Island Arts Association Celebrates 50th Anniversary with Holiday Craft Fair (12/2/2025)

December 02, 2025

Bar Harbor – The Island Arts Association (IAA) is celebrating their 50th Anniversary Season with their Annual Holiday Craft Fair. IAA was founded in 1975, and the Holiday Craft Fair was the fair that started it all.

The 2025 Holiday Craft Fair celebrates the Island Arts Association’s anniversary with a 3-day fair December 5-7, 2025, held at the Atlantic Oceanside at 119 Eden Street in Bar Harbor. The fair will take place on: Friday, December 5, 2025, 10:00 am-5:00 pm; Saturday, December 6, 2025, 9:00 am-4:00 pm; and Sunday, December 7, 2025, 9:00 am-4:00 pm.

The fair includes 35 juried local artists exhibiting their creations for sale, along with concessions by the MDI YWCA. Raffle tickets may also be purchased during the fair for the chance to win raffle baskets, with proceeds going directly to the YWCA. Items and gift certificates for the raffle baskets are donated by generous local businesses and artists.

“The Island Arts Association helps empower local artisans by providing opportunities to exhibit and sell their creations at craft fairs,” says Bethany Roberge, IAA Board President. “In addition to supporting our local artists, funds raised by our organization are donated to the MDI YWCA in support of their mission.”

Artists of the IAA work in various mediums, including pottery, fiber arts, bookbinding, woodworking, jewelry, painting, photography, scrimshaw, glassblowing, sculpture, and more.

The Island Arts Association is hosted by the YWCA MDI, whose mission is eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. The IAA organizes craft fairs on Mount Desert Island to provide opportunities for local artists to exhibit and sell their creations. Beyond the operating costs of craft fairs, funds raised by the IAA each year are donated to the YWCA MDI.