Hundreds of people gathered at the Boulder County Fairgrounds over the weekend to get some holiday shopping completed and learn more about small local businesses.

The Last Chance Gift Festival was held at the Fairgrounds, 9595 Nelson Road in Longmont, and hosted more than 150 vendors.

Maria Henson, owner of Mia’s Basement Boutique, describes herself as a “craftaholic,” although she mainly specializes in jewelry making and fiber arts. Henson said crafting is her form of self-care, as she is a therapist.

“(Crafting) is what I do to take care of myself. It’s a creative outlet. And then coming to fairs, like this one, is how I share it,” Henson said.

She said the holiday season, and really anytime of year, is a chance for people to shop locally to get one-of-a-kind pieces. She added that even when she has multiples of the same craft, each one is a little different and unique. Shopping local also gives money back into the local economy while helping neighbors, Henson said.

Jennifer Douglas, owner of Dazzi Designs, handmakes a variety of bags often with unique or discontinued fabric. Douglas was inspired to create bags from her Italian grandmother who was a seamstress. She said she likes to collect fabric from around the world, with some of her handbags having fabric from Japan, England, Hawaii and more.

Douglas lives in Niwot, and she said her community truly understands and celebrates local businesses.

“We are very focused on our little town and we support our town,” Douglas said.

The Gift Fest was Douglas’ first time at a local market. She said she loves visiting similar events to shop local, and she decided to be a part of the community.

Erin Parrot, owner of Erin Joy Art, sells her naturalist illustrations and prints of her art on tea towels, shirts and more. She explained her art is inspired by nature.

“I’m very inspired by making these by hand, reusing as much as possible and cutting down waste,” Parrot said.

She believes it is important to follow your own beliefs and “practice what you preach.” She said it would be wrong for her art to celebrate the natural world yet have business practices that harm the environment.

For Parrot, being able to show her work at events like the Gift Fest provides a chance for face-to-face interactions, to show her work to more people and gain new business opportunities. She said if there were no small businesses, everything would be bland and there would be no unique, small handmade objects in the world.