Artists and crafters from across the Columbus area are setting up shop at the Makoy Event Center in Hilliard this weekend, and the $3 admission fee is doing more than covering the cost of browsing handmade jewelry and home décor. A portion of the proceeds from the Columbus Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show benefits Charity Newsies, a Columbus nonprofit that has been outfitting local kids in new clothing for well over a century.
The show runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Makoy Event Center, located at 5462 Center St. in Hilliard, according to WSYX. Families can wander tables full of jewelry, artwork, home décor, clothing, accessories, bath and body goods, and sweet treats, and chat directly with the local makers behind each item. Kids under 12 get in free, and the September show marks the opening of the Avant-Garde's fall season, per the same report.
A Touring Show With Deep Ohio Roots
The Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show series isn't a one-off pop-up. Founder Becki Silverstein launched the touring event line in June 2011 to give Midwest artisans a sales platform while weaving charitable giving into each stop, according to Eventeny. The format has drawn a crowd before: the spring 2024 edition at this same Makoy Event Center pulled in more than 100 local vendors, per WSYX.
The Makoy Event Center hosts gatherings like this one and is Central Ohio's largest privately owned convention and banquet space, according to Cvent. The venue offers meeting rooms and event space.
Where the Money Goes
Charity Newsies, the beneficiary of Sunday's proceeds, was founded in Columbus in 1907 with a straightforward mission: making sure no child in Franklin County misses school for lack of adequate clothing. In the 119 years since, the organization has provided free new school clothing to more than 800,000 children across the county, according to Charity Newsies.
Each qualifying child receives a clothing package worth roughly $150, covering a winter coat, hat, gloves, three shirts, three pairs of pants, six pairs of socks, and underwear. Children at schools with uniforms receive a full clothing package plus a voucher for logo-specific items, while children at dress-code schools receive compliant clothing, per United Way of Central Ohio. United Way describes the charity as serving children from kindergarten through 12th grade and notes more than 18,000 applications in 2023.
A Century-Old Tradition Continues
The craft show's fundraising model echoes Charity Newsies' own grassroots roots. The organization also holds an annual Drive Day fundraiser, when volunteers sell special-edition copies of The Columbus Dispatch. That tradition traces back to the group's founding paperboys, a history commemorated by The Newsboy, a bronze sculpture by artist Bruce Hanners dedicated in June 2018 at Broad and High streets downtown to mark the charity's 110th anniversary, according to Wikipedia.
The need behind these efforts remains sizable. An estimated 25% of children in Franklin County live below the federal poverty threshold, a gap that fuels steady local demand for back-to-school and winter clothing assistance, per Charity Newsies. Clothing insecurity, the organization notes, frequently affects both school attendance and student confidence — making Sunday's $3 admission fee at the Makoy Event Center a small but direct link between a weekend craft outing and a Franklin County classroom.
