CARP – It was loud, it was busy, kids were running around, and parents were hard at work, finishing their kids’ crafts.

It was the Carp Fair’s Free Kids Craft Night (Aug. 14) and the only project was fun. It was a change for young Carp Fair exhibitors to work on their crafts and get them ready for judging at the fair. But if you are not an exhibitor, it was an evening of family time working on projects together.

Carp Fair Junior committee members and Homecraft directors were hosting the evening and created four stations, based on age, where kids could work on a particular craft – one that can be submitted at this year’s Carp Fair for judging in the Junior Division.

“This is our opportunity for the Junior committee to help kids get ready for the craft show and making it fun,” Carp Fair Homecraft President Martha Palmer told West Carleton Online from the busy Carp Agricultural Hall Wednesday night.

About 35 kids and their parents were working on their projects (perhaps the kids were in more of a supervisory role) when West Carleton Online was there at 6:30 p.m. Families could come and go as they pleased during the two-hour craft event and more certainly filtered in after we left. All materials and tools were supplied by the Carp Fair, and at the end of the evening, each young participant had a craft they could submit to the fair for judging.

The deadline for fair submissions is Monday, Sept. 23.

“All the Homecraft directors are here making this great family time,” Palmer said. “There’s a bit of space here to have a little fun. Some are here just for a fun night and and aren’t even entering their project in the fair.”

This is the second year for the event hosted at the Carp Agricultural Society Hall.

“We could see there was a lot of traction,” Palmer said. “The parents loved it, the kids loved it.”

The Junior Department receives about 600 to 700 entries for the fair each year.