10,000 Villages Gift Festival and Rug Sale

For Adams County residents, the Ten Thousand Gift Festival and Rug Sale (formerly known as the International Gift Festival) has been a long-standing tradition – since 1961, actually – six decades! The Fairfield Mennonite Church hosted this sale since its inception.

Last year, the Fairfield Mennonite Church passed the torch to us at the YWCA Gettysburg & Adams County. The mission of Ten Thousand Villages aligns with that of the YWCA Gettysburg & Adams County – eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, freedom, dignity, and justice for all.

We are so excited to invite the community to our facility at 909 Fairfield Road, Gettysburg, on November 1 and 2 (10 am -6 pm), November 3 (10 am -8 PM) and November 4 (10 am – 4 pm).

Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit fair trade organization that markets handcrafted products made by disadvantaged artisans from more than 120 artisan groups in more than 35 countries.

As one of the world’s largest and oldest fair trade organizations, Ten Thousand Villages cultivates long-term buying relationships in which artisans receive a fair price for their work, and consumers have access to gifts, accessories, and home décor from around the world. Ten Thousand Villages is a founding member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and a certified member of the Fair Trade Federation (FTF).

Ten Thousand Villages encourages artisans to employ environmentally sustainable production methods and to use recycled and natural materials whenever possible. In 2007, Ten Thousand Villages redesigned stores to minimize environmental impact in order to meet what they call their “triple bottom line” of economic, ecological, and social sustainability.

Ten Thousand Villages offers handmade home décor and gifts from around the world, including baskets, sculptures, jewelry, instruments, toys, tableware, planters, linens, stationery, various holiday items, and other accessories. The sale will also feature fair trade food items such as chocolate, tea, rice, dried fruit, and coffee. There will be a clearance section –even bigger and better than last year’s!

Samplings of the coffees, chocolates, and sesame oils are also being scheduled.

There is something here for anyone and everyone – from children (and grandchildren) to that almost impossible-to-please friend or relative.

As with any nonprofit event, volunteers are the lifeblood of our success. Volunteers are needed primarily for the set up on October 31 from 10 am – 2 pm and during the sales as greeters and helpers on November 1 – 4. If you are interested in becoming more involved as a volunteer, please contact Nancy at 717-334-9171, ext. 115, or gro.grubsyttegacwy@yelliln. If your school group or organization is looking for a volunteer opportunity, please get in touch with Nancy as well.

Please plan to stop by November 1 – 4!