CLARKS SUMMIT — Michele Crowley, chairman of the Baskets Booth for The Our Lady of the Snows Country Bazaar, has almost made a career of creating the nearly 100 baskets that will be featured during the bazaar, Aug. 3-5 on the grounds of The Church of St. Benedict on Newton Ransom Blvd. She has chaired the booth every one of the past 25 years, except the two years she served as the overall event co-chairman.
“I am so amazed at the creativity and generosity of parish members and the community as a whole,” Crowley said in a news release. “We have received everything from gift cards for area restaurants and businesses, to electronics, money trees, custom jewelry and even a lawnmower. People are only limited by their imaginations. Some of the past themes have included kitchen, pasta, happy hour, bath and body, various sports like golf and soccer, beach, Christmas, crafts for adults and kids, back to school with backpacks stuffed with school supplies, as well as kids off to college.
“We never know what we are going to receive and that is part of the fun,” Crowley added. “There are individuals and families that have been doing baskets since the beginning and we also get many new people donating for the first time. There is one couple who put together several baskets for us, by working on them throughout the year. Others do baskets in memory of in honor of a family member.”
In addition to the great number of people who assist with the creation of baskets, the booth is supported by many volunteers who served on the committee through the years.
When the time comes to move the baskets from Crowley’s home to the bazaar grounds, she recruits family members and neighbors to help with the convoys.
In addition to the Basket Booth, other booths include the Plant Booth, Book Barn, Antiques and Bargain Barn. Half the fun of attending the bazaar is the great variety of games for young and old. For a quiet change of pace, massages will be provided by Utopia.
Among the many food and beverage items are Café Mocha, with a coffee house atmosphere for young adults. Everyone can also enjoy the baked goods, roast beef, clams, corn, potato pancakes, pizza, wings, burgers and more, along with ethnic treats, such as pierogies and halushki.
The Garden of Hope will be comprised of 100s of luminaries, lit each night of the bazaar at dusk, allowing visitors’ intentions to light up the sky. Luminaries will be available for sale at the church rectory ahead of time and during the bazaar each night for $5 each and intentions may be written on them.
This year’s entertainment includes: Country Capers on Thursday, The Fab Three on Friday and Black Tie Stereo on Saturday.
The bazaar offers shuttle bus rides from Red Barn Village on Newton Ransom Blvd. for easy parking. The event is open from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. each night.
Co-chairing this year’s event are Donna Coleman, Mary Carroll Donahoe and Tom Cummings.
