POPLAR RIDGE - The first thing visitors to the annual Scipioville Presbyterian Church craft fair saw when they walked in the door of Southern Cayuga High School was several long tables covered in donated items ranging from jewelry to pots and pans.

“Have you girls found anything exciting?” Elizabeth Shockey said to two young girls who were looking at jewelry at the table on Saturday morning. “If you find two things you like, I'll let you have both of them for a quarter.”

The two girls, armed with 50 cents each, began looking even harder through the second-hand jewelry that Shockey was selling to raise money for Camp Gregory, a non-denominational community camp near Aurora on Cayuga Lake. In past years, the camp raised between $500 and $700 that helps keep the price of the camp affordable for families, Shockey said.

This fair is really a chance to give back to the community, Pat White, one of the events organizers said.

This year marks the 29th year that the Scipioville Presbyterian Church has sponsored the craft fair, and all of the proceeds go back into the community. Last year the fair raised about $2,500 from the fees that vendors pay for their spaces and the sale of food at the event.

Last year's money went to support various local charities including Aurora Preschool, Genoa Food Pantry, the Genoa Historical Society, and Matthew House, a sign at the event said.

The proceeds from this year's event will probably be going to the same places, White said.

This is a win-win situation, Jackie Alexander, who has been organizing the fair since the beginning, said.

“The crafters are here because they want to sell goods, the people are here because they want to buy crafts. We are here to make money from the community and the community is here to get together and socialize,” Alexander said.

It's an event that brings together the church community to do work that gives back to the community, she said. Since day one, all of the proceeds have been going back to the community, and there are some vendors who have been with us almost since we started.

Jane Barnes first became a vendor at the fair 22 years ago. While she doesn't go to many fairs anymore, she keeps coming back to Southern Cayuga High School because she likes the people, she said.

“It feels like going home,” she said.