Kindred Spirit’s Christmas in Paris: so much skill and heart under one roof!

Arts & Entertainment

It’s that time dear readers: drop your pumpkins off at Brantwood Farms, dust off your evergreens and mistletoe because - whether you like it or not - it’s officially festive season!

If the whipping wind and drop in temperatures weren’t big enough clues, one of the heralds of the holidays in Paris is the Kindred Spirits’ annual Christmas in Paris event always held the first weekend of November.

Popping up at the Paris Fairgrounds for its 32nd year, Christmas in Paris is a unique shopping event which features local artisans of Paris and the County of Brant. With so much talent locally, it’s not surprising that the show stretched across all three rooms in the Special Events buildings last weekend and was very well attended from beginning to end

The vendors are all members of Kindred Spirits, an organization of individuals who share a common creative interest and who work cooperatively to actively encourage arts and crafts within the Paris and district community

I went down on the Friday evening and spoke to several vendors about the event. Barb MacDonald - a fantastic jewellery maker who creates the most elegant and intricate pieces with bead weaving techniques - said that they were full to brim with people from the moment the doors opened and everyone was in great spirits

Heather Davidson - who creates gorgeous and graphic rug hooking pieces - brought eighteen pieces to sell over the long weekend and by the time I reached her, around 6 pm on Friday, only had two pieces left. I haven’t had the pleasure of attending a Christmas in Paris since I was in high school, when you would go visit different artists’ houses around town! So, it was pretty interesting to see how many different types of artists, artisans and art were on offer in one convenient location.

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I wish I could have returned a second time over the weekend to take it all in! There was such a huge range of Christmas centric stuff, Christmas gift options and a wide selection of arts and crafts items for all year round. Types of makers ranged so much too, from stained glass, woodwork, crochet, painting, textile art and on and on; so much skill and heart under one roof. Christmas in Paris has changed so much over the years, from its early incarnation of artist’s opening their homes to showcase their work, and that of their colleagues, to this modern version - a bright and buzzing Brant tourism hot-spot that supports the art community and the wider community too. It’s wonderful to see that Kindred Spirts remains strong in its original energy, fostering fine art and arty craft community power in Paris and Brant! Congratulations to everyone involved and check out wwwKindredSpiritsArtisans com to find out more about how you can expand your art practice or for their future events, including Christmas in Paris 2024.