We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
A shopper checks out some of the items available at the Sweet Nursing Home's recent holiday bazaar. Bazaar organizers said this year there were 21 vendors, a record number of sellers.
Organizers of the annual holiday bazaar at the Sweet Nursing Home said there was a record number of vendors this year. Activity Manager Jeanne Buffington explained, "We've reached the point that vendors begin contacting us as soon as the bazaar dates are publicized. Even a few days before we were getting calls asking about space availability." This year there were 21 vendors offering gift items including clothing, handmade rugs, books, soaps and birdhouses.
Buffington, who was at home recovering from the flu during the bazaar, said she was hoping for another good year. The Sweet Nursing Home doesn't charge a fee for the vendors to set up shop for the December event. She said the availability of some unique items helps both the residents, staff and local shoppers. There was even a vendor booth selling soup for lunch.
The nursing home staff and residents do have their own money-making project for the bazaar. Buffington said, "Money from the lefse sales all goes toward resident activities." She explained that one day in the late fall is dedicated to making lefse, with staff and residents working together. The result is homemade lefse that is sold during the bazaar. Buffington also noted, "We don't worry if some of the lefse doesn't come out perfectly, the residents and staff simply eat the mistakes."
Buffington said this was the 14th year of the bazaar and it has steadily grown over the years. She's been in charge for the past six years. She added, "I was really bummed when I couldn't come because I had the flu. The bazaar is kind of my baby and I missed being here to see how it turned out."
I asked Jeanne about any patterns she's seen, over the years, that are predictive of turnout for the bazaar. She thought a minute and said, "Well, I recall one year we had a big snow and not many people turned out." Folks who organize bazaars in other towns along the Hi-Line have commented that bad weather is good for local bazaars as it keeps locals closer to home when the roads are bad. Maybe studying how bazaar attendance correlates to weather would be a good topic for a grant application.
The "Journal" thanks all the folks who helped make the Sweet Nursing Home bazaar a success, especially those lefse makers who had the job of eating all the messed-up delicacies. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.
