BUTLER — Suzi Skoglund didn’t have the numbers at her fingertips. But she did have an inkling this year’s Prairie Peddler Festival will be one for the books.
“We had a lot of people last weekend,” said Skoglund, the festival’s cofounder, on Saturday afternoon.
She stood under a shade tree near the first of the festival’s three gates, a sea of parked cars in the fields around her.
“We don’t really know until a couple weeks later how many we’ve had, but it felt like a record crowd,” Skoglund said.
Prairie Peddler kicked off last weekend and continues Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3170 Ohio 97 in Butler.
Skoglund said the festival typically brings between 25,000 and 30,000 people over the festival’s two weekends. This year’s event included 30 food vendors selling mouthwatering comfort foods, plus 220 craft vendors.
“I’d say 90% of the crafts we have, they’re handmade by the vendor,” Skoglund added. “We’ve expanded over the years, and in the past maybe five years, we’ve added a couple of sections.”
“A lot of men always say, ‘I come for the food,’” she added.
Goods offered include everything from farmhouse style decor to jewelry to houseplants. Nostalgic old world wares included wooden spoons and dishes, clay mugs and old fashioned wood toys.
Children got up close and personal with miniature pigs, sheep, goats and a turtle at the petting zoo.
Festival is ‘a family thing’ for founders and guests alike
Skolgund and her husband opened the first Prairie Peddler festival in Delaware at a Boy Scout camp and quickly saw its potential.
“We bought the property (in Butler) because we knew to expand we had to have a lot more parking,” Skoglund said.
This is the festival’s 38th year. Skoglund and her husband still help run things, but their daughter, Mandie Sanford, has taken over as Prairie Peddler coordinator. Their grandchildren also help.
But Prairie Peddler isn’t just a family affair for the organizers.
“One of the things we hear a lot is families that come say, ‘We came when we were kids with our mom and dad, and now we’re bringing our families,’” Skoglund said. “It warms my heart.
“This is a family thing and that’s what we want it to be.”
