Heart & Hand Craft Fair returns under new nonprofit leadership

The Heart & Hand Craft Fair did more than fill the Bob Ruud Community Center with handmade goods over Mother’s Day weekend. It kept a long-running fundraiser tied to Nevada Outreach alive as the nonprofit took over the event from longtime organizer Randi Case and preserved the craft show’s original mission.

Darlene Hatfield led the fair on Friday and Saturday, May 8 and 9, with Nevada Outreach Training Organization officially assuming responsibility for both the Heart & Hand Craft Show and the Spooky Jingles Craft Show. The handoff mattered because the fair has never been just a marketplace. In earlier coverage, the event was described as a 100% handcrafted fair, and the money it raised was destined for Nevada Outreach services, including the No to Abuse program.

This year’s fair drew 33 vendors, offering artistic pieces, crafty creations and homemade treats, while shoppers moved steadily through the Bob Ruud Community Center. Admission was free, so the event depended on vendor participation and community turnout to generate value. That model helped turn a weekend shopping event into a practical support mechanism for a nonprofit that serves people with immediate needs.

The most direct result was a supply of diaper donations for the Nevada Outreach Pahrump Family Resource Center. That center provides free essentials such as diapers, furniture and clothing, giving the fair a clear local consequence beyond browsing tables and making purchases. For families facing tight budgets, those donated items can make the difference between a short-term gap and a more serious hardship.

The venue itself underscored the event’s local roots. The Bob Ruud Community Center, built in the 1960s and one of the oldest public buildings in Pahrump, has long served as a gathering place for nonprofit events. Nye County’s amended fee structure allows not-for-profit organizations to use the building without charge, a policy that helps community fundraisers like this one continue without the burden of rental costs.

Randi Case has been hosting craft shows in the valley since 2013, and the new arrangement keeps that tradition in place while shifting leadership to Nevada Outreach. In a town where volunteer energy, donated supplies and nonprofit access to public space still matter, the fair remains valuable because it does more than sell handmade goods. It channels attention and resources toward services Pahrump residents already rely on.