40th annual Holiday Bazaar

Submitted by the Lopez Cooperative Preschool

The Lopez Cooperative Preschool is excited to announce the date for its 40th annual holiday bazaar. Mark your calendars for Saturday, Nov. 30, from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. at the Lopez School Gym. The bazaar is an annual local-shopping tradition that kicks off the holiday season and always takes place on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Here’s what you can expect from this year’s Preschool Holiday Bazaar: artisanal goods for sale by local and regional vendors; food trucks; live music; on-site childcare for vendors and shoppers; pictures with Santa (proceeds from this support the Play-and-Learn program); holiday crafts handmade by the current preschool students for sale; a cozy coffee lounge and bake sale; amazing raffle prizes; and an entertainment corner for kids with hands-on activities. And of course, plenty of holiday cheer!

This festive event on Small Business Saturday is the primary fundraiser for the Lopez Cooperative Preschool, and the proceeds support operating costs, scholarships to families in need and classroom enrichment programs and materials. Vendors who sell their unique, often handmade, and/or locally sourced goods donate 15 percent of their profits to the preschool. Additionally, other bazaar offerings — including the highly coveted raffle prizes and the homemade baked goods table — contribute 100 percent of their sales.

The holiday bazaar is a win-win situation; Lopezians and visitors have the opportunity to get holiday shopping done early while supporting local artists, farmers and businesses, and helping to sustain an essential island institution. The value of early childhood education and support cannot be overstated. The emotional, social and physical development of young children has a direct effect on their overall development, and on the adult, they will become. Investing in institutions that support young children is so important to an individual child, and to the community as a whole.

Community members can support the preschool by participating in the holiday bazaar in a number of ways: by shopping there on Nov. 30, and telling friends and family to do the same; by hosting a vendor table, and selling high-quality goods, which generates funds for the preschool; by donating raffle prizes, which generate tickets sales that support the preschool; or by volunteering as a bazaar helper, which is an opportunity that is especially good for teens seeking to fulfill their community service requirements.

The bazaar is still accepting vendor applications and raffle prize donations.

Get in touch with this year’s bazaar coordinator Samantha Olson with any questions or donations, at samantha.olson3040@gmail.com. Or contact vendor coordinator Stephanie Cariker to submit a vendor application at lcpbazaarreg@gmail.com. Save the date, spread the word and see you there!