30 Jul 2012 100th annual St. Joseph Bazaar kicks off Thursday

Posted at 7:26 PMh in News by

St. Joseph Catholic Church in Conway will celebrate a special event rich in tradition in the 501 when the 100th annual St. Joseph Bazaar kicks off Thursday, Aug. 2.

The event – which continues through Saturday, Aug. 4 – features a variety of activities including a midway with games for children as well as adults and a raffle.

The first bazaar took place in 1912 when the School Sisters of Notre Dame sold needlework to the parishioners to purchase school supplies for the St. Joseph Grade School.

The midway – opening at 5:30 p.m. Thursday and also held on Friday – will include the traditional ham and bacon stand, bingo and kids games. A new feature this year will be a petting zoo.

“We are bringing back the Country Store to the Midway, where we will have live music from St. Joseph alumni,” said Nicole Rappold, development director at St. Joseph Catholic School. On Thursday, Trey Perry and Andrea Eades, both 2011 graduates will perform an assortment of acoustic songs on Thursday. On Friday, Dry Country featuring Jimmy Joe Kingsbury (Class of ’97), will perform.

A variety of prizes will be given away in drawings Friday night at the Country Store, including a charcoal grill, a $100 Walmart gift card and a Razorback painting.

Box lunches will be available for delivery on Friday with an all-you-can-eat family-style spaghetti dinner served on Friday evening in the St. Joseph Parish Hall.

On Saturday, attendees can enjoy a silent and live auction.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Saturday for the Silent and Live Auction Event. The silent auction items include a golf cart ($3,400 value), industrial gas generator ($2,800 value) and a senior class ring ($500 value). Live auction items include a handcrafted canoe by Lucas Strack, a hayride, an Italian dinner, a canoe trip with a cabin, a golf tour, and a Konstantino Treasures sterling silver and 18-carat yellow gold with pearl accents earrings donated by Fletcher Smith’s Jewelers.

This year’s raffle features a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited as the grand prize. The second prize is a $500 gift certificate to Polaris of Conway. Third prize is an iPad.

Proceeds benefit St. Joseph School. For more information, visit sjparish.org.