By Laurelle Walsh
The first installment of the Methow Valley Community Center’s annual Christmas Bazaar starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday (Nov. 22), and runs until 3 p.m. in the gym. Admission is free. The second day of the bazaar will follow in two weeks, on Dec. 6.
This is the 32nd year of the sale, which reached its capacity of 65 vendors quickly this year. “We are absolutely full with a waiting list,” said community center manager Kirsten Ostlie. “The caliber of vendors gets better every year,” she added.
A wide variety of locally made goods will be among the vendor booths, including designer clothing, hand-blown glass, crocheted dish cloths “that wear like iron,” handmade beeswax candles, spice mixes, homemade pies, gourmet chocolates, and pickled vegetables made by Bonny Stephens, “the queen of pickles,” Ostlie said.
Several local organizations offer fundraising items at the bazaar: the Liberty Bell High School senior class’s holiday wreaths; Little Star Montessori School’s coupon books; the American Legion Auxiliary’s gift basket raffle; a “Fun and Fitness” raffle basket by TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) members; and the ever-popular rifle raffle by the Methow Valley Masonic Lodge.
Although most of the fundraisers will be at both bazaars, Saturday will be the last chance to buy raffle tickets from the Masons for this year’s rifle: a 7-mm Remington Magnum. Tickets are $3 or two for $5. The drawing for the winner will be held at the Twisp Library at 10 a.m. on Monday (Nov. 24).
The community center’s board of directors is in charge of the food concession at the bazaar this year, offering soups, cookies, breads, and hot and cold beverages for hungry shoppers.
Next door, the Methow Valley Senior Center’s Christmas Sale also opens on Saturday from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., featuring toys and gifts for the whole family along with Christmas decor and gift-wrapping supplies. The Christmas Sale room will be open Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. through Dec. 22, as well as during the second Christmas Bazaar on Dec. 6.
