Los Gatos Weekly-Times International gift faire on tap By Shari Kaplan Although its downtown Los Gatos store closed this summer due to location and financial difficulties, the message and mission of the nonprofit Ten Thousand Villages lives on in the local residents who volunteer for its cause, and in its annual International Gift Faire, which this year takes place Oct. 16 and 17 in the fellowship hall of Lincoln Glen Church in San Jose. The Faire features hundreds of handicrafts made by artisans in more than 30 Third World countries on the continents of Africa, Asia and South America. Items for sale include baskets, ornaments, toys, rugs, brassware, jewelry and musical instruments. Many of the artisans are refugees, spouses of "disappeared" human rights workers, or illiterate or landless villagers. The mission of Ten Thousand Villages, a marketing and job-creation program formed by the Mennonite Central Committee, is to sell handicrafts at fair prices and create economic opportunities that help people to help themselves in the areas of education, healthcare, nutrition and housing. All proceeds of the Faire are returned to Ten Thousand Villages, which in turn can stock the shelves of its 60 stores nationwide with additional crafts purchased from more artisans. Joining Saratogan and former Ten Thousand Villages store manager Ann Burris in organizing the Faire are many volunteers from Los Gatos and Monte Sereno: Francesca Dorris, Amie Fishman, Hans and Renate Frick, Jan Johnson, Colette McNeill, Ken and Dee Pannabecker, Carol Schrager, Cindy Strickland and Don and Anita Wolf. Lincoln Glen Church is located at 2700 Booksin Ave. in the Willow Glen area of San Jose. The faire runs from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 16 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 17. At 6:30 p.m. Friday night, percussionist Jimmy Biala of the Philippines and his ensemble perform. At 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning, children from Achiever Christian School sing and play international percussion instruments. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, October 14, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.