Local folks are preparing for the holidays, which includes making sure they have just the right gift for their loved ones. But finding that special gift locally can sometimes be a challenge, so various churches and nonprofit organizations are stepping up by hosting crafter and direct sales bazaars.
Bazaars come in many shapes and sizes, but often are custom fit to provide some kind of different offering. Operating like a farmers market, each booth offers various products made by crafters and bakers or from direct sales groups like Mary Kay or Tupperware. Some will be used as fundraisers while others have grown to just benefit the community.
According to Cathy Weisinger, a direct sales consultant with the Tastefully Simple brand, not every bazaar will allow local sales representatives at their event. She set up shop at the Au Train Township Bazaar on Saturday, which was originally a Kiwanis event to kick off their annual nuts sale and raffle fundraiser. About half of the vendors were local crafters and half were direct sales.
“Every direct sales consultant will have their own clientele, so it brings more people in with a good mix of products available,” she said.
Many churches are also having bazaars. Three churches in Munising – Sacred Heart, United Methodist and First Presbyterian – coordinated their bazaars to be on different weekends so customers wouldn’t be split between multiple events.
The first church bazaar of the season was also on Saturday at Sacred Heart Church in Munising. With a number of donated items, baked goods and a soup-and-sandwich counter, it was a solid start to the bazaar season.
“Everything is donated. We have raffle row where local businesses have donated different items and soup and sandwiches available,” said Donna Lasak, President of the Sacred Heart Guild. “It is usually more steady, but it seems like a lot of older people don’t want as many things anymore, so they head straight to the baking tables.”
Other local churches and organizations inTrenary, Chatham, Grand Marais and Skandia will also host bazaars before Christmas. Each one has different unique events and products to offer, ranging from cookie decorating and custom gift baskets. Some are included as part of larger events, like the Chatham Small Town Christmas.
With so many events available, vendors will not be able to attend every bazaar in the local area, so selecting which event to go to is a big factor. At Sacred Heart, the roughly 30 vendors and volunteers joined together to help fund projects at the church. For more direct vendors and crafters, factors like size of the event, travel time and availability with local customers is important.
“I like to stay local because I see my own customers,” Weisinger said. “My base is Alger County, so really it’s just about how much time do you want to spend and how far do you want to go outside of that.”
Vendors fill the Au Train Township Hall for a bazaar on Sat., Nov. 4. The event is one of roughly a dozen various crafter and direct sales events through the first part of the holiday season.
