Click Here to Check Out This Year’s Artists!
Dear People’s People,
Together, we orchestrated and hosted a tremendously successful Bazaar!
This year’s Fine Art Sale and Holiday Bazaar was our most successful in all the ways we could hope for and that matter to us all:
- Expanding attendance – our highest-attended Bazaar since pre-COVID years, maybe ever.
- Engaging more people than ever from our congregation – elders, youth, long-timers, newcomers, members and friends. You helped in all the ways needed: making more than 600 pasties; publicizing and promoting the event in so many ways; preparing a wide variety and a huge volume of your hand-made goods and tasty treats to laden our specialty tables, which constitute our earnings from this event; and volunteering for all the roles needed in the work of putting on the event – from Monday madness and set-up, to staffing all the specialty tables, pasty sales, raffle sales, cashiering, greeting, shuttle driving, emergency personnel presence, kitchen workers, cooks and runners, to the last task of the miraculous clean-up; and supporting the event with your purchases.
- Building community within the church through our work together and expanding our outreach to the wider community by opening our doors wide.
- Supporting the work of 32 tremendously creative artists from our local community, who always list our people, the warm and friendly tone of this event, and the great food as reasons this is one of their favorite shows.
- And now, for the bottom line, (drum roll…) making nearly $20,000! This will be adjusted for expenses, expected to be around $2,500. Through our work together, netting over $17,500 to sup-port our church and our mission. This is a solid result that comes in well over the church budget’s expectations. Outstanding work, all!
The Steering Committee for this event is made up of tremendous people, who bring their diverse talents and spirit of collaboration to make this event work. It is a big project that is done with love for this community. Deep appreciation for the members of this team who lead each of the following work areas: Pasties – Bob Friedel; Artists and Vendors – Libby Heine-Cogswell, Judy Whitman and Rochelle Habek Hunt; Publicity – Rachel Harms, Rick Johnson and Elijah Emrich; People’s Specialties – Lori Rupe; Café – Donna McClurkan and Rachel Harms; Raffle – Lori Rupe and Laura Bult-man; Monday Madness, Set-Up and Shuttle: Tim Keiffer, Dolores Strom and Gary Leadley; Cashiers and Finance: Dolores and Barb; Greeters – Rev. Rachel; Clean-Up – Margaret Wilson and Jen Docsa-Koehler; Communications and Coordination – Dolores, Brianna Wurtsmith and Eli. We could not have done this without Eli’s help in just about every aspect of this whole production!
With sincere, heartfelt thanks to all and wishes for a restful and thankful season,
Dolores Strom
p.s. Don’t forget to bring back your loaner yard signs and buy a few of the remaining craft items for sale in the foyer while they last!
Ready to go deeper? Join the Bazaar Planning Committee
We need a few more people to help behind the scenes to keep the Bazaar running smoothly.
- Help to Run the Raffle:
- During the past few years, we have added a very successful raffle to our bazaar. Everyone agrees that the raffle is a very enjoyable and worthwhile addition, and it is also clear that we need to add another committee member whose primary focus will be on running the raffle. Lori Rupe has done a fantastic job with the raffle, but she is ready to hand it off so she can return her focus to People’s Specialties. Please contact Lori Rupe at 269-420-6419 or lrupe123@sbcglobal.net if you are interested in this role.
- Join the Team to Help Manage People’s Specialty Items at the Bazaar:
- People’s Specialty Items is our most popular and profitable area of the Bazaar, where we sell your contributed homemade foods and handmade crafts. This area has expanded greatly during the past few years, and we would like to find another person to work with Lori Rupe to co-lead this part of the bazaar. Please contact Lori Rupe at 269-420-6419 or lrupe123@sbcglobal.net if you are interested in this role.