Hermitage Handmade Festival to return Saturday with nearly 100 vendors

NORFOLK — Organizers expect thousands will shop the grounds at The Hermitage Museum and Gardens’ 10th annual Handmade Festival this Saturday.

The free event entails just under 100 local and regional vendors and other kooky characters crowding The Hermitage’s lawn. They’ll sell one-of-a-kind soaps, ceramics, woodwork, glass and paper crafts, and artwork.

Patrons can watch craftspeople at work or get hands-on with some activities.

Visitors can also catch a free viewing of “Burden of the Beast,” an art exhibit that traveled over 1,000 miles from the New Orleans home of its maker. The exhibit can’t be missed — it includes a towering wooden bison and a massive metal robot staring at a kaleidoscope in The Hermitage’s woods.

The festival, which will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., is for visitors of all ages. Some vendors will sell alcoholic beverages, organizers said, and children are invited to participate in scavenger hunts. Well-behaved dogs on leashes are allowed.

These food vendors plan to be there:

Locoto’s
Salty Cactus
Weng’s Kitchen
Joysicles Gourmet Pops
Bear House Coffee Roasters
Hoffman Beverage’s draft beer truck

Visitors will not be permitted to park at The Hermitage. A free shuttle service will be offered from these lots to the festival:

Larchmont Library, 6525 Hampton Blvd.
Second Presbyterian Church, 7305 Hampton Blvd.
WHRO Public Media/Old Dominion University lot,  5200 Hampton Blvd.
Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 7400 Hampton Blvd.

John Buzbee, 757-879-7421, john.buzbee@virginiamedia.com

https://www.dailypress.com/2025/09/18/hermitage-handmade-festival/