The St. Nicholas Fair, held the first Saturday of December every year, is the major fund-raiser of Christ Church and funds the Christian Social Outreach budget.

 

Preparations begin about two months ahead, with a group of crafters meeting to agree what to create, how many of each, and what materials need to be secured. Another group collects, fills, and delivers orders of nuts—more than 1,000 pounds last year. While yet another solicits pre-sales for poinsettia plants and wreaths.

 

One week before, wreaths and swags are hung, electric candles arranged; and bakers collect their tools and ingredients. The silent auction goes live online.

 

The night before tables are set up and decorated for the luncheon; booths of crafts, jewelry, books, plants, games, and a bottle board are beautifully created. Chicken salad and soup are prepared. Cardamon bread is baking in the ovens.

The day has arrived, and mobs of visitors peruse the baked goods, the chocolates, the cheese, and the fudge. Others make a beeline for their favorite booth, often waiting a turn for the ever-popular bottle board. Then, having worked up an appetite, they meet friends, old and new, and savor the luncheon of chicken salad and soup, claim the items they won in the online silent auction, and leave the building ready for Christmas.

 

The co-chairs of the event collapse into chairs and wait for the money to be counted … more than $20,000, all which will be distributed through the church’s outreach program. Then they wonder, Is it too soon to start thinking about how we can do even more next year?