Anyone ever do a homeschool craft fair or entrepreneur day with their hs group?

[Michelle My Bell]

I want to put something like this together for right before Christmas, but I would love some tips or ideas as I have never attended or ran anything like this before.

I am not sure if the kids should only sell to one another, or advertise to the public.

I don't know how to advertise this with my HS friends.

I am not sure how to set it all up.

Any advise? Thanks!
Michelle

[Carol in Cal.]

We just picked a Saturday evening and went early to a local park so that we could stake out some space. We posted emails on all the local homeschooling groups, inviting people to come to an eclectic homeschooling potluck and inviting kids to sell crafts that they had made. We had about 90 people show up--it was really impressive! Most of them didn't know each other so we made some valuable contacts. IIRC we had a few parents get a volleyball game going, and we invited people who were looking for groups or classes or who wanted to organize classes or groups to post on a mobile bulliten board that we brought along. It was not a terribly lot of work for any one person, and we all had a blast.

Doing it in the winter is a little more iffy around here. It's usually raining, and it is hard to get a space to use to sell stuff. Demos, yes. Sales, no. Libraries don't permit fundraising on site, and most churches are concerned enough about insurance that they can't let a group with no insurance use the facility. It might be different in other states. The only time I have ever seen that work is at an ISP with its own couple of rooms, hosting a winter party and allowing kids to sell their wares.