When the Hill Country Arts Foundation posted on social media that it was canceling this year’s Texas Arts & Crafts Fair because of the impact of July’s flooding on its campus, most people responded with expressions of affection and support.
But there was a recurring question: Why couldn’t the fair, which had been slated to take place Oct. 31-Nov. 2, be moved to another location?
There are many reasons.
“First off, finding a site with the requisite utilities and restrooms is incredibly challenging,” said Jennyth Peterson, the foundation’s event director. “We lost a lot of our support equipment in the flood. And we have artists who were impacted by the flood and couldn’t get their inventory together.
“So there were lots of little things that were pointing to this isn’t the time.”
It’s possible the fair will return in 2026, Peterson said. But if that doesn’t happen, she’s confident it’ll be back in 2027.
“This thing is important to Texas history, this fair, and we’re going to keep it going,” she said “We just need to take a breather.”
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The fair dates back to 1972. It showcases the works of Texas artists and artisans exclusively, some of whom demonstrate how they work as part of the festivities. It began as a project of the Texas Tourist Development Agency, according to the Handbook of Texas, and a nonprofit was founded in 1974 to take it over. The event was put on hold starting in 2013 when the nonprofit could no longer support it. The Hill Country Arts Foundation purchased the rights to the fair and revived it in 2018.
Since then, the Texas Arts & Crafts Fair has taken place on the Ingram arts organization’s grounds along the Guadalupe River. The site is in rough shape right now.
The flooding destroyed both of its theaters as well as the scene shop, the administration building and the ceramics studio. There will have to be some demolition, Peterson said, and some buildings may need to be moved across campus to remove them from the flood zone.
All of that is going to take time as well as a lot of money. Staffers have shifted from their usual tasks, Peterson said, to tackle very different jobs. Instead of working on events, she is spending most of her time on grant applications and working with FEMA to pull together the money for repairs.
“Our damages are extensive,” she said. “We can’t just throw some siding on that theater and call it good. The entire electrical system has to be rebuilt.
All the flies have to be replaced.
“It’s so much bigger than folks really understand. And so, we have to focus on recovery.”
That’s not to say that all programming has been put on hold. The art studios were spared, as was the gallery. So art classes have continued, and the juried exhibit “American Landscape” is on display through Oct. 24.
The theater program is up and running, too, performing shows outdoors and at other venues. They’ve also made use of Stonehenge II, an homage to the British monument that has been part of the campus since 2012. It was undamaged by the flooding and served as the set for the show “Shipwrecked.”
“We’re doing what we can,” Peterson said. “We’re still making art happen.”
