By Martha Aitkin, Bruce Peninsula Press
The wintery weather in late November may have helped to put us in the Christmas Spirit but it sure made travel challenging! In spite of the heavy snowfall the people of Tobermory and the surrounding area managed to “dig out” and make their way to the Community Centre for the annual St. Nicholas Bazaar where the Christmas lights were bright and the coffee was hot.
Only one or two of the vendors were unable to get out of their driveways and make it to the Bazaar. Most of them were there early to set up their products and prepare for the shoppers. Many volunteers from the Tobermory United Church, along with a great number of their friends and family members, were also there early. Decorating, brewing coffee, making soup, and setting up tables with yummy baked goods, jars of homemade jams and jellies, nearly new and Silent Auction items.
The team from Northern Twisted Roots was there in full force filling the stage area (and more) with their many beautiful re-purposed and vintage treasures. Other vendors offered a diverse array of handmade items such as rope baskets, aprons, book covers, beeswax candles, fine art, stained glass treasures, knitted toys, Christmas wreaths, wildcrafted ointments, jewellery, and charcuterie boards.
The kind and generous shoppers trickled in at first and later arrived in large numbers. They left slowly with their many purchases and bellies filled with soup, pizza (donated by Peacock’s Foodland) and mini-pies. They were treated to a visit from our beloved Jolly Old St. Nicholas and enjoyed socializing with vendors, volunteers, and other shoppers.
Many of the tired but happy volunteers stuck around to help with the clean-up and with putting everything back where it belongs.
This writer offers gratitude to the Tobermory United Church for all of the effort that went in to making this a fun and festive day for our community.
