Festival Season Begins at the Indiana Artisan Marketplace [CONTEST CLOSED]

If you are like me, you love a beautiful fall or summer day at an art fair or festival. Admiring the unique creations from booth to booth and talking with the artists…makes me long for summer even more!

Lucky for us, next weekend (April 16 & 17, 2011) offers a little taste of those fairs and festivals at the Indiana Artisan Marketplace. We might even consider it a kick-off to Indiana’s festival and fair season. But, maybe we should back up first- what’s an artisan? Indiana Artisans are juried painters, jewelry makers, chocolatiers, cheese makers, weavers and winemakers. These are Indiana’s best craftsmen with exceptional creations that the rest of us just wish we could create.

Over 100 Indiana Artisans and 75 Kentucky Proud artisans will gather at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on April 16 & 17, 2011 to showcase and sell their works. You will find jewelry, textiles, photography, ceramics, chocolates, homemade pretzels & marshmallows, and paintings. One of the best things to remember is that these Indiana Artisans live and work in our towns and by supporting them we are supporting our communities.

You can check out pictures of some of the Artisans who will be at the Marketplace on the Indiana Artisan Fan Page.

Admission is only $8 and can be purchased at the door. If you are looking to save a little money you can find a $3 discount here. Doors are open on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Note there is a $3 per car parking fee at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

We have 10 pairs of tickets to give away to the April 16-17, 2011 Indiana Artisan Marketplace! We want to hear about what your FAVORITE thing made in Indiana is. It could be a bottle of Oliver Wine or it could be a handcrafted piece of art – really anything you love that’s made here in Indiana. Here’s how you can enter to win one of those pairs of tickets:

1. Leave a comment on this blog post (either on the actual blog comments or on the Facebook comments just below the post) telling us what your favorite thing made in Indiana is.
2. If you use Twitter, tweet your favorite thing made in Indiana and use the hashtag #INArtisan.

That’s all there is to it, be sure to leave your comment or tweet about your FAVORITE thing made in Indiana and we’ll pick 10 winners on Monday (April 11th) at noon!
Good Luck!

UPDATE: The contest has ended and here are the winners! If you’re one of the winners listed below you have until Wednesday 4/13 at Noon EDT to email us with your name and address to claim your tickets!

1. Crystal Buehler
2. Elaine C. Sibrel
3. Jessica Pellman
4. Jeff Skaggs
5. JoAnn Hoffman
6. Lisa McBride
7. Mary Jane Moriarty
8. Amy Hochstetler
9. Amy Oppelt
10. @tdavis6378 from Twitter