Local vendors had a rare opportunity Saturday to sell their artwork, jewelry and other holiday stocking stuffers in-person during the 10th annual Craft-O! Holiday Bazaar at Bend’s Old Ironworks Arts District.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many craft fairs were canceled this year, leaving artists and crafts makers with limited options to sell their goods.

Craft-O! was also facing cancellation until last week when Gov. Kate Brown deemed fairs the same as retail shops and allowed them to stay open in extreme-risk counties, said Cari Brown, organizer of Craft-O! and owner of the Workhouse at the arts district.

Craft-O!, which continues Sunday, limited the number of shoppers to 100 at one time at the five buildings at the art district.

The shoppers were required to wear masks and were given 90 minutes to shop. About 40 vendors were spread throughout the fair.

Cari Brown said the restrictions kept customers safe but also made the holiday craft fair worthwhile for the vendors.

“Because so many things have been canceled, we really wanted to make sure we could give the best opportunity for them to earn some revenue this year,” Brown said.

Brown started planning this year’s fair in the fall and hoped by December it would be able to go on as normal, but as COVID-19 cases increased in the region, she knew it would have to be done differently, or not at all.

Even at half the capacity of vendors and shoppers, Brown was pleased with how the event came together.

“Hopefully, we have been able to provide something that is meaningful,” Brown said. “Something that gave people a little bit of hope, and also just an opportunity to safely interact.”

Elizabeth Schneider, a retired teacher in Bend, set up a booth at the craft fair Saturday to sell her homemade candles for her business, Light by Lizzie.

Schneider started her business in January, and two months later had to cancel her plans to join spring and summer markets and fairs due to the virus.

“I just stayed at home and made candles,” she said. “I built up my inventory, but learned that selling it has been a real drag.”

She started selling her candles online and attended a few smaller, outdoor markets, but those were poorly attended. She was disappointed, but understood the importance of limiting events during the pandemic.

“People are trying to be safe and that’s important,” Schneider said. “You don’t want to ask them to compromise being safe.”

For the first time all year, Schneider was able to interact with customers all day at the craft fair and catch up with other vendors.

“Just to have things on display feels good,” she said. “And to look at all the other vendors’ products. It’s inspiring.”

Bend resident Amy Castano, who owns Castano Photoworks, was also thrilled to sell her photography at the craft fair. Castano sells her photos on pillow cases, hats and pouches.

Last year, Castano said she was in five markets, but many of those were canceled this year.

“You just roll with the punches and know something you signed up for might be canceled,” she said.

Castano did most of her business this year online, but missed seeing customers in person.

She was grateful to visit with shoppers Saturday and show off her artwork.

“There’s so much wonderful support in this town,” she said.