Arts and Crafts on the Lawn

The Milton House Museum Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to no longer hold the Arts and Crafts on the Lawn event, following the conclusion of the 2022 event. 

The museum puts on a variety of events throughout the calendar year that have different goals for supporting the organization. These events range from community engagement, to education, to fundraising. All events put on by the organization are reviewed annually by the board to assess their viability and to ensure that the events are continuing to move the organization forward. 

The sustainability of the Arts and Crafts event has been under consideration for quite sometime by the Board of Directors. 

When the event was first developed in the 1970s, the show welcomed over 150 vendors, making it, for many years, the number one fundraiser held by the museum. However, in the years leading up to the pandemic, vendor registration dropped below 100, and after the COVID pandemic, the number has struggled to reach above 50 vendors. This is due to a variety of factors including many vendors retiring during the pandemic, rising gas prices hindering vendors ability to travel for the event, and the increase in the number of vendors who find it more sustainable to sell their products on websites such as Etsy, instead of doing shows. The Arts and Crafts event takes a tremendous amount of staff and volunteer time to organize and execute, and unfortunately, the costs associated with hosting the event continue to rise, while the revenue generated by the event, continues to decrease. 

Making the decision to end Arts and Crafts in its current iteration is not a signal that the Milton House Museum is scaling back on its community involvement. Instead, it allows the museum to direct resources toward other events currently being put on the museum, and allows for the development of new events. 

We understand and respect the disappointment that this announcement will bring to the community. Please know that it was not an easy decision for the board to make, and that all of the love and support for the organization from the community, continues to be greatly appreciated. The Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers of the museum look forward to continuing to engage with the community in meaningful and impactful ways through all of our events. 

Please also note, this announcement does NOT impact the Milton Area Chamber of Commerce's Pork Roast, which is annually held on the same date, across the road from the museum. Despite public perception, Arts and Crafts and Pork Roast are two independent events, and as far as museum staff know at this time, plans are in place to continue to hold the Pork Roast moving forward. 

Any comments or concerns regarding this announcement can be directed to our Executive Director Keighton Klos either by email at kklos@miltonhouse.org or by phone at 608.868.7772.