After a four-year absence, the Gales Creek Holiday Bazaar returned to the Gales Creek School gym Saturday, November 18, drawing somewhere in the vicinity of 500 or more shoppers to the event.
(Disclosure: this journalist helped plan the event)
The bazaar was put on with the assistance of a number of community members and groups like the Gales Creek Chamber of Commerce, members of the Gales Creek Church of God and more. Last held in November 2019 a few months before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the event drew more than two dozen vendors selling baked goods, crafts, books, artwork, and more.
Also integral in making the event a success were a number of businesses who donated items for a raffle to help support the cost of holding the event and others like it in Gales Creek. They include:
Apolloni Vineyards
Smokehouse Chicken and Guns
Crafters in the Rafters
Dan Fischer Excavating
Fischer Greens
Glenwood Food Mart
Hand & Stone Massage
Jim’s Market
Lone Fir Tree Farm
Main Street Pizza
Melaluca Dist. Sheri Bagdonas
Montinore Estate
OutAZABlue
Precision Pump
Stepping Stones Chiropractic
Zephyr Farm
This journalist witnessed shoppers leaving the event laden with gifts and crafts they’d purchased, and, by all accounts, the event was a success. One question as-yet unanswered, however is the fate of the other flagship event traditionally held in Gales Creek: The annual Strawberry Festival, last held in June 2019.
Many visitors asked if it would be coming back; a group of local residents that have now aided in several community events, including the bazaar, the Halloween Party, National Night Out plans to meet soon to discuss the bazaar, and what comes next for the return of community events in Gales Creek.
Their group, which includes the remnants of organizations like the Gales Creek Chamber of Commerce, meets Thursday, November 30 at the Gales Creek School Library at 6:30 p.m. The meeting is open to the public.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
