During the holidays, people are often encouraged to shop locally. This year, Sturdivant Hall is taking this concept a step further by giving shoppers the opportunity buy gifts that are also produced locally.

On Saturday, Dec. 3, Sturdivant Hall will host its first Artisans Christmas Fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a wide variety of original works by regional artists and craftsmen.

The sale’s organizer, Patty Debardeleben, said the fair will feature something for everyone.

“It’s strictly high quality hand-made goods and arts and crafts,” she said. “We are not heavy on any one category. We have two painters, two people who make jewelry, two potters, one person who does calligraphy, one person who does hand-sewn dresses, two metal workers who do totally different types of things and a person who does beeswax candles and soaps she makes out of goat’s milk.”

The show will also feature homemade jellies, jams and pickles, baked goods, cutting boards, crocheted scarves, walking sticks, pins and barrettes and candy.

Items will be priced from $5 to several hundred for some of the larger paintings. All of the items will be hand crafted.

The idea for the fundraiser popped into her head recently, Debardeleben said, and before long, she had every slot filled.

“It just hit me last week,” she said. “Sturdivant needed another fundraiser. I figured we could fit 20 to 25 vendors in the house. If this goes well, we hope to do it again next year and open up the upstairs and have twice as many vendors.”

The idea, she said, was to supplement one of the mansion’s other fundraisers.

“We have the barbecue every year and we have our membership drive, but that is really all we do,” she said. “We needed to come up with something else and it hit me there are so many talented people in this region that we could easily pull together a craft show.”

The response from local artists was quick and positive, Debardeleben said.

“I’m really excited about the response and I think it is going to be a wonderful show,” she said. “I think it will provide people a venue to buy Christmas gifts that are unique and distinctive.”