MY VIEW
By Liz Winship
Fourteen years ago at Nantucket High School the Nantucket Folk Art and Artisan Show opened its doors. Woodworkers, jewelers, artists and weavers from near and far set up their booths and displayed their goods. The proceeds from renting out the tables to the artisans would benefit Small Friends on Nantucket's operating budget. I worked at Nantucket Looms and my daughter, Claire, attended Small Friends. I would attend the show to choose amazing, rare and special pieces that the Looms specialized in and to support the childcare center that was my work lifeline: without Small

Friends I would never have been

able to afford to work (which I had to do) and have a place for my beautiful daughter to be cared for during that time.

Somehow I made an impression at the show, and when Nantucket Folk Art began to outgrow the high school, Bryce Ritter, an amazing talent, approached me to move it, perhaps to my home! Well, I knew that would not work, and through a series of conversations with Renee Ceeley, then president of the Small Friends board, came the most wonderful solution - Small Friends had just purchased, outright, a lot on Nobadeer Farm Road for a new school. Alas, money to build was not yet in hand and the lot was empty. Well, how perfect was that? On the eve of the year 2000, while all of the world was anxiously awaiting the new millennium, I was sitting in my house worrying profusely that I now only had seventh months to pull off what we now know as the Event Under the Tent. I was horrified, I was thrilled, I was spending the biggest New Year in my lifetime thinking about July! Through juried choices, Nantucket Looms and Small Friends parents worked tirelessly to fill the tent with many of America's most talented and sought after craftsmen. The result is an event that is marked on calendars months in advance and is attended by more than 55 vendors and over 1,000 customers. Small Friends on Nantucket operates completely in the black and we are breaking ground for our new LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified school in August.

Nantucket Looms still presents the Event Under the Tent, and with the help of the Small Friends parents, the talented staff at the Looms and Francine Balling, president of the Small Friends board and chair of the Event Under the Tent, 2007 will be our best year ever.

Tomorrow, July 12, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., this year's show opens with the annual "Preview Party," where vendors and prospective customers mingle under the eaves of the white tent with cocktails and food provided by Simply with Style Catering. (Tickets are available at the Looms or at the door for $50.) This is a great way to see what this year's artisans have to offer before the crowds and get first pick. On Friday and Saturday, starting at 9:30 a.m., the "flaps" open and beckon you in to seek the perfect find and begin your Christmas shopping (not to rush the season or anything!).

On Sunday evening, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., the tent will set up for an all out family BBQ "hoedown." Simply with Style will provide great eats, the Shepcats will rock the house, and games and a "moon-jumper" will keep the kids busy. The little ones are free and adults are $25. All proceeds from this BBQ will go directly to the Small Friends Building Dreams Capital Campaign, and here is where the great news and the sad news come in… This will be the last year the Event Under the Tent will take place at Nobadeer Farm Road. Do not fear, we will find another home. This is due, as I mentioned earlier, to the great news that Small Friends is breaking ground and will have a (much needed) new home in September of 2009. Our Capital Campaign is well under way, we are deep in the throes of fundraising, and through grants, personal contributions and the incredible generosity of Nantucket's year-round and summer residents we have raised over $2 million since September, 2006. Our end goal is $3.5 million by 2009 and we will not stop until we make it. With an amazing Campaign Committee and the help of Gabrielle Gould, not only are we making this "dream" come true we are having fun doing it!

Well, I think I have spoken my piece to let you know a little more about a great event and an even greater cause. If there is anything more I can tell you,

please call me at Nantucket Looms. I

Liz Winship is owner of Nantucket Looms and cochair of Small Friends' Building Dreams capital campaign committee.