42nd Annual Heritage Festival at SIC Nov. 2 and 3
The 42nd annual Heritage Festival at Southeastern Illinois College will be held Saturday, Nov. 2, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 3, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The festival focuses on locally handcrafted items and delicious food.
More than 120 vendors will have wares to sell, kicking off the holiday shopping season. Items include handmade jewelry, handmade 18-inch doll clothes, wooden creations, Christmas items, handmade purses, candles, kettle corn, homemade candies, honey products, antiques and collectables, homegrown vegetables, wine bottle wind chimes, and new this year: a fashion truck on the sidewalk and many more. We also have some authors selling their books.
“The Heritage Festival is so important to our community,” said Donna Hearn, director of the festival for 19 years. “Many vendors are local crafters and this is their income which they spend locally and because many people come in from other states and the surrounding counties, they spend money in our restaurants, buy gas and stay in our hotels, it helps our economy.”
Of course, no festival is complete without food. Vendors will have homemade candies, kettle corn, spiced nuts and much more. The Falcon Pointe Bistro will serve complete dinners of fried chicken and chicken & dumplings, soup, salads, sandwiches and desserts.
Admission to the event and parking are both free, and handicapped parking is available. For questions about Heritage Festival, call Donna Hearn at 618-252-5400, ext. 3213 or 2300 or email donna.hearn@sic.edu.
Additionally during the Heritage Festival this year, the new Ella Elizabeth Hise Museum of Regional Art on SIC’s Harrisburg campus will host the first event in a series called Talks with Ella. Guests will have an opportunity to meet and learn from some of the artists whose work is featured in the debut show Art of our Region: 1930s-2019.
Talks with Ella is free and open to the public Sunday, Nov. 3, at 1 p.m. For more information, call 618-252-5400, ext. 2599 or email hisemuseum@sic.edu.
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