Hundreds turn out for Hurley craft fair on gun-deer opener

HURLEY - The windchill reading was -2 degrees for the Saturday opener of Wisconsin's gun-deer season around 10 a.m., but it was cozy inside the Hurley K-12 school for an annual craft fair.

The parking lot was full around noon for the fair that's sponsored by the Midget Booster Club.

Bill Ceccon, in charge of the event, said 44 vendors paid $20 per space to display inside the school.

He said the Booster Club took over the fair about five or six years ago and in the past it was sponsored by the school's elementary singers group.

Ceccon said potential vendors had to be turned away this year because 44 "is all we can fit" in the commons area and small gymnasium. "We had to turn a lot away," he said.

Proceeds go to benefit Hurley sports, from elementary grades on up.

The fair is not only for women looking for Christmas bargains.

"The first year, I thought I'd be the only guy here," Ceccon said. That's not the case.

Leroy Kangas, of Ironwood Township, his buck already on the pole at camp, attended with his wife, braving slippery roadways that resulted from four or five inches of overnight snow.

It was a good time for area kiddies who got their faces painted in the gym by clowns Tim and Cheryl Cunico. "They've been going non-stop here for the past five years or so," Ceccon said.

The children's balloons added to the festive atmosphere.

Proceeds from one table at the fair were to go to for Hurley's Last Blast non-alcohol graduation celebration, Tammy Rowe said.

Concessions were available throughout the craft fair, the Silver Express performed and Santa Claus made a pre-Thanksgiving visit on a snow-filled day.