Nancy Herr’s third visit to the Winter Craft Weekend got off to a rough start on Jan. 30.

The Kansas City area resident fell on the sidewalk in front of the Knights of Columbus building in Montgomery City, where the Winter Craft Weekend was held at.

Then, she got help from two young men.

“They were driving down the street,” Herr said. “The driver said, ‘Well, that didn’t look very good.’ They stopped and came over and helped me up off the sidewalk and walked me in here. It was amazing. They were wonderful. They were the nicest two guys.”

Herr was able to stay all three days at the Winter Craft Weekend, which gave people an opportunity to have some fun making scrapbooks.

“I love it,” Herr said. “It’s a quiet town and they feed us well.”

Herr was part of the largest turnout the Winter Craft Weekend ever had. The three-day event attracted 42 people, about 10 of them from the Kansas City area.

“It was just word of mouth,” said Orlana Gardner, the event coordinator. “We were lucky.”

The Winter Craft Weekend, which first started in 2021, ran from Jan. 30-Feb. 1. Proceeds of the event went towards Immaculate Conception Home and School.

Karen Aitken, who is also from the Kansas City area, said she’s pleased with how the numbers at the event have increased since the first year. 

“It has grown,” she said. “When I first came here, there were like 14 or 15 of us.” 

Another Kansas City resident, Carolyn West, made a baseball scrapbook that included pictures of his son going to every major league park. She made her fourth visit to the Winter Craft Weekend.

“It’s nice,” West said. “It’s for a good cause.”

Michelle Baggett from Columbia made her first visit to the Winter Craft Weekend. She made a diamond dots scrapbook.

“I’m part of a regular group of croppers that get together,” said Baggett, who works at the University of Missouri-Columbia. “We like to stay local in Missouri. It’s easier to travel.”

All participants got their own eight-foot table and were provided four meals. The event ended at 9 p.m. in the first two days and 2 p.m. on the final day.

Participants went to the Montgomery City Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast on Jan. 31 at the Montgomery County Senior Center. 

“We don’t serve breakfast on Saturday mornings, so I bet they got 20-25 extra from us to go to eat there,” Gardner said. “The ladies wanted them to do it at the same weekend every month and every year, so that we have a place to go eat breakfast and support them.”