Fox Valley arts and crafts

Sept. 19

Heritage Fest: The annual Heritage Fest arts and crafts fair will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20, in West Dundee. More than 80 artists and craftspeople will display their wares along the Riverwalk. This year's fair will include apparel, a variety of jewelry, handmade soap, floral, stained glass, watercolors, funky aprons, metal art, primitive and country crafts, ceramics, dog goodies, oil candle rocks, fine woodworking, knitting, bottle art and tie dye. The fair begins at Second and Washington streets in West Dundee, near the West Dundee Fire Truck and Sleepy Hollow Police Fun Car. For details, visit www.wdundeeheritagefest.org.

Sept. 19-20

Art Fair: The art fair will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20, at Algonquin Commons, 1900 S. Randall Road, Algonquin. Admission is free. This event, which will be outdoors in the shopping center, includes children's activities and live music. For details, e-mail eventconnection@comcast.net or call Diane at (312) 310-9156.

Sept. 20

Harvest Fest Craft Show: The annual show will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20, at Woodstock Square, Van Buren and Benton streets, Woodstock. It includes a farmers market, fiddling contest, historical demonstrations and more. Free admission. For details, visit awaketowoodstock.com.

Sept. 26

Art in the Barn Festival: Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, 450 W. Route 22 in Barrington, will host the annual fine art and craft fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, and Sunday, Sept. 27. For details, visit advocatehealth.com/gshp.

Oct. 3

Holiday Arts and Crafts Show: The Ladies Auxiliary of Tri-City Evergreen Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2298, 117 S. First St. in West Dundee, hosts its annual Holiday Arts and Craft Show from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3. For crafters interested in participating, call Fran at (847) 426-2205 or Jessie at (847) 428-9006.

Oct. 10-11

Fall Diddley: The juried craft show features artisans from all over the United States from 9 a.m. to 5 p. m. Saturday, Oct. 10, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, at the Boone County Fairgrounds, routes 20 and 76, Belvidere. Admission is $6 for ages 12 and older. It benefits the Mental Health Resource League of McHenry County. For details, call (815) 385-5745 or visit mhrl.org.

Oct. 16

Autumn Drive: Antiques, arts and crafts, pumpkins, hayrides at 12 county farms in McHenry County will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16,-Sunday, Oct. 18, along Garden Valley Road, one mile north of Route 176, Woodstock. For details, call (815) 923-2415 or visit autumndrive.net.

Oct. 17

36th annual craft fair: St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Crystal Lake is looking for crafters for its 36th annual craft fair, which will be Saturday, Oct. 17. Anyone interested in participating can call the church at (815) 459-5096 or visit www.stpaulsucccl.org for an application.

Gingerbread Bazaar: Sign up now for the Epworth UMC Gingerbread Bazaar and Rummage sale from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17. Tables are 5 feet long and cost $25. This is an annual holiday bazaar joined with a rummage sale of more than 500 square feet and 50 families. Contact Epworth UMC for more information and registration details, or sign up for your table reservation online at www.epworthumcelgin.org. Call (847) 931-5400 or e-mail office@epworthumcelgin.org to answer questions or concerns. Epworth UMC is at 37W040 Highland Ave. in Elgin.

Oct. 17-18

Fall Art Show: The Dundee Township Park District will host its annual show from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, and Sunday, Oct. 18, at the park district center, 665 Barrington Ave., Carpentersville. It features more than 100 paintings by a variety of artists. For details, call (847) 551-4307.

Oct. 24

Craft fair: Crafters are needed for the fourth annual craft fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, at St. Charles Episcopal Church, 994 N. Fifth Ave., (Route 25) in St. Charles. Applications for this juried show can be downloaded from www.stchalresepiscopal.org or by calling Fay at (630) 497-8799. Only handcrafted items will be sold. Past exhibitors have sold specialty towels, elegant stone oil lamps, wonderful fleece items, Christmas decorations and more.

Nov. 7

Holiday in the Halls: Crafters are wanted for the St. Thomas More School annual craft fair and bake sale, "Holiday in the Halls," from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at the school, 1625 W. Highland Ave., Elgin. There will be more than 80 booths. For booth information, call Laura Przybylski at (847) 888-4363.

Habitat for Humanity Craft Show: It will feature 35 crafters, bake sale, raffle, cafe from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at Christ the Lord Lutheran Church, 12N462 Tina Trail, Elgin. Free admission. It benefits Habitat for Humanity-New Hope.

Holiday Market Sale: The Swing Set Preschool will host the event from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at Congregational Church of St. Charles, 40W451 Fox Mill Blvd. For details, visit swingsetpreschool.org.

Nov. 8

Festival of Arts & Crafts Show: The show features 125 booths of quality handcrafted items 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, at Holiday Inn, 800 S. Route 31, Crystal Lake. Cost is $2, free for kids younger than 12. Free parking. For exhibitor information, call (847) 301-8543 or visit stepbystepcraftshows.com.

Nov. 21

Holiday Craft Fair: Marklund's 2009 Holiday Craft Fair will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Marklund Hyde Center, 1S450 Wyatt Drive, Geneva. All types of crafters are welcome to apply for booth space. There will be many crafters selling their handmade items as well as unique gifts. The Holiday Craft Fair also welcomes cosmetics and food vendors. In addition, there will be a Marklund booth featuring items handcrafted by Marklund's developmental training clients. A 6-by-8-foot space is available for $35. A table and electricity each costs $5 extra. Setup times are 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, and 7 to 9 a.m. the day of the craft fair. Also, crafters agree to donate one item valued at $5 or more to Marklund for a raffle to be held during the event. Space is limited; crafters and vendors are encouraged to reserve their spots without delay. For details, call Peggy Szarzynski at (630) 593-5475 or pszarzynski@marklund.org.

Nov. 21-22

Festival of Arts & Crafts Show: The show will feature 170 booths of quality handcrafted items from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, at the DuPage Expo, 4050 E. Main St., St. Charles. Cost is $2, free for kids younger than 12. There is free parking. For exhibitor information, call (847) 301-8543 or visit stepbystepcraftshows.com.

Nov. 28

Vendor and Home Decor Fair: The Elgin Junior Woman's Club is hosting a Vendor and Home Decor Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28, at Epworth United Methodist Church, Randall Road and Highland Avenue in Elgin. Items from Mary Kay, Tastefully Simple, Celebrating Home and many more vendors will be available. There will also be craft and bake sale items to choose from. For details, contact (847) 224-4318 or slr735@comcast.net. Proceeds will benefit Children's Research Foundation.

Nov. 28-29

Christmas Craft Show: Marmion Academy will host its annual Christmas Craft Show Saturday, Nov. 28, and Sunday, Nov. 29, 1000 Butterfield Road, Aurora. For details, contact the Alumni Office at (630) 897-6936, ext. 228, or visit www.marmion.org/alumni/alumni.html. Last year's show featured 158 crafters and more than 3,400 customers.

Christmas of the Fox Art & Craft Show: A juried show with more than 90 artists and craftspeople, lunch and pastries will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28, and Sunday, Nov. 29, at the Kane County Fairgrounds, 525 S. Randall Road, St. Charles. Admission is $2. For details, call (815) 772-3279.