The masses will descend this Saturday upon the 47th annual Hatton Arts & Crafts Festival.
Sponsored by the Hatton Extension Club, there will be 175-180 vendors on-site selling handmade items.
Club president Daniel Plain is excited and optimistic about the potential turnout this weekend.
"We've had about the same size crowds for the last five or so years. Craft festivals are usually shrinking, but we've done a good job at maintaining our numbers," Plain said.
He said the festival averages approximately 5,000 attendees each year. Due to about 75 percent of the festival being outdoors, weather usually plays a big factor in the turnout. However, Plain said a few thousand typically show up on the rainiest of days.
At the festival, all vendors will be selling handmade items ranging from custom clothing to woodworking. The
Hatton Extension club will be providing food throughout the day.
"(The Extension Club) will be showing up around 6 a.m. to start frying doughnuts and making homemade cinnamon rolls," Plain said.
The event runs 8 a.m.-4 p.m. which gives craft enthusiasts a whole day to find their next treasure. Tractor rides will give the whole family an opportunity for a fun day.
Plain, a resident of Hatton, said he has gone to the festival all 29 years of his life. He began working at the festival when he was about 6 years old, Plain said.
"It's unique because Hatton pulls together for one day and puts on this big event and draws people to a town that people otherwise wouldn't know about," Plain said.
The event will take place at the Hatton Community Hall and stretches for a quarter-mile throughout town, Plain said. All the funds raised will go back to the Hatton Extension Club to fund various scholarships throughout the North Callaway R-1 School District.
Various student and parent groups from throughout the North Callaway R-1 School District will also be volunteering at booths throughout the day.
"You come that day and you won't really know anything that happens (in Hatton) but that day. But a day or so after, it turns back into this sleepy little farming community," Plain said.