ONSTED — Kids from ages 5 to 17 got a chance to show off their creative skills and business savvy at the Kids’ Expo and Craft Show at The Mill Sports and Event Center in Onsted on March 15.
This is the event’s third year, said event organizer Katina Woerner, who manages the facility with her husband. Kids from all over Lenawee County and the surrounding area displayed merchandise that ranged from snacks to jewelry to woodcraft items to home décor. Most of the items were made by the kids themselves (sometimes with a little help from an adult).
Ariya Cook of Petersburg was participating for the second year. She offered soy candles, wax melts and car diffusers in her booth. The items featured both food and floral scents. Cook said that her personal favorite scent is the lavender driftwood.
Cook, who is 13, got interested in making soy products when she was given a candle-making kit for Christmas.
“I made it and I thought ‘This is really fun,’ ” she said.
A family friend actually had a candle business and gave her “everything I needed to get started,” she said.
“That’s what started it and I’ve gone from there.”
Lanie Clairday, 11, of Onsted offered paintings, magnets, diamond art, cookies, bracelets, rings and necklaces in her booth. It was her second year at the event as well.
Baking and painting are her favorite crafts, she said, and she especially enjoys baking with her dad.
Clairday is pretty clear about why she has become an entrepreneur.
“I like doing it so I get some money,” she said.
Harrison McClellan, 7, of Adrian created peg games, alphabet matching games, recycled crayons and bird suet cups to hang in trees. He said it took him about a month to get everything together for the expo.
He said he wanted to become an entrepreneur “for the fun of it.”
Woerner, a former preschool teacher, said that when somebody approached her with the idea of a kids’ expo, “my love of children and their desire to do this event came together.”
There were 29 spaces in the event this year, but Woerner estimated that 33 to 35 kids participated, including siblings. She said that if more kids are interested next year, a larger space is available.
Woerner can be reached at The Mill Sports & Event Center, 517-467-5529.
