The sighting of an elusive “jackalope” — a jackrabbit sporting antelope horns — is hard to forget. Commonly found in western saloons, this taxidermy prank is often displayed near traditional game trophies.

Organizers of the Jackalope: An Indie Artisan Fair hope that this weekend’s debut fair in Santa Barbara will be equally unforgettable. The free event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in Alameda Park. Details are available at jackalopeartfair.com/santa-barbara.

“We chose the name ‘Jackalope’ because we wanted something that would stick in people’s minds and immediately create a visual,” fair co-founder Melissa Kohout said. “We loved that jackalopes are mythical creatures that lend themselves to artistic expression.”

She described the fair as a crossover between traditional arts-and-crafts fairs and independent artisans, especially those whose work doesn’t fit into standard genres.

More than 180 vendors will offer original, handmade items. Nothing is mass-produced or created by artificial intelligence. Offerings include fashion, home decor, visual art, jewelry, housewares, and artisan food, drink and treats.

“We are unique in our curation,” Kohout said. “Makers of unique handcrafted specialty goods often haven’t sold at art shows because they aren’t fine artists. We’re now known for our high-quality artisans, and people follow us from fair to fair, as they know they will find something really awesome.”

She also promised a relaxed, family-friendly vibe, laid-back live music, food trucks and lots of hands-on activities for children.

“We joke that we should add ‘and dogs’ to our name,” co-founder Sara Diederich said. “We always get a nice array of dogs, who must be leashed, of course.” 

Fair Is Now in Six Cities 

Kohout and Diederich met while working for a national arts event company. 

In 2015, they quit their jobs and mounted the first Jackalope fairs in their hometowns (respectively) of Arvada in Colorado (near Denver) and Pasadena, where they are now held biannually. Two fairs were added in Burbank in 2019, and they later partnered with the Minneapolis Street Art Fair. This August, San Diego becomes the sixth Jackalope location.

The recent expansion was made possible by hiring event coordinator Gloria Baghdassarian, whom the founders call “chief artisan wrangler.”

Baghdassarian started as an intern in 2017 and continued to help while she completed college and worked as a counselor.

“It was a gradual process, and the cards just fell into place to come on full time,” Baghdassarian said via Zoom from her home in Pasadena, with Kohout in Lakeville, Minnesota, and Diederich in Thousand Oaks.

Though in separate locations, they stay in close communication during planning, and all attend each fair. 

“We were at capacity with just me and Sara, but could handle two new shows with Gloria. Now, we’re back at capacity,” Diederich said.

Preview at Solstice 

Adding Santa Barbara to their slate of fairs, Diederich said, “had been on our minds for a long time. It’s a great fit for the community and for downtown, and very similar to Pasadena.”

Once the fair was confirmed for this summer, the trio found a unique way to introduce Jackalope to the local community — by taking a booth at the Summer Solstice Celebration.

“It was the perfect event to introduce us,” Kohout said. “We had a cute free craft where kids and adults could decoupage shells and little rocks. Some people had heard of us; others said they had been to the Pasadena show, or they lived in San Diego and planned to go next month.” 

Santa Barbara’s Solstice will be represented by metal sculptor Paul Tefft, a longtime participant, who will bring his vibrant wave-themed float from this year’s parade. 

Local Partnerships 

The Santa Barbara Arts Association booth will be a rotating mini gallery of local artwork. Visitors can leave reactions and observations, invent creative names for the pieces, and exchange small sketches, doodles and artworks.

Diederich noted that Roger Buster and CreaTiffity Studios create jewelry inspired by the Spanish tiles in Santa Barbara.

“You even get a little map showing where your tile is located,” she said.

Kohout recently discovered that Loud Flower Art, a vendor at their Burbank fairs, is based in Santa Barbara.

“They have cool art that they match with thoughtful messages and print on shirts,” she said. 

Baghdassarian said she is especially looking forward to the free 30-minute yoga classes held each day by the Santa Barbara Yoga Center.

Family Fun at the Forefront

Jackalope Gives, the nonprofit arm of Jackalope, will host free artmaking throughout the weekend, including decorating sunglasses and fans, which visitors can take home. 

Vendor Sparklez Slimez offers a Make Your Own Slime bar for kids to create colorful, sparkly and even scented gooey concoctions, and Eclectic Hoops lets visitors try out and purchase kid- to jumbo-sized handmade hula hoops. 

One of Diederich’s favorites is Because I Rock run by two women who own a Northern California crystal mine.

“They bring dirty crystals and let people wash them off to discover what they are,” she said. “They also pair with a jeweler who makes crystals into jewelry.” 

She then showed off the sparkly silk threads woven into her hair, courtesy of Lucky Locks.

“They last a long time, and we get them done every show,” she said, as Baghdassarian and Kohout pointed to theirs. 

Music and Food

For the first time in many years, Alameda Park’s bandstand will serve as a stage for live music.

“It’s a vibe, not a music show, with nothing overwhelming,” Diederich said. “We gravitate towards singer-songwriters, but Craic and Bones uses traditional Celtic instruments like harp, hurdy-gurdy and uilleann pipes.”

She is also fond of the music of guitarist and songwriter Rusty Perez, who is blind. He performs while his guide dog, named Egret, sits on stage.

Nearly 20 Southern California food trucks and vendors will attend.

“We are all big-time foodies,” Diederich said. “We’re happy to be working with Santa Barbara locals for the first time,” such as the Funk Zone’s Frankburger, Oak and Fire’s Santa Maria-style barbecue, and Latin food from Isla Vista’s Elubia’s Kitchen.

Visitors can try traditional tacos at Tacos Chewi coming to town from Bakersfield or those made with wonton shells served by Wonton Crunchies from Fresno.

Among other goodies are BuONgUSTO Italian Ice from Valencia, along with P.O.P. Candy Co.’s nutty “butter crunch” from Santa Monica, and soft serve Cruising Cones 8 from Joshua Tree — just look for the giant cone.