Mark your calendar for a fair full of homemade goods
Guardian Angels employees have been busy behind the scenes with sewing machines, spice blends, and soap molds, and it's time to show off what they've made. On Tuesday, September 15, from 3:00 to 6:00pm, the 3rd Annual Employee Artisan Fair takes over the Price Homes parking lot at 550 Freeport Ave. in Elk River. Grab the kids, bring some cash, and come meet the makers.
[Image pending: photo]
The key facts, all in one place
What: 3rd Annual Employee Artisan Fair
When: Tuesday, September 15, 3:00 to 6:00pm
Where:
Price Homes parking lot, 550 Freeport Ave., Elk River
Cost: Free and open to the public
Vendors: 18+, mostly Guardian Angels employees plus local businesses
Entertainment: Live music, a Kid's Zone, and food trucks on site
Bookmark this one, print it, or screenshot it. Everything you need to plan your afternoon is right here.
A week built around saying thank you
The Artisan Fair is one piece of Employee Mission Week, a week Guardian Angels sets aside to celebrate the people who show up every day for residents across its Minnesota communities. The week builds toward the Employee Recognition Banquet, where staff are honored for their work in care, dining, housekeeping, and every other role that keeps the communities running.
The fair fits right into that spirit. It gives employees a chance to be seen for something outside their job title, whether that's a woodworking hobby, a spice blend they perfected at home, or a side business selling handmade goods. It's a small window into who they are beyond their scrubs or name badges, and the community is invited to look in.
[Image pending: Each handwritten card is a small thank-you note in a week built around celebrating the people behind the name badges.]
What's on the tables
More than 18 vendors will fill the lot, and most are Guardian Angels employees selling what they make on their own time. Local businesses round out the mix, so there's a good variety to browse.
Here's what to expect:
- Etsy sellers with handmade crafts, woodwork, crochet, and tie-dye
- Local licensed cottage bakers with homemade treats
- Vavoom Spices for anyone who wants to spice up dinner
- Young Living Essential Oils for wellness and home fragrance
- Mason Meadows Farms, an Otsego family farm known for canned goods and beef tallow products
Some of these vendors are longtime crafters, some started a side business during a slow winter, and some are testing out selling in public for the first time. Every table is worth a stop, whether you're shopping for gifts or just curious what your favorite nurse or dining aide has been building at home.
[Image pending: From cozy crochet to homemade spice blends and tallow balm, every table holds something a coworker poured their heart into.]
Bring cash or a card, browse at your own pace, and expect to walk away with something you didn't know you needed.
Music to shop by
Local musician Joe Perry will play live through the afternoon, giving the fair a background of guitar and vocals while you browse the tables. Perry is a Minnesota-based multi-instrumentalist and music instructor who performs around the area, including a recent outdoor set at Pebble Creek Bar & Grill.
Bring a lawn chair if you want to sit and listen for a while between vendor stops. With food trucks, tables of handmade goods, and music drifting across the lot, the parking lot at 550 Freeport Ave will feel less like a parking lot and more like a neighborhood block party for a few hours.
[Image pending: data_visualization]
Free activities to keep the kids happy
Bring the whole family. While you shop, kids have their own reasons to stick around, all of it free:
- A bounce house for burning off energy
- Bubbles and chalk art for the sidewalk crowd
- Complimentary face painting
- The Schools Out Sweet Treats ice cream truck for a treat between vendor stops
[Image pending: Between the bounce house and the bubbles, the sidewalk becomes its own canvas, and every bit of it is free.]
There's also a feel-good detail for the sweet tooth crowd: Thumbprint Cookies sold at the fair support Thumbs Up for Mental Health, an
Elk River-based nonprofit whose mission is to raise awareness of mental health and provide support and resources to all. It's a small purchase that goes toward a local cause, right alongside a plate of cookies.
Between the bounce house, the face painting, and the ice cream truck, there's enough going on to keep kids entertained while parents browse the vendor tables at their own pace. No need to rush through the fair or split up. Everyone has something to do.
Mark Your Calendar and Come Say Hello
The 3rd Annual Employee Artisan Fair runs Tuesday, September 15, from 3:00 to 6:00pm in the Price Homes parking lot at 550 Freeport Ave., Elk River. It's free and open to the whole community, no ticket or RSVP needed.
Stop by after work, bring the kids, and walk the tables at your own pace. More than 18 vendors will be set up, most of them Guardian Angels employees selling handmade crafts, spices, oils, and farm goods alongside local businesses from around the area. Grab a treat from the ice cream truck, let the kids bounce and draw chalk art, and listen to Joe Perry play while you shop.
It's a simple evening built around a good cause: supporting the people who work in Guardian Angels communities every day and the local makers who share their tables. Come see what your neighbors and coworkers have been creating.
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