Holiday bazaar just around corner

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Vanessa Young
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
The 2006 RAF Lakenheath Holiday Bazaar will be held 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Sept. 29; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sept. 30; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 1 at Hangar 7 and the Paint Barn.

More than 125 vendors from around Europe and various RAF Lakenheath squadrons will sell various items including food, antiques, furniture, jewelry and more.

The holiday bazaar is run by the Officers' and Civilian Spouses Club and the Enlisted and Civilian Spouses Club as an annual fundraiser.

"The OCSC and ECSC have a tremendous rapport with each other, and the committees have been working diligently since May to pull this event together," said Donna Balutski, ECSC President. "I think that in itself makes a great statement to the overall success of this bazaar."

The bazaar takes about $15,000 to run and returns more than $65,000 to the military and civilian communities each year.

More than $70,000 was raised at last year's holiday bazaar.

"The bazaar is a world-class shopping opportunity that we all look forward to, and the people who support it can take pride in knowing that much of the money generated by the OCSC and the ECSC is put right back into our military and local communities," said Adrienne Pederson, OCSC philanthropic treasurer.

According to Mrs. Pederson, numerous organizations benefited from donations given by the OCSC and the ECSC.

"We provided funds to support base programs such as Project CHEER, the Health and Wellness Center, Good Samaritan and base quarterly and yearly awards functions," she said.

Mrs. Pederson said they also donated funds to local schools, the East Anglia Air Ambulance and other British organizations in need.

"The weekend requires approximately 400 volunteers to succeed," said Chrissy Jenkins, volunteer co-chair. "People can contribute by volunteering two hours of their time through-out the weekend helping local and international vendors or by providing support for various committees such as hospitality and finance."

The committee is still accepting baked goods to sell at the bazaar.

According to Meredith Colquitt, bake sale chair, "The bake sale is a perennial favorite at the holiday bazaar that is completely supported by donations and volunteers from the base community. We are still in need of a wide variety of baked goods, especially decorated cakes and specialty items like cookie bars, which are extremely popular with bazaar customers."

Bakers who donate items and volunteers who work a two-hour shift in the bake sale booth will receive an early shopping pass to have a sneak peek at the holiday bazaar on Friday afternoon.

For more information, contact Chrissy Jenkins, volunteer co-chair, at 01638 534 956; Meredith Colquitt, bake sale chair at 01353 661 293; e-mail lakenheath_holiday_ bazaar@yahoo.com or visit http://holidaybazaar. tripod.com/.