New this year, we are proud to be hosting The Crafters Market together with the Annual Home Business Expo on Small Business Saturday, November 24th, from 9am – 4pm inside the First Street Community Center’s Gymnasium.
The Crafters Market specializes in well created, handmade items for the discerning customer.
The Annual Home Business Expo will feature numerous home based businesses in the local area including:
Mettes Doll Fashions
Becky Danielson
Grannie’s Ruffles
Amy Bishop Fine Art
Dog Bandanas Creations
Kelli Wolfe Quilting
Lindenbolt Serigraphy
Mary Beth’s Articulture
The Crafty Needle
Stine Designs
Poets Garden
Lisa Kenyon
Rodan+Fields
LuLaRoe
Scentsy
ItWorks
doTERRA Essential Oils
Displays from other local shops may also be on hand, including: Fairy Under a Full Moon and Twig Creations by Ruth.
There is FREE ADMISSION and as always the First Street Community Center has FREE Parking.
* Don’t forget while you are here to check on the other wonderful shops that call this building home throughout the year!
An intimate concert in a relaxed setting on Saturday, November 17th at 7:30 pm (doors open at 7:15 pm) in the Uptown Theatre.
Songwriter and instrumentalist Dave Moore (guitar, accordion, harmonica) and finger-style guitarist extraordinaire Phil Heywood. Recently Dave Moore and Phil Heywood have been sharing stages, trading songs and embroidering rich instrumental accompaniment on each other’s songs and melodies.
Eastern Iowa’s Dave Moore writes and plays guitar, button accordion and harmonica in a country blues/folk and conjunto style. He is a veteran of A Prairie Home Companion, winner of Iowa Arts Council grants and recipient of the 2017 Folk Tradition Midwest Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Folk Alliance Region Midwest (FARM).
One of the finest songwriters to come out of Iowa, Moore has recorded three albums with Red House Records and has written songs recorded by Lowen & Navarro, Greg Brown and Larry Penn. His instrumental prowess on harmonica and accordion makes him an in-demand session player as well; he has appeared on recordings with Greg Brown, Garrison Keillor, David Zollo, Brother Trucker and many more. Moore has opened for such greats as Townes Van Zandt, John Hammond Jr. and Los Lobos, and shared the stage with Chet Atkins, Nick Lowe and Beausoleil, among others.
Phil Heywood plays fingerstyle guitar with a bluesy swing and a bucketful of whatever it takes to turn an instrumental piece into an arresting lyrical narrative. His lucid playing encompasses the down-home rhythmic groove of a Mississippi John Hurt or Leadbelly, and the sheer fluidity and melodic flair of such contemporaries as Leo Kottke. The internationally renowned Kottke once handpicked Mr. Heywood to tour and perform duets with him. A soul-satisfying instrumentalist, Heywood draws listeners in with his voice as well, singing in a warm, plainspoken baritone that blends smoothly with his rock-solid guitar work.
While born and bred in Mount Vernon, Iowa, Heywood has been based in Minneapolis-St. Paul since the mid-1980s, performing locally and regionally while also establishing himself in the greater guitar and acoustic music world. In 1986 he won the National Fingerpicking Championship, and followed up a year later by winning the American Fingerstyle Guitar Festival Competition. He has played on NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion with guitar legend Chet Atkins, performed with fellow acoustic guitar luminaries Tim Sparks, Pat Donohue and Peter Lang, and opened shows for such artists as Norman Blake, Greg Brown, John Renbourn, Chris Smither, and John Hammond.
Phil Heywood has recorded six solo CDs, some of which will be available at the concert.
Heywood and Moore will be available for phone interviews and other press inquiries in advance of the show by calling or texting Nancy Emrich Freeman at 847-256-0000.
NOTE: If you reserve an early dinner before the concert at the Palisades Café, mention LilFest, and receive the evening’s LilFest special.
Saturdays 10am – 12pm in the First Street Community Center Gymnasium
Bring your kids, your friends, and a stray neighbor or two! We have a variety of vendors and a plethora of delicious items from which to choose. Stock the cupboards and fill the pantry, it is time for the Mt. Vernon Winter Farmers Market!
Beautiful vegetables, delicious artisan breads, jams and jellies. We have several different varieties of local, grass-fed meats as well as farm fresh eggs available. Gluten-free products and tasty treats are here, along with honey, shag-bark hickory nuts, walnuts and dry herbs.
Hand-dipped chocolates, exquisite hats, scarves and baby items. Handcrafted jewelry is a must-see, perfect for gifts. Dried beans, fresh ground cornmeal, popcorn, and meat seasoning mixes! Be sure to stop by and see us!
Everything at our market is produced and raised here in Iowa, by the vendor selling directly to you! We are proud to be local!
This Saturday, November 10th from 10 am – 2 pm come join us for a holiday shopping event! All vendors and crafters are together under one big roof – inside the First Street Community Center’s Gymnasium.
Free Admission!
NOTE: Please bring a non-perishable food donation for the Linn County VA Food Pantry.
Vendors and Crafters
Perfectly Posh
Usborne Books
Damsel in Defense
Color Street
Pure Romance
Scentsy
R & K Crafts and Printing
New Door Designs
Joyful Essentials Jewelry with Young Living
TK Kreations
The Craft Table
Thirty-One
Tastefully Simple
Crafts by Lisa