St. Jude's prepares for bazaar fundraiser

Despite snow in the forecast this weekend, St. Jude Thaddeus Church will go ahead with its annual bazaar inside the St. Jude Parish Center this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The bazaar has been a tradition for the church for years, Delores Noffsinger said. Noffsinger is in charge of running the bazaar.

“Over the years we’ve changed things, tweaked things a little bit,” she added. “Now we have, probably, the popular things at our bazaar are the cookie store where you can go through a cafeteria line and pick out the kind of cookies you want, and they’ll put together a plate together for you and sell them by the dozen. Or you can pick out a plate that is already pre-made.”

Noffsinger added that the cookies are all Christmas-themed.

Some crafts will be for sale, as well, all made by members of the community.

The bazaar is put on by the Parish Council of Catholic Women and admission is free.

A luncheon will be served including the usual chicken-almond casserole, Noffsinger said.

“We’ve learned over the years to stick with that same recipe,” she added.

The luncheon is made by staff.

Other food items also will be for sale and a silent auction will be held. Tickets for raffle items were mailed to members of the church community and they could mail those back in or they can drop them off at the church, Noffsinger said.

First prize in the raffle is a $500 Havre Area Chamber of Commerce “Havre Has It” gift, second is $250 and third is $100. Noffsinger added that a surprise item may be available, as well.

A Santa’s Attic also will be included at the bazaar. People can donate gently used Christmas items to the Attic.

“From something that probably took the space of one table, it now takes up probably a fourth of the room,” she added.

Noffsinger said the turnout has been good the past few years. She added that they are busiest first thing in the morning because everyone wants to get the cookies that are for sale. However, they usually average about a couple hundred people for the luncheon.

“It’s good to get a lot of our parish members working together and socializing,” Noffsinger said.

People in the community interested in volunteering can contact Noffsinger at 265-6055.