After breakfast yesterday at a diner across from the hotel, we headed to Amish Acres in Nappanee where they’re having the 47th Annual Arts & Crafts Fair. I’d been to Amish Acres about thirty-five years ago when I lived here. The place isn’t all that interesting without the arts fair, unless you like taking tours of the house and the farm and learning about Amish life.
The arts fair, however, was huge, with easily a hundred vendors. We zig-zagged our way through the booths and found a lot of interesting things. Crafts, mostly, some art. Gifts for the family. And food, although we didn’t eat anything except ‘pickles on a stick’ (just big pickles with a large toothpick in them). Picked up some fudge for Dad and we did have ice cream. Mmmmm. The weather was perfect, if a little hot for me when then sun came out from behind a cloud. If you’re in the area when the arts fair is happening, I’d definitely recommend stopping by.
Interesting note: several of the booths were run by Indians. This area of Indiana was once populated by the Potawatomi Indians. A lot of Indian names to the places (Mishawaka, Nappanee). I have no idea if the Indians at the arts fair are descended from them, but there is a surprising Indian presence in the area that I’d never noticed growing up here.
