Along with the traditional array of vendors selling homemade crafts and merchandise, the Moms Day Craft Fair will provide entertainment for the whole family.

The traditional elements remain: the one-of-a-kind jewelry and ever popular handmade purses, but the scene will also be energized by a balloon twister and a face painter.

The fair will be held in the Illini Union Ballrooms on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free and over 95 vendors are scheduled to sell a variety of crafts including ceramics, home decor, Christmas ornaments and totes, said Jacques Anderson, chair of the event.

Anderson said she expects that there will be thousands of shoppers, as in years past.

Doug Smith and his balloon twisting company, The Unique Twist, are scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is their first year at the fair and their balloons will be free of charge.

Smith said he is no ordinary balloon twister. Instead of swords or dogs, Smith favors more unique balloon creations.

“Typically my favorite pieces are the monkey in the banana tree, pretty princess hat for little girls and the way cool alien guy — where an alien sits on your shoulders and it looks like you are giving him a piggy-back ride,” Smith said.

These balloons are not just for the kids, either.

“In the 14 years I have been in business I have done things for people between the ages of three and a hundred,” he added.

He even makes a “killer beer mug” at alcohol conventions and festivals.

The “Zoo Lady”, Mickey Lower, is also scheduled to appear and paint faces of those wandering the many booths of the craft fair.

Like Smith, Lower goes above and beyond the normal constraints of her trade. Instead of the typical rainbows or ears and whiskers, she paints elaborate designs with professional theatrical face paint.

Lower, who shadowed a clown and attends annual face-painting conventions to hone her talent, paints all kinds of animals, Mardi Gras masks, fantasy faces and butterflies. She got her nickname from her signature face: the tiger.

Getting a face decoration will not take too much time out of Mom’s Day exploring the craft fair, however.

“I can do almost all my faces in a minute,” Lower said. “It is my first year at the fair, but I hope there are lots to come.”