About Church Bazaars
Each year congregations across the country gather for their annual church bazaars. For many churches these bazaars are traditions that have spanned generations as well as primary fundraisers for them and their many operations. Church bazaars are fun-filled gatherings that benefit churches and offer fellowship, food, activities and games, and traditions unique to each church.
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Time Frame
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Most church bazaars take place outdoors on church grounds or at nearby parks or pavilions, occurring in the spring, summer and early fall. Many churches choose to hold their church bazaars directly after their regular Sunday church services, while others schedule their bazaars for Saturdays.
Serious time and effort go into planning church bazaars, with initial preparations often beginning soon after the previous year's bazaar. Committees begin regularly meeting in the six months leading up to their church bazaars. It is truly a church-wide effort to plan, coordinate and pull off successful bazaars.
Features
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Church bazaars typically include a meal, game booths, auctions and entertainment. Fare at church bazaars varies according to the ethnic heritage of the congregation and the region of the country. Churches with a significant population of a certain ethnic group often serve cuisine of that ethnicity; for instance, Italian-American churches often serve Italian food at their church bazaars. Southern churches may choose to serve distinctively Southern food like barbecue plates.
Game booths at church bazaars often include cake walks, grocery games and dining games where players win groceries or restaurant certificates, and plenty of games for kids. Church bazaars often have an entire area devoted to activities for children like moonwalks, pony rides and petting zoos.
Auctions, both live and silent, are usually the most significant fundraising element of church bazaars. Typically items for the auctions, large and small, are donated by members of the congregation or community. Weeks and even months are spent on securing donated items for auction, since these items at church bazaars can potentially make a great deal of money for churches.
Entertainment at church bazaars may include a live band, local children's singing or dance troupes, storytellers and dancing.
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Function
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The main focus of church bazaars is to raise money for the many needs of individual churches. These funds may be used for basic church maintenance and employee salaries, to pay off any building loans and to further church goals like expansion, renovations or religious education projects.
Benefits
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Aside from the fund-raising aspect, church bazaars offer many benefits to their congregations and communities. Church bazaars help to create a united church spirit as many churchgoers are needed to help plan, set up and clean up the events.
Significance
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In modern times, another main reason for holding church bazaars is that they help to preserve the cultural heritage of churches, especially in churches formed by ethnic groups that immigrated to the United States. In churches with ethnic groups like Irish-Americans, German-Americans, Mexican-Americans and more, church bazaars often reflect the cultural heritage of these groups in the food that is served, the crafts that may be on display, the music played, and the items designated for auction. For many, church bazaars are not only an opportunity to gather with fellow churchgoers and help raise funds for their churches, but also a time to celebrate their heritage and that of those who originally founded the church.
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