holiday bazaar 2022

This year’s Bazaar, open to the public, will be held on Saturday, Nov. 5th from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.


The 98th Annual Holiday Bazaar in Middlebury will be held at the Congregational Church of Middlebury UCC, 30 North Pleasant Street. Our annual bazaar is a church-wide fundraising event, traditionally held on the 1st Saturday of November.


On this day, our church's Unity Hall, Fellowship Hall, other rooms and hallways are transformed into a holiday-style marketplace. The entire community is invited and welcomed into our church home to enjoy time for shopping. The bazaar has been supported by church members and volunteers of all ages every year since 1924 when it was first hosted by the church’s Women’s Fellowship.


answers to frequently asked questions

Items on sale: This year's bazaar will feature a wide variety of gift and personal items, including hand crafts; fashion and fine jewelry, ties and scarves, theme gift baskets, and rooms full of books, toys, puzzles and games. A garden table will offer a wide variety of indoor and outdoor plants and other garden-related items. Also food sales will include a variety of homemade foods for take-out: Soups, pies, cookies, cakes, breads, candies, jams, and more. New this year, we will sell small, select household furnishings. We also plan to hold a quilt raffle, made and donated by a talented church member. (More details under “Donate!” below.)


Contact information for this year’s Holiday Bazaar

Bazaar Co-Chairs: Ruth Penfield and Judy Jessup

Treasurer: Katharine Scribner (Credit card processing: Irene Zaccor)

Logistics & Outdoor signs: Dorothy Douglas & Jeff Ellison

Table and Room Managers

Hand Crafts Tables (Unity Hall): Polly Birdsall & co-chair (TBA)  


  • Jewelry, Scarves, Ties (Unity Hall): Glenna Emilo and Pat Zeliff
  • Theme Baskets (Hallway near sanctuary door): Gail Hietzker & co-chair (TBA) 
  • Book Room (Russell C. Carpenter Room): Sally Holland and Janet Franklin
  • Garden and Plant Table (Fellowship Hall): Candy McLaughlin & co-chair (TBA) 
  • Foods Sales (Fellowship Hall) 
  • Food Tables: Co-chairs Maureen Williams and Alice Munson
  • Specialty Soups & Whole Pies (Fellowship Hall): Co-chairs Nancy Foster and Kay Bussiere
  • Toys, Games, Puzzles (Nursery Room): Robyn Stattel and Michaela Kubacki
  • Small Household Furnishings (Fellowship Hall): Chairperson (TBA) 
  • Quilt Raffle (To be decided): If we decide to hold a raffle, one or two volunteers will be needed to start and manage ticket sales in September and hold the final drawing on Bazaar Day.  
  • Bank Window Display: Volunteers will be recruited in October




Here are some details about this year's bazaar!

  • The bazaar is held annually on the 1st Saturday of November.
    Chairpersons will recruit volunteers from April through October.
    Pie bakers and soup makers are actively recruited beginning in late September. Aluminum pie pans and two sizes of soup to-go containers (pints and quarts) are provided and will be handed out to all bakers and soup makers.

    Bazaar Week:
    • Five days prior to the Bazaar, the set-up takes place working with our Building Manager. Volunteers are needed to decorate and set up tables and chairs and display shelves.
    • Beginning three days prior to the Bazaar, all donations (except foods) should be brought to the church. Note: Please contact the Books and Jewelry chairpersons about donations that they may before Bazaar week.
    • Food donations are brought in on Friday afternoon and Saturday before 8:45 a.m.
    • The 1st Saturday of November is BAZAAR DAY
    • The following Sunday is the “2nd Chance Sale” immediately after worship service.

  • Donations will be needed for the tables/rooms mentioned below. Please contact the Bazaar Co-chairs or the Table and Room managers directly about specific needs that you can help with.


    Food donations include a variety of homemade foods for take-out: Soups, pies, cookies, cakes, breads, candies, jams, and more.


    We accept these types of donations (in good condition):

    • Handcraft creations from sewists, knitters, quilters, weavers, painters; also woodcraft items such as stools, cutting boards, lazy Susans, bird houses, children's toys and small bookshelves.  
    • Children's toys and puzzles & games for children or adults.  
    • Hardcover and softcover books (excluding textbooks and encyclopedias).  
    • Costume and finer jewelry, scarves and ties. 
    • Household plants and potted herbs and decorative plant containers.  
    • Small household furnishings, such as small tables, lamps, framed paintings, bookshelves and holiday items (excluded: large items, kitchen items, linens, dishes and glassware).  

    Donate to benefit individuals in our wider community

    If you have items that we are not accepting for the Bazaar this year, we recommend these options for resale or outright donation. These organizations will gladly take your donations to benefit our Middlebury area community. 

    • Buy Again Alley (resale shop Main St Middlebury): Church account #506
    • Neat Repeats (resale shop on Route 7 South): Church account #45
    • HOPE Thrift Shop (Boardman Rd, Middlebury)
    • Sell or donate free on Front Porch Forum

    Contact the Bazaar Co-Chairs if you have any questions about donations contact Bazaar Co-Chairs: Ruth Penfield and Judy Jessup.


  • All our Tables and Rooms need volunteers to help set up and price during the week prior to the Bazaar, to sell on the day of the Bazaar, and to break down the Tables and Rooms after the Bazaar is over. We traditionally hold a Second Chance sale for our church members the Sunday morning following the Bazaar and volunteer helps is needed to set up and clean up. One or two volunteers are needed to start and manage Quilt Raffle ticket sales in September and final drawing on Bazaar Day. Contact Bazaar co-chairs Judy Jessup or Ruth Penfield about where volunteers are needed.

  • Jewelry Drop Off: Any time before setup week

    We are accepting donations of fashion and fine jewelry now! Drop off in the labeled basket near the church office when the office is open and on Sundays to allow the Jewelry Table leaders a head start on pricing.


    How to obtain Pie Plates and Soup Containers in October

    • Pick up at church: Beginning in October, pick up aluminum pie pans and take-out soup containers after Sunday morning worship and from Fellowship Hall on weekdays from 9AM – noon. We will make note of all donors’ names and the quantity of each that are taken.
    • Request delivery: If you are unable to get to church during the times mentioned above, please contact Nancy Foster, Kay Bussiere or Anna Hardway and request the number of items you need and arrange for a volunteer to deliver them to you.

    Contact the Bazaar Co-Chairs if you have any questions not answered by the information here.

    Bazaar Co-Chairs: Ruth Penfield and Judy Jessup.