Feeling Festive | Palatka Daily News, Palatka, Florida

Art group hosting annual Christmas in July event

Palatka Art League member Debra Broome designed and crocheted the fairy house she is holding, which will be on display during the Palatka Art League’s Christmas in July event this weekend at the historic Tilghman House.
Debra Broome, a Palatka Art League member, shows the centerpiece she made with artificial succulents.
Positively Putnam FL

You can never have too much Christmas and the joy that comes with it.

So members of the Palatka Art League are celebrating the holiday early with their annual mid-summer event, Christmas in July.

The event is 10 a.m.–3 p.m. today and Saturday and noon–3 p.m. Sunday at the historic Tilghman House, 324 River St.

Shoppers will find a variety of handcrafted items to shop from during the three-day affair, where more than 20 area artists will showcase their pieces in four rooms of the house.

Those pieces include vintage-inspired home decor and jewelry, paintings, beach-style art, pottery, framed photography and much more.

“The majority of items on display this weekend are not Christmas-themed,” said Laura Evans, president of the Palatka Art League. “There are some but it is my recollection that Christmas in July sales were to spur retail sales during the slow, dog days of summer. The sales were to mimic the good sales that retailers would have at Christmastime.”

Part of the criteria for the Christmas in July sales is that items in the shop must be handmade by the artist and cannot be constructed by a kit.

“During the summer, this shopping event only includes the lower level of the house,” Evans said. “But it is a preview of what’s to come at our annual Holiday House Boutique, which includes both floors, including eight rooms full of beautiful handmade gifts and decor.”

Evans said the fall event this year will be open to the public Nov. 7 to Dec. 23.

The Art League currently has tickets for sale for a drawing for a chance to win gift certificates of $100, $150 and $200 to this year’s Holiday House in the fall. Tickets for the drawing are $5 each. Proceeds will go to the club’s scholarship fund and maintenance of the house. Visit the club’s Facebook page for details.

Evans said the weekend event will be a good chance for shoppers to stop by and cool off while finding some unique buys.

“They can stay awhile and chat with some of our members while they shop in the cool, air-conditioned, relaxed atmosphere of the historic Tilghman House,” Evans said.

With temperatures these days soaring into the high 90s to the three-digit mark, the air-conditioned Tilghman House seems like a good place to be.

“It’s a good time to purchase gifts for Christmas and other occasions because many of our artists have marked down their items for this special sale,” she said. “If you have been a frequent buyer in the past you will know that we have very good prices this time of year.”

For those who miss this weekend’s event, the Palatka Art League Artisan Gift Boutique at the Tilghman House will also be open 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. July 31. The public is welcome.

“We have a lot of brand new, handcrafted art on display,” said Barbara DeLisle, trustee and Art League member. “We have had a pretty good response in the past and people seem to enjoy the Christmas in July. It’s a chance for them to get to meet the participating artists.”