Holiday market and festival season

But Thanksgiving also signals the start of a shopping season filled with artisanal markets, a massive street fair, bazaars and craft fairs — where shoppers can scout out one-of-a-kind gifts and talk with the artist or vendor.

It is the ultimate way to shop local.

The 30th annual Holiday Artisans Market at the Tucson Museum of Art, easily drew more than 20,000 people over its three-day run last weekend. Friday in particular drew more people than anyone could remember.

“It’s the kickoff for all of the holidays,” said Laura Cortelyou, the museum’s director of public relations and marketing. Held the Friday through Sunday before Thanksgiving, the fair has become a holiday tradition.

More than 130 artisans took part, with items ranging from handcrafted artisan goat milk soap “that smelled heavenly,” she said, to handmade jewelry, ceramics and other fine arts.

“A lot of people were ecstatic that they had gotten all of their holiday shopping done already. There were people who were just so proud of themselves that they found something for absolutely everybody,” Cortelyou said.

Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild used the event to issue a proclamation declaring it “Buy Local Month” which Local First Arizona defines as Nov. 27 through Wednesday, Dec. 24.

Cortelyou said the market represents the power of local spending while also supporting “the talented local artists and artisans that are here.”

Check out some of the other upcoming shows, where admission is free. (Buying is not, but you knew that.)

The Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair in Reid Park, which runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 28-Nov. 29, is another longtime favorite.

The fair started more than 30 years ago as an extension of the parks and recreation classes the city offered.

“People remember it beginning in Fort Lowell Park, and it was a popular Christmas affair,” said Susan Orrico, who has organized the event for about seven years.

In recent years it’s been held at Reid Park, at 22nd Street and Country Club Road, west of the DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center. “People get a stroll in the park while doing some shopping,” she said. “It’s a tradition for some people to come out.”

Orrico described the price range as “very affordable — with a wide range for all budgets.”

Organized by the Tucson Parks and Recreation Department, this year’s fair will include more than 130 vendors from throughout the Southwest, including artists, crafters, photographers, painters, potters and jewelers.

Everything must be handmade, she said.

Shoppers can find everything from delicate beading to steampunk jewelry and teapot wind chimes to handcrafted masks and one-of-a-kind ceramics. There will also be artistic redesign of vintage purses and children’s wear, along with soft blankets, fragrant soaps, knit dog collars, handmade teddy bears and wooden toys.

Volunteers with the nonprofit Aviva Children’s Services make quilts with proceeds going to buy more materials to help children who are victims of neglect, abuse and poverty.

Food vendors will sell tri-tip sandwiches, Mexican food and Navajo fry bread. There also may be a dessert truck, she said.

New this year: gift wrapping — by donation — courtesy of a Golden Retriever rescue group. And good news for little shoppers, Miss Lilly — aka Lillian Gainous — will return to lead a holiday craft project at a free table filled with art supplies she has collected.

The kids walk away with a completed craft,” Orrico said. “In the past she has done puppets and ornaments ... The kids just flock to her.”

Visitors are encouraged to use the Concert Place entrance from Country Club Road for ample free parking. For more information, call 791-4877.

The 35th annual Cascabel Community Fair combines holiday shopping with a scenic road trip that’s still fairly close to home — situated on the banks of the San Pedro River about 25 miles north of Benson. The last five miles are unpaved, but accessible by car.

This quiet community, with one of the nation’s largest exotic bird sanctuaries, is home to artists, ranchers, farmers, ecologists and retirees who will welcome the public to the fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5-6.

The fair draws shoppers — as well as more than 35 artisans and vendors — from throughout Southern Arizona and some from as far as Flagstaff. Holiday shoppers will find jewelry and pottery, along with fiber arts, potions and salves. Proceeds support the community’s volunteer fire department, community garden and community center.

Additional highlights include tours of the Oasis Bird Sanctuary, paintings and Christmas decorations at the Akasha Center of Light, and an open house at Cascabel Clayworks. The fair features local foods, including hamburgers from local beef, a bake sale, a raffle for a community quilt, and live music.

“It’s a celebration of rural life,” said Barbara Clark, who has called Cascabel home for more than 40 years. She and her husband, David Blocker, operate the Cascabel Clayworks pottery business, where their hand-thrown pottery will be sold on-site.

Depending on the weather, the fair can draw about 2,000 shoppers to this community of 200.

”Some come every year, some every five years,” Clark said.

One of the nation’s largest street festivals, the 46th Annual Fourth Avenue Winter Street Fair is expected to draw more than 300,000 people over its three-day run, Dec. 11-13.

“Thousands of Tucsonans regularly make the winter street fair their shopping destination for the holidays,” said Fred Ronstadt, executive director of the Fourth Avenue Merchants Association. “We have such a mix of items that there’s something here for everybody.”

At the spring street fair, he said, he watched someone pay $12,000 for a painting.

Ronstadt recalled the first holiday gift he bought at the street fair — a ceramic mug for his parents back in the early 1970s. Back then the street fair had a bohemian tent feel, he said. Today it is a professionally run juried show.

“The artists are hand selected from across the nation, and there are certainly a lot of local folks from Tucson and Arizona,” he said.

There is still plenty of carnival atmosphere. More than 400 arts and crafts booths will be set up between Ninth Street and University Boulevard along with food vendors, street performers and two stages featuring performers from throughout the nation. There also will be a kids art area. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each daily. Details: fourthavenue.org

The St. Michael & All Angels Annual International Holiday Bazaar, now in its 22nd year, is one way to shop local while reaching global.

Held from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6, at All Angels Episcopal Church, 602 S. Wilmot Road, this bazaar features items from fair trade and socially conscious nonprofit groups including Ten Thousand Villages.

Another is the Sisters of Saint Francis, a 150-year-old community that ministers in the U.S. and Brazil, and has a convent in Tucson, will sell handmade soaps, stitchery, quilts and table runners.

In addition to handcrafted items including jewelry and bags, nonprofits such as the Zambian Children’s Fund, direct its proceeds to aiding 150 orphan children.

“There are extremely unusual things and you help a nonprofit,” said Jim Steinman, the event’s coordinator who said that the bazaar has grown to 30 vendors this year from 22 vendors last year. The event also includes live music and tours of the socially active church.

Artists and writers who belong to the parish will display and sell works, and, new this year, there will be a food court.

Anyone with a vintage devotee on his or herholiday gift list will want to make sure to attend The Market Collective on Saturday, Nov. 28, at St. Odilla’s Church Hall, 7570 N. Paseo del Norte in Oro Valley.

Heidi Williams, who owns Eyes of an Owl, started The Market Collective during last year’s Small Business Saturday, the day after Black Friday in which shoppers are encouraged to shop locally.

“A lot of people came out to support these small businesses,” she said. “The things we have are very unique.”

Many of her vendors focus on restored antiques and collectibles along with vintage items that have been repurposed into jewelry or one-of-a-kind home decor.

There are a number of holiday shopping events scheduled over the next few weeks. Check tucson.com/calendar for the latest.