Hundreds of today’s finest indie-craft talents will be setting up shop at The 8th Annual Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago, where our FREE TO ATTEND craft, art, design and DIY spectacular was born and raised!

On September 11 + 12, 2010, from 11am – 7pm, all of Division Street, between Damen and Paulina, will be chock full of incredible handmade goods made by over 300 craftspeople from all over the nation, crafting workshops + demonstrations, live music + other features!

Help Promote The Fair: Grab a web-banner for blogs/facebook/e-blasts – you know the drill!

The Fair takes place in Wicker Park, one of Chicago’s liveliest neighborhoods, and is easily accessible by public transportation or bicycle! Take advantage of the bicycle parking-lot at the intersection of Winchester + Division, provided by KIND Healthy Snacks!

Visitors with bicycles or presenting their CTA card at Renegade Craft Fair Welcome Stations will receive a free-issue of TimeOut Chicago magazine while supplies last!

If you’re driving, you can find both free and metered street parking in the surrounding area. Please see our FAQ for details, directions + lots more info!

Take a stroll down Craft Alley (Wood St.) to find hands-on activities with The Chicago Public Library, free-screenings of crafty documentary Type Face, zine-making workshops with The Chicago Underground Library + kid-friendly crafts of all kind with The Chicago Waldorf School!

Also down Craft Alley – Join paper-crafting prodigy Esther Ramirez (of Essimar) in free-to-participate workshops, furnished by The Chicago Reader, upcycling old newspapers into one-of-a-kind paper-mâché sculptures + piñatas!

Outside of our brick + mortar storefront, Renegade Handmade (1924 W. Division), you can catch weekend-long performances by solar-powered sewing artist Paul Nosa + participatory weaving projects with the fabulous ladies of Crowd Gate!

The infamous team behind Pretty Dirty will be strolling the Fair all day Sunday, upcycling consumer waste into a truly “trashy” ensemble!

Within the vendor-mix, DIY goes digital with the fabulous folks from Etsy leading interactive workshops in sewing, stamping and printing, while tech-whizzes from Mozilla Firefox help you Rock Your Firefox with a hand-drawn Persona!

Music fans can’t miss explosive performances by Chicago’s very best marching bands. Mucca Pazza will roar through the Fair Saturday at 1pm + Environmental Encroachment makes their magic happen Sunday at 1pm! DJs from Chicago’s best independent record source, Reckless Records, will be playing all weekend long + will have heaps of used vinyl for you to peruse!

Foodies can get their grub on at the booths of MANA Food Bar and Big Bite Cafe – offering meat, vegetarian and vegan options! Intelligentsia Coffee will have a full-espresso bar out at the Fair, while showcasing their specialty hand-brew skills using Renegade Craft Fair Select Coffee!

Beer from Goose Island and wine from Lulu B. will be available for purchase at the Fair. Try out Goose Island’s new eco-friendly Green Line Pale Ale or classic favorites, 312 Urban Wheat + Harvest Ales. A fresh + lovely sangria, by-the-glass or full-bottles of Lulu B. can be bought + enjoyed in their decked out Bistro! Handmade Root Beer Floats and other frozen summertime favorites will be for sale from Chicago Classics!

You can’t miss fantastic performers from Redmoon Theater!  A gorgeous, handcrafted Nickelodeon will creates an enchanting spectacle in miniature through a combination of images set in motion by a series of gears, pulleys and cranks outside Renegade Handmade (1924 W. Division) all weekend long + the glorious Bubbleman will stroll the Fair each day from 4-5pm!

Commemorate your experience with a trip to the free-to-use photobooth provided by The Magnolia Photo Booth Co.!

Be sure to stop by our Renegade Craft Fair Welcome Stations for free-issues of TimeOut Chicago, a hoot of a photo-op and customized button-making! While there, sign-up for our free-to-enter raffle with prizes furnished by Chronicle Books, Uppercase Gallery, Beautiful/Decay, Jenny Hart’s Sublime Stitching and TimeOut Chicago!

And check out our latest Spotlight Gallery show at Renegade Handmade to vote on the best owl piece created by some of the talented artists exhibiting at the fair!  It’s gonna be a HOOT!

Artists include Mimi Kirchner, 3 Fish, Dolan Geiman, My Imaginary Boyfriend, Dan Grzeca, White Nest, Ryan Kapp, Berkeley Illustration, Kit Paulson, Shawnimals, Essimar, iamhome, Laura Berger, Cakespy, Diffraction Fiber, June Craft and Maple Ridge.

Keep up with all the happenings on our Blog!

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