Woodstock Arts & Crafts Festival, Inc.
1980 to 2009. Who knew?
What started out as a small homeowner’s association arts and crafts/flea market at the corner of University Drive and Oakland Park Boulevard has evolved into one of the premier festivals in South Florida, the Woodstock Arts and Crafts Festival.
Thirty years after its inception, the festival is still planned and run almost completely by volunteers. Even though many of our original members have moved out of the area, they still return each year to serve on the various committees necessary to run a successful show.
The first festival profits were donated to the Sunrise Parks and Recreation Department to be used for playground equipment at the Nob Hill and Hiatus Road parks.
In 1982 a second charity was selected to benefit from festival profits; Justice for Surviving Victims (J.S.V.), formed by families of homicide victims . These families fought for the necessary legislative changes to create a victims Bill of Rights in the State of Florida and then continued to lobby national leaders for a national Bill of Rights. Due to their efforts, 27 states now have such bills. Woodstock funded the greatest portion of their financial needs.
1983 and 1984 saw the festival become one of the largest arts and crafts exhibitions in Broward County. Over 200 exhibitors competed for $2,000 in prize money and recognition awards.
In 1985 the festival became an official event of the City of Sunrise and was relocated permanently to Welleby Park.
In 1986 the festival added the collection of cans of food to be donated to the City of Sunrise Food Bank. Over 2,000 cans were collected that year. Since then, over 200 tons of food has been donated to supply the Sunrise Crisis Closet and other local co-op feeding programs.
In 1988 the festival provided proceeds to Kids in Crisis, an organization to assist battered and abused children. Through 2004, a few of the other charities that have profited from Woodstock over the years are: Special Olympics, Broward Co-op Feeding Program, Guardian Ad Litem, Alzheimer’s Foundation, WPLG’s Magnum Force, Teen Challenge, Magic Children’s Fund, K-9 Guardian Angels, college scholarships, various youth groups and all of the public schools in the City of Sunrise. Local police and fire fighters injured in the line of duty and members of the Florida National Guard called to active duty in Iraq have also received monetary support from Woodstock.
Our partner, the Leisure Service Department of the City of Sunrise, receives thirty-eight percent of each year’s festival profits which are used to benefit a variety of department programs.
The Woodstock Arts and Crafts Festival has grown to include 225 exhibitors, community service booths and a variety of food vendors.
Local groups such as the Piper Marching Band, Police Explorers and area youth groups have been given a unique opportunity to experience hundreds of hours of positive community service work.
Who knew the seed of an idea planted twenty-nine years ago would blossom into the event that the Woodstock Arts and Crafts Festival has become?
We are pleased and proud of what we have accomplished and invite you to join us for a weekend of celebrating thirty years of bringing a quality event to the residents of South Florida.
