Holiday shoppers come to St. Regis bazaar

ST. REGIS – The main room of the St. Regis Community Center was turned into a miniature mall Saturday as the Community Council held its annual Christmas Bazaar and Raffle.

The center of the room was taken up with vendor tables, which were laid out in a ring along the eastern and western walls with a circle of tables in the middle. According to Eileen Wolff, the council member in charge of the bazaar, this was done for the ease of both shoppers and vendors.

“People can just go around and they’re not interfering with the goods the vendors have behind their tables,” said Wolff. “They’re not mixing with the vendors, they’re going around as customers.”

A Christmas tree was the focal point of the room’s southern end, while a small dining area took up the north end by the kitchen. It was impossible to reach the area for food without passing the vendors.

People sold a large variety of items at the bazaar. One table had knitted items, another sold holiday decorations, several sold baked goods and a few had general merchandise. People and businesses come from all over Mineral County for the bazaar. In the past, some have made the drive from Sanders and Missoula Counties specifically for the event.

“Some of these vendors have been coming for years,” said Wolff. “They come partly to visit and partly to sell stuff.”

The community council also provided free coffee with a chili lunch available and held a raffle drawing. All proceeds from table rentals, raffle tickets and lunch sales went to the St. Regis Community Council general fund.

Raffle prizes included a $100 bill, a fire pit, a painting and a variety of other items provided by the vendors in attendance, among others. Wolff said merchants from Superior and even Missoula had also provided raffle prizes. Money from the bazaar will go toward future events put on by the community council as well as community dances and other uses around St. Regis.

Funds will also go toward the council’s scholarship. The community council offers a $1,000 scholarship for graduates from St. Regis High School, to help pay for college. However, the graduates need not be recent.

“Any person who has graduated, even if they graduated 10 or 20 years ago, can still apply for this scholarship,” said Wolff.

Wolff did not expect the money raised by the bazaar to cover the scholarship. The money will be pooled for the council’s general fund and made available for all different projects. However, the scholarship will be offered regardless of the bazaar’s outcome.

While the event was a fundraiser for the community council, more fundraisers happened at the same time. The St. Regis Public School Science Club worked to raise money for an Alaskan cruise this spring. Across the aisle, the St. Regis Senior’s Center sold cookies and other baked goods to raise money for operations once the new building is complete.

Wolff was unable to say how long the annual event had been around, though she did say it was already a regular event when she came to the area six years ago.

“But it’s been way more than six,” Wolff said.

The Christmas Bazaar is truly a community event and draws people from all over the region to participate. Members of the county community and neighboring counties come together in the holiday season to help provide for next year’s events, gatherings and causes.