Vallejo holiday craft fair returns for its 28th year

VALLEJO – On Saturday morning, the First Christian Church of Vallejo will open its doors for its 28th Global Holiday Faire, featuring work from local artists, items from global nonprofits, and a second-hand goods table — which this year includes a variety of donated houseplants.

The festive event is rooted in community and fair trade, which is a global movement that promotes sustainable livelihoods and safe working conditions for farmers and workers. All proceeds from the fair will go to local or international organizations focused on issues such as women’s education, food insecurity, and substance abuse treatment. 

Among the groups participating are the Women’s Bean Project, which sells dried goods to provide job opportunities for unhoused women; the Arbor Day Foundation, where attendees can gift a planted tree; and SERRV International, which works with low-income artisans in 24 countries. Their items can vary from homemade pottery and woven baskets to earrings and wreaths. Fourteen organizations will take part in total.

Local groups will also sell chili, hot chocolate, and baked goods, while musicians perform holiday music throughout the day. This year’s lineup includes a pianist, several church choirs, and a jazz duo performing at noon.

“It's a fun day. People have a good time,” said Ellen McBride, who has volunteered at the fair for over a decade. “It’s good for kids to come with their parents, because there are some items that are less expensive and they can go shopping for grandma or auntie or whoever.” 

The event encourages people to skip big-box retailers and instead support community-driven efforts, said Jon Mezzera, one of the organizers and a member of the First Christian Church. Its motto, “one stop shopping, double your holiday giving,” reflects the idea that every purchase benefits both the recipient and the nonprofit or artist who made it.

The fair is organized by members of six churches in Vallejo, American Canyon, and Benicia, and is open to all, regardless of religious background.

“Everyone's welcome. We picked the name Holiday Faire to be more inclusive,” said Jon Mezzera. “We’ve got Catholic, Protestant, different denominations that all work together to put it on.” He said that while there are some religious items on sale, “There’s also a lot of secular jewelry, gift baskets, and baked goods.” 

The Global Holiday Faire began in 1997 but grew out of a much smaller event that First Christian Church held in the 1980s. In 1986, members of the church’s social justice committee brainstormed ways to support people in need, both locally and abroad, eventually launching what they called the Alternative Gift Faire. The early events included lunch and a handful of nonprofits, such as Habitat for Humanity and Heifer International, where you can purchase a farm animal for a low-income farmer in another country. 

Helen Mezzera, Jon’s mother, has helped organize these events for decades. “The first one started small,” explained Helen Mezzera. “It kind of stayed that way for a while, and people really enjoyed it.” 

The group’s commitment to social justice ran deep. Helen Mezzera said that as a kid, she remembers watching the members hold what they called “lunchless Mondays,” when they’d skip buying lunch and donate the money to food pantries and hunger-relief groups.

“That’s how I grew up,” said Helen Mezzera. “I grew up watching these folks do all of these different things to raise hunger issues and write letters in support of bills that were going to help people. Always very social and politically oriented, as far as wanting to see changes made that would help people.”

That ethos still guides the fair today, and a lot of thought goes into making sure it’s a successful event for all the organizations involved. After each fair, the committee reviews what worked and what didn’t. In past years, they’ve tried a silent auction, or moving the fair to a different day or time. They’ve since settled on the first Saturdays in December, and always at First Christian Church to avoid any confusion. 

They also discuss who to bring in to ensure that vendors don’t significantly overlap in what they sell. “And if a group just hasn't done well, we say maybe we need to take a break from that group and bring somebody new in,” said Jon Mezzera.

And this year, the committee is facing a new difficulty: the Trump Administration’s economic policies. 

“Unfortunately, we're facing the same challenges that a lot of people are facing with the tariffs and inflation,” said Jon Mezzera. “All the fair trade organizations are importing from countries that have been hit with tariffs.”

This especially impacts nonprofits like SERRV, which has crafts from countries like India, Bangladesh, and Ghana. The tariff rate against India is now 50%, while Bangladesh’s is 20%. The nonprofits have tried to absorb some of the costs, but ultimately that increase is passed off to the consumer in the form of more expensive items. 

In the future, that could mean less people buying from those groups. “I can only assume that [the tariffs] are hurting those artisans in those other countries because this is their lifeblood,” said Jon Mezzara.

Meanwhile, the committee members said that there’s also ways to donate to local organizations at the event. Attendees can purchase items from the center tables, which will feature local art or items donated by community members. Proceeds from those tables will benefit three local organizations: the food pantry Amador St. Hope Center; the DePaul Women’s Center, which helps low-income women with PG&E bills; and the Genesis House, which deals with substance use disorders. 

The items at these tables vary every year. “Sometimes we have antiques that's been in someone's family, or some beautiful glassware,” said Helen Mezzera. 

The handmade items will include three stained-glass Christmas pieces from a local artist. One church member is debuting her colorful zippered cosmetic bags, while another is making padded dog beds. A new crafter is bringing homemade jams from Sacramento.

Helen Mezzera noted that each year the center tables also send proceeds to a different international group. This year it’s the International Rescue Committee, which provides emergency food and medical aid in places suffering from malnutrition such as Gaza, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan. 

All of the food and baked goods purchases will also be split among these four organizations.

For attendees who just want to donate money without getting a gift, the fair will be collecting donations at the door for Reach Out and Read, which partners with medical offices to provide books to children. The funds will go to the national organization, but they’re earmarked for the La Clinica location in Vallejo.

And for those who can’t attend the fair in person, an online shop is available. 

“That money isn’t just lining a billionaire’s pockets,” Jon Mezzera said. “There’s a variety of causes, and the money you spend is going somewhere good.”

The Global Holiday Faire will be held on Dec. 6 from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the First Christian Church of Vallejo at 1035 Indiana St.