St. Ann's bazaar-ly popular event all sewn up
It’s that time again!
Coastal Point • Monica Fleming
St. Ann Quilters Jeri Walsh, Felicia Seelig, Kathleen Daly, Mary Martinez, Betty Keely (left to right) stand with this year's creation: Fun in the Sun in Bethany.
This Thursday night, July 30, kicks off the annual bazaar at St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Bethany Beach with Premiere Night. There is a $5 donation taken for this night only, and the bazaar is open from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., for the early birds to get in on the best of what the bazaar offers. On Friday, July 31, the bazaar will run from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Saturday, Aug. 1, it will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“If you have never been to the St. Ann’s Bazaar, you don’t know what you are missing,” said the event’s chairwoman for the past 14 years, Pat Duschesne. “This event has become a community event, as well as our parish’s biggest event.”
A highlight each year of the 29-year-old bazaar is the quilt raffle, one of the three raffles held. This year’s quilt to be raffled off is titled “Fun in the Sun in Bethany.” The quilt is hand embroidered by ladies in the parish. This year, 17 women – and one man – designed and worked on the quilt.
The bazaar is the culmination of the work not only creating the prized quilt but also selling the raffle tickets. Each year since starting the quilt project in 2004, the quilters have sold tickets at area establishments, such as Hocker’s, Giant, Serendipity quilt shop in Dagsboro and on the boardwalk at the Seaside Craft Show, as well as at their individual sewing clubs. The bazaar is their final raffle-selling destination. And raising money isn’t the only benefit they get from participating.
“It’s a camaraderie of the women in the parish,” said Kathleen Daly. “And people form friendships.”
As soon as this year’s bazaar is over, the group will pick a theme for next year, as it takes months to get the quit ready to raffle. That lengthy preparation is a notion known all too well to many bazaar volunteers.
“Oh, we start the day after,” commented Duschesne with a laugh, of getting ready for next year’s bazaar. After the bazaar is over, all of the unsold items go to ACTS or other area thrift stores.
Maureen Oswold, a volunteer of 20-plus years who used to come as a clown, now sells raffle tickets and says of the bazaar that she “loves it.”
Margaret Young, another volunteer, said she was “drafted a few years ago by a neighbor.” Young works in the Linens and Miscellaneous Room at the bazaar. Another Linens worker noted that many vacationers actually plan their vacations around the bazaar, because it has become such a hit.
In addition to the separate rooms filled with everything from linens to electronics to dishes to antiques to baby items, the bazaar has a silent auction area that fills the library and hallway in the Masterson Center, as well as a garden shop, a bake shop, three raffles and every household item imaginable, including furniture, books, lamps and other decorations.
Another favorite, and special, silent auction item is a dinner prepared by Father David Kelley of St. Ann’s.
This year’s bazaar proceeds will go to a much-needed new roof and skylight on the Masterson Center.
For those who plan to attend – and many certainly do – the prime time is Thursday night, July 30, which is Premiere Night, with the $5 donation taken for this night only, when the bazaar is open from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Those who don’t make it to Premiere Night might aim for Friday afternoon, July 31, when the bazaar is usually the least crowded, though it will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Those looking for last-minute deals can stop in on Saturday, Aug. 1, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
