The first Sugarloaf Craft Festival was held in Gaithersburg, Maryland in the spring of 1976. Over 10,000 people came out to see the 200 artisans we had gathered together. A success was declared by all and Sugarloaf Mountain Works was on its way!

The focus of these shows has always been on contemporary crafts and fine art. Some top quality folk art is accepted, however, the majority of what is considered "country crafts" or "home crafts" is not our niche. These craft forms are adequately represented in the thousands of local free shows throughout the nation. Sugarloaf shows needed to be something special - a real treat for our audience to enjoy.

From the first the shows were juried by slides to maintain quality for our discriminating audience. Judgement of each application is based on quality of design, workmanship and materials. It has always been more important to maintain the quality of our shows than to simply rent out spaces. In the early years there were many shows where we turned away hundreds of artisans even though all spaces were not sold.