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HUNTINGTON -- If you missed getting malled on Black Friday, a kindler, gentler, shopping experience filled with the spirit of Christmas is heading your way.

With live music from area jazz bands and choirs filling the Big Sandy Superstore Arena, the Lesage and Southeast Huntington Lions Clubs team up for the 31st annual Lions Arts and Crafts Festival.

Featuring visits by Santa Claus, 148 booths, including some of the region's most respected artists from Blenko to wildlife artist Chuck Ripper, the Lions Club show sets up shop from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6; and noon to 5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 7.

Admission is $5 per person, $4 for seniors and free for kids under 12. There is a $1 off coupon in The Herald-Dispatch.

All of the proceeds are split between the two groups who then pour that money back into the community through a host of charities.

John Pinkerman, a Lesage Lion, and one of the organizers, said they usually make about $15,000. That gets poured back into the community.

In addition to the many booths, the Lions also are raffling off a 42-inch TV, as well as a bunch of donated silent auction items.

"When we started this thing, the Lesage club was small, and their club in the Southeast was not big either. So, we asked them if they wanted to work along with us, and for all these years, it's been a joint effort," Pinkerman said.

A Christmas shopping tradition

The show has become a Tri-State Christmas shopping tradition for folks on the hunt for handcrafted items they can't always find in stores.

Just a few of the 96 crafters are Enchanted Egg Emporium, Creations of Clay, Blenko Glass, Nitty Gritty Creations, Sutphin's Wood Toys, Kirkwood Winery, Milton Lions Club Apple Butter and B&K Fudge.

"Our show is where you can get those things for Christmas that you can't get anywhere else," Pinkerman said. "We have a lot of crafters and things too that aren't Christmasy. It is just the time of year."

To celebrate the season, the Lions have lined up a constant flow of live music that begins Friday with the show choir and jazz band from Cabell Midland High School. Saturday, there are jazz bands from Spring Valley and Huntington High, the HHS Show Choir, a puppet show and a Zumba demonstration.

The Backyard Dixie Jazz Stompers entertain at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

You've got to move it, move it

This is the first year for the two half-hour Zumba classes that will take place at 1 and 2 p.m. Saturday.

Toni Karle, who teaches Zumba, a dance-style aerobics class using Latin and other world music, organized the classes called "Fitness, Fun and Feeding the Needy."

Folks trying out the class are asked to bring a non-perishable food item, which they can drop off at the front of the arena.

Donations from the Zumba class will benefit the Nazareth House, a non-profit organization operated by St. Joseph Parish in Huntington.

The Nazareth House serves more that 300 families per month with food, clothing and household items in our community.

Getting a health check-up

For the second year, the Lions Club show has welcomed aboard St. Mary's Medical Center, whose personnel conduct a free community health fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the lobby.

There are seven different screenings including cholesterol, stroke analysis, blood sugar, body mass index, glaucoma, osteoporosis and sun damage. Get a health screening in the lobby and get a reduced admission to the show.

"Last year, they had a tremendous turnout of people to get their health checked for free," Pinkerman said.

Paying homage to Pearl Harbor

At 2 p.m. Sunday, the lobby will host a special Marine Corps League ceremony honoring the World War II veterans of the area on the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Pinkerman, whose own father is buried in France after giving his life fighting in World War II, said the Pearl Harbor ceremony coincides with the show every seven years.

"We want to make sure people know it is there if they want to come, and we want to say thank you to all the vets," Pinkerman said.

All World War II veterans get in free to the show Sunday.

Recognizing Ripper

This year, the show is paying special honor to Huntington-based artist, Chuck Ripper, who is one of the premier wildlife artists in the United States.

Ripper, whose lifetime of art was celebrated in 2002 with a retrospective show at the Huntington Museum of Art, has an impressive and extensive body of work that has included more than 80 postage stamps, 575 conservation stamps for the National Wildlife Federation, nearly 100 magazine covers, children's books and artwork on everything from jigsaw puzzles and playing cards to bank checks.

Since the 1970s, Ripper's paintings have graced many a cover for L.L. Bean, and some of those covers are featured in framed, super-sized hangings at the main L.L. Bean Hunting and Fishing Store in Freeport, Maine.

"We wanted to highlight him because Chuck has done our show for quite a few years, and he doesn't normally do shows," Pinkerman said. "He doesn't have to do it, but he does, and he enjoys the Lions show. One of the things we do for Chuck and all the vendors is that when vendors arrive, we are there taking the products to their booth, so we help unload and we come back and get more. We've had several crafters comment that that doesn't happen anywhere else."

Ripper, whose work is in the 2009 West Virginia Wildlife calendar, along with paintings by his daughters, Janet and Elisabeth, said he will be bringing a lot of his latest work.

He's bringing the calendars, a series of Christmas cards featuring wildlife, and four of his latest paintings that were featured in a juried show this fall at Tamarack.

"As far as shows go, this is a good one, and I do just fine," Ripper said. "It's the only local contact I have got with the public, which is a nice deal."

File photo/The Herald-Dispatch

This year, the Lion's Club Arts and Crafts Show is paying special honor to Huntington-based artist, Chuck Ripper, who is one of the premiere wildlife artists in the United States.

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