Resident Lisa Howland wasn't only a vendor at Marion's Arts in the Park on Saturday, she was one of the people who first started it.

Now in its ninth year, Howland is still an organizer for the event held in Bicentennial Park and sponsored by the adjacent Marion Art Center.

"I'm very involved in the nitty gritty of the event," she said.

Howland had her textiles on display for customers.

"I'm basically a fabric-aholic," she said.

Known for her dyed silk scarves and clothing, Howland added handmade bags to her repertoire this year in an effort to artfully use up pieces of fabric too small for other projects.

"It's been fun for me to learn styling, what works and what doesn't work," said Howland.

Painter and illustrator Carol Way Wood is also a familiar face to the Marion Art Center.

"Years and years and years ago I belonged to the Marion Art Center," said Wood, the head of the gallery committee several decades ago.

This year was her second one selling her illustrations and book, but painting is something the Dartmouth resident has done since she was a kid.

"I sold my first painting at 14," she said.

While Wood was well acquainted with the area, Greg Strange of Strange Wood was a new vendor at the park this year.

His wooden vases made of the Australian banksia tree's pod were of particular interest to customers. According to Strange, an Easton resident, "They're as abundant as pine cones are here."

The dense pods stay on trees until a brush fire comes through, which can be many years, explained Strange.

He said he purchases a lot of his material from Australia and began turning wood eight or nine years ago.

"I throw [the wood] on the lathe, turn it and see what comes out," Strange said.

Besides wood, illustrations and textiles, there were paintings, photography, pottery and glasswork for sale at the park. According to Howland, 38 vendors participated in the juried event.