Where to Find Us This Summer: Kitsap and Puget Sound Craft Fairs 2026

Every summer I load the truck with cutting boards, tap handles, shave brushes, and printable wall art, and set up a table at markets around the Kitsap Peninsula. If you have searched for craft fairs near Poulsbo WA, you already know this corner of the Puget Sound keeps a full calendar of them from late spring through early fall.

I do not sell exclusively online. Meeting people face to face, letting them run a hand over the grain of a walnut charcuterie board before they buy it, is part of why I still do this after 25 years in the shop. This post is a general guide to how these events work around here and how to track down where I will be, since exact dates and venues shift from year to year and I would rather point you to a live source than print something that goes stale by the time you read it.

The Kinds of Markets You'll Find Around Kitsap and Puget Sound

This region runs a steady mix of weekly farmers markets, seasonal craft fairs, holiday bazaars, and one-off maker pop-ups. Poulsbo has its own rotation, and so do Bainbridge Island, Silverdale, Bremerton, Port Orchard, and the smaller towns tucked around the Sound. Some markets run every week all summer. Others are single weekend events tied to a specific season, like a harvest festival or a holiday open house.

A handful of markets move indoors for the colder months, usually in a community hall, grange building, or church gym. Winter markets tend to be smaller, but they draw people who are shopping specifically for handmade gifts rather than browsing on a nice day, so the traffic can be more focused even if it is lighter overall.

Vendor lineups shift from event to event too. A market that had twenty woodworkers, potters, and jewelers last summer might have a different mix this year. If you are hoping to find a specific type of craft, it is worth checking a market's vendor list ahead of time rather than assuming it will look the same as last time you went.

Weather plays a bigger role than people expect out here. An outdoor market on a sunny July weekend draws a completely different crowd than the same market under a light Puget Sound drizzle, and vendors adjust for it. I keep everything wood-based covered or tucked under the tent edge on damp mornings, since sudden temperature and humidity swings are hard on a finish that has not fully cured yet.

How I Track Down Where to Set Up

I rely on a few sources every year. Chamber of commerce websites for Poulsbo and the surrounding towns post event calendars that get updated as markets confirm their dates. City parks and recreation departments do the same for events held on public land. Local Facebook groups dedicated to Kitsap events are also reliable, since organizers and vendors both post there directly.

I keep my own site and social pages updated with confirmed dates once a market has booked me for a weekend, so that is the most reliable way to know exactly where my table will be rather than guessing off a general list that may or may not still be accurate. If a specific fair matters to you, a quick message to me directly is faster than digging through old posts.

Word of mouth still matters more than people expect. Other vendors, especially ones I have shared a market with before, are usually the first to know when a new event gets added to the calendar or when a longtime fair changes its format.

I also pay attention to what other local makers are posting, not just event organizers. If a potter or a jewelry maker I know from past markets announces a booth somewhere, there is a decent chance I will end up at the same event, since organizers tend to build a consistent roster of returning vendors year over year rather than starting from scratch each season.

What I Usually Bring to a Market Table

What ends up on the table depends on the season and how much shop time I have had leading up to it. Charcuterie boards are a constant, since people like to see the grain and weight in person before deciding. I usually bring a mix, including the river-flow walnut and maple charcuterie board and the maple and purple heart charcuterie board, plus a smaller run of shave brushes for the guys shopping with someone else in mind.

I also bring a small display of printable wall art, framed or matted so people can see how it looks hanging rather than just as a flat print on a table. It is a lower price point that lets someone walk away with something handmade-adjacent even if a full cutting board is not in the budget that day.

Why Buying Handmade at a Local Market Beats Buying Online

You can ask questions in person. I get asked constantly about wood species, how a board was finished, and how to care for it long term, and I would rather answer that face to face than through a product description. You can also feel the weight and run a hand over the finish, which tells you more about quality in ten seconds than any photo does.

It also opens the door to custom work. A lot of my custom orders start as a conversation at a market table, someone describing a specific wood combination or a size they need, and we work out details right there before I ever build anything.

If you are planning to come find me at a market this season, get there early for the best selection, since one-off pieces do not restock mid-day. Bring both cash and a card, since outdoor vendor setups do not always have reliable card readers, and mine sometimes does not either depending on cell coverage that day. And if nothing on the table is quite what you are looking for, ask. I take a fair number of custom orders straight off a market conversation.

It is also worth introducing yourself if you have bought from me before, at a market or online. I remember more repeat customers than you would think, and I will usually point out anything new on the table that fits what you have bought in the past, whether that is a matching piece or a different wood species you had asked about.

Find My Current Schedule

The best way to know where I will be this season is to check my site directly, since I update it as soon as an event is confirmed rather than trying to guess a schedule months in advance. In the meantime, you can browse everything I make, including the pieces I bring to market, at my shop.

Get New Posts by Email

Want posts like this one sent to your inbox? Sign up here and I will email you every new post, nothing else. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.