For more than three decades, though with a break during the lockdown years of the coronavirus, the hamlet of Knights Ferry has played host to a popular spring event, the Peddler’s Faire. The Knights Ferry History and Museum Associates will present the 31st annual Gold Country Peddler’s Faire on Sunday, April 28, the event running from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Free admission for all, and the Faire features over 100 arts and crafts, collectibles and antique vendors. All are set up at the Army Corps Park along the Stanislaus River.

“This is the major fundraiser for our museum,” said Carol Davis, a member of the Peddler’s Faire Committee. “We were shut down for three years due to COVID, so we are excited to be able to again celebrate our history.”

Prior to the Faire, visitors to Knights Ferry can purchase a pancake breakfast, being served at the IOOF Hall on Main Street from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.

There will be a free shuttle bus running to the Peddler’s Faire area and both the ice cream shop along Main Street and the museum, upstairs in Miller’s Hall, will be open during the day.

“David Voortman is in charge of permits and vendors,” Davis said, adding that previous event chair Gail Higgins assisted with getting the vendors in for the show.

Davis said along with the chance to visit the many vendors and find some unique items, a visit to Knights Ferry also typically includes a stop at the historic covered bridge. Though currently closed to pedestrian traffic for safety reasons, Davis said the community is proud of the bridge, “which was designated as a National Historical Landmark in March of 2014.”

The Peddler’s Faire is stage, rain or shine. Knights Ferry is about a half mile off Highway 120/108, east of Oakdale.