During the Council on Aging’s Halloween event, Debbie Pontes came dressed as a peace-loving hippie. At the YMCA’s holiday craft fair, Pontes returned in a more season-appropriate ensemble: Santa Claus.

The craft fair was a new event for the YMCA, inspired by the high number of artisans in the area. Jewelers, photographers and bakers had goods for sale.

There were so many vendors who signed up – 35 in all – that they had to be stationed on both floors of the main building and outside beneath a heated enclosure. Each of the vendors also donated a raffle item to the Y.

Proceeds will benefit the YMCA’s annual scholarship fund, which helps support children who are financially unable to attend programs or summer camp. Mike Mahoney, the director of Dartmouth’s Y, estimates that the event will bring in more than $3,000.

The Y has also received a grant for the Sharing the Harvest Community Farm to start a chicken coop next year. Mahoney said that no one on staff has an extensive background in raising chickens, so the group hopes to glean some knowledge from local farmers before the operation picks back up in the spring.

Produce from the volunteer-operated farm is distributed to various food pantries throughout the area as well as Dartmouth’s Council on Aging. The farm is also used as a teaching tool for children when they donate their time through school field trips or through participating in the Y’s summer camp program.

This year, the Y had established a goal of harvested a record 100,000 pounds of produce. Volunteers narrowly missed that goal, bringing in 92,000 pounds of vegetables by the time the farm officially shut down for the season on Thanksgiving.

Mahoney said that means this was the garden’s largest yield ever since it began in 2006.