WILBRAHAM — After years of fundraising, this year’s Friends of the Wilbraham Seniors annual Holiday Bazaar will be hosted in the town’s new Senior Center, located at 250 Springfield St. behind the town offices.
This year’s event will be the first year at this location following the new senior center’s opening in March. It will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23, and is welcome to all ages. In prior years, the annual bazaar was hosted at various locations; all with the goal of raising funds to support constructing a new center, Friends of the Wilbraham Seniors Corresponding Secretary Dee Mitchell told Reminder Publishing. Mitchell is also coordinating the Holiday Bazaar this year.
At the 14th annual event, visitors will have the opportunity to purchase and taste homemade items from the bake sale, enter in raffles for items donated by local businesses and enjoy a lunch of meatball grinders, Mitchell stated. There will also be Santa’s Café, which will offer coffee, tea and pastries. Funds raised from this event will support offerings by the Wilbraham Senior Center.
Lunch will be available from 11 a.m. to 1-1:30 p.m., Mitchell said. Raffle tickets for donated business items can be purchased 10 tickets for $5 or 25 tickets for $10.
Visitors will also be able to shop from more than 25 local crafters with unique handmade items across 30 tables. Items will include bags, body products, burned art, ceramics, children’s books, decorations, jewelry, maple syrup, metalwork, pet products, pottery, sea glass pictures, sewn and crocheted items, soy candles, special cards and clocks, and wood products, Mitchell noted.
Children will be able to visit with Santa at the event between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. as well as take part in the Holiday Bazaar’s new activity, Children’s Story Times. Running from 10-11 a.m. and 1-2 p.m., children can listen to Hanukkah and Christmas stories read by former fourth grade teacher Miss Deb in the center’s lounge near the fireplace.
Also new this year, visitors can enter into the special raffle to win a queen-sized quilt handcrafted by the Wilbraham Senior Center’s Quilting Group. This group was organized by Valerie Morton, former owner of Quilts and Treasures in East Longmeadow, following her retirement and consists of approximately 40-50 quilters, Mitchell said. The final quilt is made up of 20 blocks sewn by members and was donated by the group for this raffle.
While the raffle will open for the special quilt at the annual Holiday Bazaar event, the final winner will not be drawn until May 2, 2025, in time for Mothers Day, Mitchell said. Tickets for this raffle can be purchased $3 for one ticket, $5 for three tickets, $7 for 10 tickets or $20 for 15 tickets.
Although there is no admission cost to visit the bazaar, visitors are asked to bring a non-perishable item if possible. These items will be collected at the event and donated to the Survival Center, Mitchell stated.
Mitchell estimated that the bazaar will draw a high turnout with visitors both familiar and interested in seeing the new center. She noted that the Wilbraham Senior Center has seen attendance triple since the opening of the new location.
In addition to welcoming visitors on the day of the bazaar, the Friends of the Wilbraham Seniors is also seeking volunteers to help put on the event. Volunteers are needed to help set up before the event, to make items for the bake sale, to help crafters unload and reload their vehicles, to help sell items at the bake sale and raffle tables, to deliver items to crafters from the Santa’s Café, to clean up after the event, and to call raffle winners after the event, Mitchell said.
Anyone interested in volunteering at the Holiday Bazaar should contact Friends of the Wilbraham Seniors Membership Director Deb Gormley by email at dgormley@charter.net.
