The crowd waits to get in the doors for a past Minot The Big One show

Lisa and Stacy Frank, have been heading up Minot’s The Big One Art & Craft Fairs in the spring and fall in Minot and the fall in both Bismarck and Fargo for 17 years. The show had been the brainchild of Lois Allen and Carol Waldref, sisters who began the show in the Minot Municipal Auditorium Armory in 1975 with 40 vender booths.

The Franks told the story of the sisters originally starting the Big One because they had no more room for all the crafts they had made personally and needed to find a way to rid themselves of the excess from their hobbies, but instead finding a niche in the like-mindedness of making and marketing crafts.

Stacy Frank was employed by a local television station and had the development role in leading its large agriculture show. Frank was naturally inclined when the sisters approached the TV station, looking for a buyer.

Purchasing data or ideas was not as prevalent then as today, so the Franks had setbacks in finding a traditional loan.

When they were not able to get a loan, the couple dropped the idea. A year later the sisters reached out and told them everyone who had been interested also was unable to obtain a loan for the mental property and database the sisters created for The Big One. In light of this, the Franks then worked out a contract for deed with the sisters, claimed the database and patented the show as The Big One craft show. After the takeover, the Franks said, the first few years went to paying the debt. Since then, it has been a lot of work but very fulfilling work, they said.

For a short time, the Franks also brought their trade show know-how to Crookston, Minnesota, but COVID ended that opportunity. The fall show or Christmas show in Minot is the oldest and original The Big One. In the fall of 2023, it will be 47 years. The Spring Big One began in 1991, and on April 14 and 15, it will celebrate 32 years in Minot.

The Franks said they have the show down to an exact science. They chalk the floors for venders to get an idea of the space and area they are occupying. The North Dakota State Fair supplies the tables and set up. The Minot Lions are part of the show every year, manning the doors. The Bismarck show also takes delight in using a local organization at the doors, the Bismarck High School boys’ team athletes.

Stacy Frank said they recently retained an advertising company and are excited at the possibility of showcasing vendors on social media and their website well in advance of the actual shows. In prior years, Frank said, “It was hard to get the excitement up when we were just working off lists rather than showing and telling who was coming to each show.”

In 2006, the Minot Fall Big One show averaged 115 vender booths. In 2022, the Minot show was at 175 booths.

Lisa Frank said the show can be very profitable for vendors, depending on the popularity of the products and inventory.

“Sometimes I wonder how they do, but we do have quite a few vendors that have one small booth, and they come back year after year, so you know they are making at least enough to make them happy. We have some vendors who travel year-round from show to show, some that stick to their home area and do shows for extra spending money and some that religiously do just our shows in Minot, Bismarck and Fargo,” she said.

Lori Matthys is a well-known and favorite vendor who has been frequenting The Big One in both fall and spring with her popcorn balls, acrylic paintings and 3-D art. Matthys said she was into crafting and painting from an early age, but when it came down to it, she wanted to stay at home with her three boys and husband.

For 23 years Matthys has been traveling to The Big One in Minot and Bismarck, as well as craft shows in Montana, South Dakota and Minnesota. Most recently, Matthys said, she has pulled back to about five shows a year. Generally, Matthys said, she likes to have 2,000 popcorn balls prepared and upwards of 70 acrylic paintings and/or 3-D art photos in stock. Matthys said when she began in 1999, her popcorn ball inventory count would be 200.

Matthys said the response is amazing and sometimes overwhelming, as she can’t seem to ever make enough popcorn balls and always sells out.

“People say they come to the show just for my popcorn balls,” Matthys said. She began the popcorn ball trade looking to fundraise for her son who, at 2 years old, was diagnosed with autism.

Matthys said she went to a bank one day to set up a fundraising account, and a lady at the bank said she had the best popcorn ball recipe, which she shared with Matthys after telling her not to share with anyone else. Matthys tweaked the recipe to suit her taste. She said her family, friends, husband and mother help her, and her late father used to be her partner.

Matthys said sometimes she looks back and is amazed she has come through some tough years when her son needed 24-hour care, and she was popcorn balling all day and painting into the night.

“This was a passion that God gave me to do, and somehow by his grace I’ve gotten through and really enjoyed it for a lot of years,” Matthys said.

Vendor Sarah Ell is new to The Big One this year. She and her husband, Chris Ell, started their business, Sarah sElls, two years ago. Sarah sElls began with wreaths and vinyl on T- shirts and then Ell said she made a little pickup truck with artificial succulents in the back as a craft for herself and it took off.

The duo hopes to launch their custom gift baskets this summer, with collaborative products from Pride of Dakota.

“I love vendor shows and interacting with people. It’s all very thrilling,” Sarah Ell said. “I actually used to go to The Big One as a kid growing up. I didn’t know what I would sell but I knew I wanted a booth at The Big One.”