By Deirdre Parker Smith

deirdre.smith@salisburypost.com

Spotlight Dance Co., at 129 W. Corriher Ave., is having a Holiday Festival and Craft Fair this weekend with some vendors who would have been at Autumn Jubilee.

The annual festival at Dan Nicholas Park was cancelled due to bad weather. Jenn Williams and Marianna Jarret, owner of Spotlight Dance Co., got together a plan to help their neighbors.

They realized that the vendors and businesses who normally set up at Autumn Jubilee likely lost money and their once-a-year chance to present their goods to a wide audience.

The two women plan to use the area inside and outside the studio for the craft fair. More than 47 vendors have reserved spots. Also expected are a few Disney characters, and there will be live music, ornament painting, a bounce house and games for the children.

The event will be Saturday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Some of the expected vendors will have holiday decorations, glass, jewelry, baked goods, cosmetics, wooden items, paintings and more.

A wreath-making class will be offered with all materials for $35. Ornament painting for kids will be $5. Pre-registration is necessary for the wreath making.

Call 704-433-7814 or 704-642-2671 for more information.

Williams said she loved to go to Autumn Jubilee every year with her daughter. She knows one or two vendors who “spent countless hours and hundreds of dollars on inventory and stocking up. They suffered devastation from the cancellation.

“This is holidays and this is heart-wrenching. I’m a fitness instructor at the dance studio. We have so much space, though it’s not as big as Dan Nicholas, so I went to owner, Marianna Jarret” and she was enthusiastic.

Vendors will pay a $25 fee for set up Saturday or $40 for the entire weekend. The dance studio has spent much of the fees on advertising and will use what profit is left for scholarships for children to take classes.

Police officers will assist with parking and there will be additional parking at Catawba College.

Food will be available including kettle corn and cotton candy, funnel cakes, corn dogs and Brunswick stew.

A local pastor will bring dipped chicken and gumbo, Williams said. Other food vendors have been at Autumn Jubilee in the past.

“We have  a no-compete clause. None of the vendors will be the same. We have lots of things for the children, the Disney characters, and more. With a $5 hand stamp, the kids can do unlimited ornament painting, make ornaments with craft foam and play games. A toddler bounce house will also be on site.

“We really want to do this for the community,” Williams said.