Donald
Teuma-Castelletti
BRISTOL Nov. 18, 2017
An early Christmas tradition continued Saturday afternoon, when St. Edward’s Parish in Bristol held their annual holiday bazaar in the church’s basement.
Ringing in the Christmas season for around 40 years now, the gathering features a tea, gift bag draws and penny auction, not to mention the company of their community.
Keeping everything traditional, the tea is accompanied by sandwiches and desserts, as folks joined in conversation with their fellow parishioners and people dropped in at their convenience.
Fresh baked goods and bread were also sold, filling a huge table as organizers ran this and the other tables, including the surprise gift bag draw.
The bazaar is held yearly to help cover general expenses of the church, according to one of the organizers, Shannon Laferriere.
Planning starts fairly early on, sometime in the summer, in order to get the ball rolling on the various parts of the afternoon. Much work goes into the gift bags, as they’re a random draw – the number on your ticket will match a bag and that’s your prize. But for an extra layer of fun, the gift bags are solid-coloured so as to completely hide their contents.
Organizers said they were thankful for everyone joining them for the bazaar, as they were worried the dropping temperatures and icy conditions might cause their turnout to dwindle.
