From traditional baskets, pottery and leather goods to more contemporary crafts like two-dimensional collages, the 56 West Virginia artisans at West Virginia Universitys Mountaineer Week Craft Fair will offer something for everyone, just in time for the holiday shopping season.

The Mountaineer Week Craft Fair, sponsored by Adelphia, opens Friday, Nov. 10, at noon in the Mountainlair Ballrooms and will run through 8 p.m. that evening. The event continues on Saturday, Nov. 11, from noon8 p.m., and on Sunday, Nov. 12, from noon5 p.m. Sounds of dulcimer music and displays at the nearby Mountaineer Week Quilt Show will add to the Appalachian atmosphere throughout the weekend.

“Our exhibitors range from those who do quality work on a small scale to those who do quality work on a large scale,”said Louise Lamar-Fuller, who has served as the fairs advisor since 1995 and directs the WVU Craft Center.Many of the artisans exhibit items across the country, in addition to Tamarack and the Mountain State Arts&Crafts Fair, she noted.

Born in the 1970s, the Mountaineer Week Craft Fair is now about 26 years old. While Morgantown has changed a lot since then, the popularity of the craft fair lives on, with both the artisans and the public. Since she began advising the craft fair, Lamar-Fuller has seen an increase in the quality of exhibitors and has taken steps to encourage the best artisans to apply.

“We spend a lot of energy keeping the fair fresh and finding new things to add so it doesnt become stale,”she commented.

The specialty foods category is one of the newer additions. This year, visitors can look forward to hand-made French pastries, salsa, preserves, wine and many other edibles.

“We include both traditional and really nice contemporary design crafts,”Lamar-Fuller said.”For instance, the two-dimensional collages of Wheelings Bob Villamanga will make their debut at this years event.”

Those looking for more traditional West Virginia crafts wont be disappointed either. Fair-goers will find among the exhibitors two knife makers, both the Preston County and Morgantown Fiber Guilds, painters, wood workers and a blacksmith, in addition to many other traditional crafters.