt at the Ypsilanti Freight House. Hosted by Holy Bones Artisan Markets, the freight house was packed with vendors and shoppers looking for something you won’t find at your average holiday market.
We couldn’t resist the old school monster movie classics from the Art of Donald England. I very much remember watching monster movies on TV50.
Ginger Boom at HOMES Brewery
The following weekend, we set our course for HOMES Brewery campus to make gingerbread houses and check out their first-ever holiday beer — Ginger Boom. Our tickets for the event included a gingerbread house kit and a sampling of the beer.
The brew is quite a treat. The ginger is very subtle, which is a good thing. Too much ginger, and things get weird. At nearly 14% ABV, this is a true barleywine that is on the sweet side, yet tastes great with Christmas cookies.
Making the gingerbread houses was fun. Our pals Sharilyn and Rick joined us in crafting architectural masterpieces of confectionery delight. One look at our creations makes it clear we are professionals.
Tiny Expo at the Ann Arbor District Library
After some delicious food over at Droptop Pizza in Saline, Brenda and I journeyed over to see what treasures could be found at the Tiny Expo. The main branch of the Ann Arbor District Library was transformed into a holiday market featuring a stunning collection of unique items for sale.
I’m a sucker for anything tiny or small. The Spalted Home tiny mouse houses were hard to resist. Judging by the number of people at the Tiny Expo, I suspect a lot of folks will be getting some super gifts.
Photos
There are more photos from our visits to Front Porch Textiles, Krampusmrkt, Ginger Boom at HOMES, and Tiny Expo in our galleries. We’d love to know what holiday happenings you’ve attended or plan to attend. Drop us an email or leave a comment on social media.
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