Monday, November 7, 2022

The Bazaar, It is Over!




Let me tell you just briefly about my bazaar month. And yes, my friends, it was a month!

For the last eleven months, the bazaar has been on all our minds at church, but in a different context than this last month. We had social events, tested food, made items to sell, casually reached out to vendors who might be interested, discussed casserole recipes and what baked goods should be made. Generally, lots of socializing and companionship and outreach was done in the course of our daily routines in service of the bazaar. In other words, a good time was had by all.


Then, as the kids say, things got real. At least for a small and dedicated group of people who insanely volunteered to take up the staff, so to speak, and deal with everything that had been back loaded into the planning and organizing, mostly by necessity.


Signs needed to be put up around the church. Facebook blasts needed to be sent multiple times a day with photos of vendor items and food. Ads needed to be placed in the local paper.


Boxes and boxes of donated hand knit items (remember those  knitted pumpkins?) were sorted, with two other people deciding on the pricing and then attaching tags. Display decisions needed to be made for church sold items (Hello, baskets and hooks and bowls and clothing racks).


 Then there was the actual making of all the casseroles that had to be baked, then rest and be frozen. The same with the baked goods, only in this case prices needed to be decided along with display options. Clamshells for the cupcakes, or boxes? Casseroles needed to have ingredients and instructions. Baked goods needed to be marked for allergies (with colored dots). Nuts or no nuts, chocolate, gluten free, and so on.


On the three days before the actual bazaar, everything needed to be set up. Money decisions needed to be made (where to set up and who would take the money). All the casseroles needed to be brought to the church freezer and all the baked goods to the kitchen the day before.


In addition to all the chores mentioned above, I had my own booth and was vending at said bazaar, adding a whole new level to the time management issue as I needed to sew and price and display my own items and also set up my booth.


And that, my friends, is the most brief of descriptions as to where I have been for 30 days or so!!


The good news is that lots and lots of money was raised for charity. More even than the bazaars held pre-pandemic. A good time was had by all, most everything sold, and another bazaar year is in the books.


And in truth, I mainly had a wonderful time with wonderful people. Which means that, dare I say it, I will probably volunteer in the same capacity next year.


After a good ten months of rest, thank you very much!





7 comments:

  1. I am glad you had fun, even if the work was a little overwhelming.

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  2. I've never heard of selling casserole at a church bazaar but what a great idea! Isn't that what church ladies are known for. I'm glad it was fun and your hard work paid off both for fundraising and personal needs for friends and activity.

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  3. I love the idea of selling frozen casseroles, too. Very reasonably priced!

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  4. That all sounds very exhausting! The prices on those casseroles looked very good - I recall my godmother's church selling chicken pot pies but there was no bazaar attached to it. One ordered and picked up at the church the day of the event.
    Sounds like you did well with your booth as well. I'm sure the funds for charity will be much appreciated too.

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  5. Bazaars are loads of work, but lots of fun getting to the end. Glad you enjoyed yours.

    God bless.

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  6. Sounds like it was a fabulous event and that you enjoyed it all!

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  7. Congratulations! Sounds like all that hard work and crucial planning was worth the effort! You did good!

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