ADAMS TWP — Navigating the halls of the Mars middle and high schools Saturday afternoon was possibly just as difficult to do as it is between classes during a week day.

An estimated 3,000 people gathered over the weekend for the annual Mars Craft Show, according to coordinator Maureen Orchard.

Orchard, who has been in charge of the show for about 25 years, said the event has been in the area for more than 30 years as a fundraiser for the Mars International Student Association. The association is an independent group that works with the American Field Service program in the district, helping to fund international programs, Orchard said.

Money is raised with the $2 admission and the cost vendors pay for a site, $45 per space, Orchard said. The event brings in around $10,000 annually, but about half of that is used to defray the costs of hosting the event, including the shuttle bus transportation between the middle and high school and renting the school space. But because the admission price is low, the craft show attracts plenty of people.

“It's one of the cheapest (events) around,” Orchard said.

With more than 200 vendors, the wares varied greatly from goods knitted out of alpaca wool to homemade beeswax candles to all-natural dog treats.

“I think everybody is pretty pleased with the event,” she said. “The vendors seem to do well.”

In fact, for fudge and candy treats business Oooh Fudge!, it's not uncommon to sell out before the end of the day, according to founder Renee Lyon of Butler. Lyon was joined by business partner Melinda Wilbert, who initially provided the moral support but was roped into the fun, Wilbert joked.

Lyon said the business got its start when her family was going through some tough economic times about six years ago, but it has remained as an enjoyable way for her to earn extra money during the holiday season, she said.

“I started making fudge as a kid,” Lyon said. “My grandma taught me, and I would give it away as gifts.”

Her family eventually became the guinea pigs for her to test new recipes, even though she continually tweaks even her best treats, Lyon said. Her family also gave her the idea for the business's name since “oooh, fudge,” is what her family would say whenever Lyon made the treat.

Lyon and Wilbert only do business in the fall and winter since the fudge would require an air-conditioned booth in the spring and summer, Lyon said. Despite that, the business expanded from fudge to include chocolate-covered goods, chocolate bark, peanut brittle and hard-tack candy.

But both women have full-time jobs outside of this “full-time hobby.”

“When we have a show, we probably spend 40 hours a week (making goods),” Lyon said.

And those 40 hours require a lot of ingredients. The 65 pounds of fudge that Lyons and Wilbert brought to the Mars Craft Show needed about 30 pounds of sugar to make.

“We spend a lot of money on sugar,” Wilbert said, saying that she can go through a 10-pound bag in “no time.”

But humans aren't the only ones who could benefit from show treats.

Melissa Goodzinski of Harmony owns A Slice of Sugar Bakery. Her table at the craft show included cookies, cakes and pies ... and dog treats. Her dog treats are all-natural with no preservatives.

The only difference in making treats for man's best friend is that she cannot use sugar and chocolate and other ingredients dog shouldn't eat, she said. Her offerings include the apple cinnamon, pumpkin and banana goods as well as the canine-friendly peanut butter and bacon treat.

Goodzinski said she originally started making dog treats “for something different” but has noticed it has become a trend.

Even Orchard said, after doing the craft show for 25 years, that certain types of crafts come and go, but homemade dog treats have been on the rise.

For Goodzinski, the holiday season is always a busy time for her pre-order only business. Although she previously had a storefront, Goodzinski decided to go back to the family business, at Hartmann's Resort in Harmony, and pursue her business in her spare time.

But craft shows give her the opportunity to meet a wider variety of customers and help other vendors start up their own businesses, she said.

Terry Shanor, a Butler beekeeper, is no newcomer, though. He has been selling at the Mars show for many years, longer than he can remember to count, he said.

Shanor keeps around 15 colonies as a hobby and has been in the business for more than 30 years, much to the dismay of his wife, he joked.

On Saturday, Shanor sold various goods from his colonies, including pure honey, beeswax hand creams and lip balm and pure beeswax candles, the most obvious artistic work on his table.

Shanor's candles included a number of shapes, like pine trees, Santas and turkeys, all molded and painted by him.

After the beeswax is heated and strained to remove impurities, the wax is poured into molds and allowed to harden, which can take up to three hours, depending on the shape.

Although it's a fairly simple process, the trick is getting the candles out of the mold without breaking off a turkey's head, Shanor said. And from there, it's a short time to hand-paint the details, like Santa's red hat, according to Shanor.

Funds raised from show admission go toward improving international opportunities in the Mars district, according to Orchard.

The money helps Mars students study abroad, helps local families who decide to host exchange students, and provides grants to language teachers in the district, Orchard said.