Why is the Lutz Arts and Crafts Festival held in Odessa? The 47th edition runs Saturday, December 5 and Sunday, December 6, 2026, at Keystone Preparatory High School, 18105 Gunn Hwy., Odessa. The GFWC Lutz-Land O' Lakes Woman's Club's 2026 brochure lists more than 180 booths and expects over 15,000 visitors.
The festival still carries the town's name, but it hasn't been held in Lutz for more than ten years. It left because the club running it needed a site it could count on. The way that happened explains why the show feels the way it does now.
Forty years of moving around Lutz
The festival started small and moved several times before it ever crossed Gunn Highway. The early locations aren't recorded consistently, but every account agrees on where it began and where it ended up before the move.
- 1980, the Old Lutz School grounds. The Old Lutz School's own history says the festival began there and stayed through its eighth year.
- The in-between years. The Old Lutz School account says the show moved to Bullard Park once the Woman's Club became the sponsor. A 2010 Laker/Lutz News story names the train depot across the street as a stop instead.
- Lake Park. The same 2010 story says the festival moved to Lake Park "about 10 years ago."
- 2015, canceled. The Tampa Bay Times reported that Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation & Conservation closed the park just weeks before that year's show. That left the club too little time to find another location.
- 2016 to now, Keystone Prep in Odessa. The 37th show opened there December 3–4, 2016.
For about 35 years, each move kept the show inside Lutz. The 2015 closure was the first time the festival didn't happen at all.
What the sinkhole actually cost
Lake Park did reopen. The club left anyway. Co-director Lois Cohen explained it to the Tampa Bay Times in 2016: the group needed a new location "because we were uncertain when it would reopen," and it worried that future sinkholes would close the park again.
She also told the paper the club "were looking for a new location where we could get a long-term lease," and that the agreement with Keystone Prep ran five years.
The money explains why that mattered. The same 2016 Tampa Bay Times story said the show usually raised about $30,000 a year for the club, which is all-volunteer. That made it the organization's biggest fundraiser. At the time, the festival supported the club's scholarship fund. In 2018, Laker/Lutz News described the proceeds as going to scholarships and "numerous local community causes."
The 2015 closure showed that a county park could shut weeks before the show, so it couldn't give a volunteer group a guaranteed December date. When the scholarship money depends on one weekend, a guaranteed date matters more than a Lutz address.
Why Keystone Prep stuck
The first Odessa show answered the venue question fast. Laker/Lutz News covered the 2016 debut under the headline "New arts and crafts show venue is a hit." Attendees in that story pointed to the larger space and the ample parking.
The five-year agreement Cohen described would have run out years ago. Yet the 2026 brochure still lists Keystone Prep, now heading into the festival's eleventh year there. A trial run turned into the festival's longest stay at any site since the Lake Park years.
The school gets something back too. At the 2018 show, admission was free and a $5 parking fee went to Keystone Prep High School. That's a 2018 detail, not a 2026 price, but it shows how the arrangement was set up.
What the 47th show looks like on the ground
The vendor rules in the club's 2026 brochure tell you a lot about what you'll see that weekend:
| Detail from the 2026 brochure | What it means for visitors |
|---|---|
| Saturday 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.–3 p.m. | Sunday closes an hour earlier |
| Outdoor and indoor 12x12 booth spaces | The show uses both the grounds and indoor space |
| No electricity for exhibitors, no generators | Booths run on daylight and battery power |
| Judging Saturday morning, ribbons and awards presented Sunday | By Sunday, the winning booths have their ribbons up |
| Artists must be present to win awards | You can talk to the person who made the work |
| Food vendors' menus approved by the committee | The food lineup is set by the club |
The no-power rule has caught vendors off guard before. In 2018, Laker/Lutz News reported on a first-year jewelry vendor who hadn't realized her booth would have no electricity, so she lit her pendants with a flashlight. A photo caption from that year also mentioned the Brunswick stew at the Boy Scouts booth.
The run-up still happens in Lutz
The festival moved, but most of the season leading up to it stays inside Lutz, at small venues that host events of their own:
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, Nov. 6, 5–8 p.m. | Friday Night at the Farm, Fall Festivities | Licciardello Stables, 3007 Sunset Ln. |
| Saturday, Nov. 7, 3:30 p.m. | How to Start Beekeeping | Lutz Branch Library |
| Monday, Nov. 9, 11 a.m. | Hand Embroidered Greeting Cards | Lutz Branch Library |
| Saturday, Nov. 28, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. | Lutz Crafter's Market Indoor Holiday Craft Fair | Hilton Garden Inn Tampa Suncoast Parkway, 2155 Northpointe Pkwy. |
| Dec. 5–6 | 47th Annual Lutz Arts and Crafts Festival | Keystone Preparatory High School, Odessa |
Fun 4 Tampa Kids' listing for the Licciardello Stables evening mentions vendors, food trucks, a petting farm and mini horseback-riding lessons.
The two library programs are at the Lutz Branch Library, 101 Lutz Lake Fern Rd. W. Check the Hillsborough County Public Library calendar for registration details.
Trinity Crafters Market runs the Thanksgiving-weekend craft fair, and its Eventbrite page lists Saturday, November 28 without printing a year. November 28 does fall on a Saturday in 2026, but confirm with the organizer before you go. That's one week before the big show, and it's one more indoor option for the holiday season.
Back where it started
The Old Lutz School, at 18819 U.S. 41, has a December tradition of its own. Citizens for the Old Lutz School has hosted Christmas at the Old Lutz School since December 1997. Check oldlutzschool.com for this year's dates as December gets closer.
The arts and crafts festival started on those same grounds in 1980. The schoolhouse still hosts a Christmas event in Lutz, and the festival now expects more than 15,000 visitors at a high school campus in Odessa.
When family comes in for the festival weekend and the talk turns to what your home in Lutz is worth, or what nearby streets are selling for this season, I'm happy to talk it through. Phillip Ochoa works with homeowners across Lutz and greater Tampa Bay, in English or Spanish. Schedule a Consultation whenever you're ready.
