Even with 12 bands performing at the Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival, people still found time to on Saturday to peruse the aisles of the artisan village.
This year's village was full of a variety of items for sale including jewelry, crafts and clothing. Festival veteran Susan Otto-Bain was back again, selling a wide variety of glasswork items, including earrings, pendants, and beads, all handmade by herself.
"Even if I sold nothing, I'd still come," Otto-Bain told the NOW. "It's my favourite show."
Otto-Bain said the festival is her most lucrative show. She has been coming to the Blues and Roots Festival for more than five years.
The amount of organization that goes into the event is the main reason she keeps returning each year, she said.
"They supply the tent, the tables, everything. It's great," she said.
Other veterans included Burnaby's Tom Wray - who was recently featured in the NOW - and cement artist Rick Harmer with his wife, Ann Harmer.
Harmer was selling lightweight concrete artwork at the festival. This was his third year at the festival, and he said it's a great event for artisans.
"It's a really well done event," Ann added. The Harmers travel from Garden Bay on the Sunshine Coast to sell their goods at the festival, and they intend on coming each and every year they can, Rick said.
For some newcomers, sales were a little slow, but that didn't put a damper on their day.
It was Montana King's first time at the festival. She was at the festival selling handmade bags and jewelry in support of Atira Women's Resource Society, based in the Downtown Eastside. King - who is part of the program that helps women living in desperate situations find housing - said for her first time at the festival, it wasn't bad.
"I've been wanting to come to this festival forever," she said.
In addition to the vendors in the artisan village, there was also a number of food trucks at the festival including, This Little Piggy, Rocky Point Ice Cream and TNT Wraps. There were also booths selling kettle corn, hot dogs, poutine and lemonade.
