Any student who’s stayed at WKU over a weekend knows how empty campus can be on a Saturday morning.

But every second Saturday of the month, downtown Bowling Green is “the place to be,” said Mike Barron, local business owner and organizer of Second Saturdays.

Second Saturdays is a street fair held in Fountain Square Park on the second Saturday of every month. The events include kids’ activities, live music, horse and carriage rides and tables set up by local vendors to sell and promote their products. Everything being sold is handmade and includes crafts such as tie-dye clothing, jewelry, and birdbaths made from recycled glass.

Mothers’ Jewelry Box, owned and operated by Charolay and Valerie Russell of Glasgow, began setting up a table to sell handmade jewelry in April and have returned every month since then.

“We love the atmosphere,” Charolay said. “It gives people an opportunity to express their talents.”

Another booth that can be seen at the fair each month is the Purple Potty Team, a Relay for Life team headed up by Mike and Wanda Duncan of Bowling Green. The Duncans rent a table to sell cards and jewelry made by Wanda, a 5-year breast cancer survivor.

The Purple Potty Team also raises money by placing a purple toilet in the driveway of someone in the community. The person can then choose to donate any amount for “toilet removal,” donate $25 to send the toilet to the driveway of a friend, or place their name on a list so the toilet won’t be brought to their house again. The team started leaving the toilet in driveways six weeks ago and has already raised $1,300.

Although many of the activities at Second Saturdays are geared toward families and children, WKU students can get involved too. Barron encourages anyone in the community who wants to make and sell their own crafts to contact him at [email protected] for an application to rent a spot at the fair. Small tables cost $25 and large tables cost $35, and Barron takes care of obtaining a license for each vendor.

Second Saturdays began in April and will end in October. For more information about vendors, visit the Second Saturdays Facebook page.