Twig Holiday Fair To Be Held Friday, Saturday

The Twig Holiday Fair has been running under one name or another for nearly 100 years. This year’s event will be held at Apawamis Club in Rye from 12 to 6 p.m. tomorrow (Friday, Nov. 15) and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16. The club’s address is 2 Club Road.

Featuring 30-plus vendors offering unique, unusual products, the event raised $35,000 last year, as co-chair Jan Hodnett told us in a Q&A published below—that’s an impressive figure, as is the $10 million that Twig Inc. has raised to support healthcare in this area. In our back-and-forth, Hodnett discusses the rich history of the event, its benefit to our communities and gives some insight into how personal this fundraising, and the organizations it supports, are to her.

Hodnett, a Rye resident, co-chairs the event with Gigi Jorissen of Harrison.

Patch: Tell me about the history of the Twig Holiday Fair. How and when did it start, and how did it get its name?

Jan Hodnett: In 1921, Mrs. H. Van Wyck Wickes (the founder of the Twig in 1911) became the permanent Chairman of the Annual Christmas Sale. So, the Twig has held a Christmas or Holiday Fair every year for 92 years. The Christmas Fair name was changed to the Holiday Fair in order not to exclude or offend any religious groups. The Twig Fair has been raising monies for the health care of the local community for those 92 years. Originally the money raised helped support United Hospital in Port Chester. Today, we support the Port Chester-Rye-Rye Brook and Harrison Emergency Medical Services.

Patch:  How many visitors does the fair typically draw and what are your fundraising goals?  

Jan: The number of visitors and shoppers varies, but has always been in the hundreds. About 300 to 500 people come to the fair each year. Exciting and innovative offerings from 30-plus exhibitors include scarves, handmade jewelry, children’s clothing and gifts, unique home accessories, chocolates and other gift items for yourself or others. Admission is free and all proceeds go to the local EMS. The Twig, now known as Twig Inc. has raised over $10 million to support the healthcare needs of Rye, Rye Brook, Port Chester and Harrison. Last year, despite being held right after “Sandy,” the Holiday Fair grossed $35,000 and we hope to do better than that this year.

Patch: This is obviously designed to support a great cause: Our local first responders. Exactly how do funds raise support the EMS. Is it equipment, training, certifications and so on? All of those? 

Jan: All of the above. The Twig has helped the EMS acquire two new ambulances, safety gear (like firemen have) to use when they are treating patients at fire scenes or automobile accidents, defibrillators, and better technical equipment and computers to allow technicians to communicate directly with the receiving hospital. I can tell you first-hand how valuable this equipment was when they took my husband to Greenwich Hospital. He’s fine now. 

Anyone with questions about Twig Inc. or the Fair, please phone Hodnett at 914-967-1084