The number of stalls at an arts and crafts fair on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront will increase by 60 per cent amid overwhelming demand from stallholders.
The fair, being held outside the Cultural Centre, will feature 121 stalls from July 1 to December 1, compared to 76 stalls at present.
There were 610 applications for stalls by artists and craft sellers, 201 of whom met selection criteria. However, 80 eligible applicants will miss out because of space restrictions.
Eighty-four stalls would be for arts and crafts on Sundays and public holidays, while 37 would offer daily painting and sketching services, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department said yesterday.
The fair was launched as a pilot project in December to create a forum for artists to show their works, but many jobless people have since used the event to sell homemade crafts.
A survey of stall operators in the first round has found they earn an average of $500 to $700 a day.
