Sporting a colorful Green Bay Packers shirt, the Valley resident sold off part of her husband Bruce’s coveted Packers memorabilia collection Saturday. From trading cards to a green-and-yellow football to action figures to a vintage Packers checkers board game, the northwest corner of the Iditarod Elementary School gymnasium was a shrine to Cheeseheads.
Dittman says her husband “was a willing participant” in the family’s contribution to the holiday bazaar, which benefits the Iditarod Parent Teacher Association.
  
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Favre, the longtime Green Bay quarterback, now plays for the rival Minnesota Vikings.
“We were never big Favre fans anyway,” Dittman said. “We’re hopeful Favre fans will want some Favre memorabilia.”
More than just football fans could make an early dent in their holiday gift buying. The bazaar also featured jewelry, homemade barbecue sauces, a Brownie Troop 957 bake sale and more. Events like the Iditarod bazaar or the Wasilla Senior Center craft show and sale should be a must for holiday shoppers, said Candice Nagl, bazaar committee chairwoman for the Iditarod PTA.
“You can get homemade Christmas presents at good prices,” she said, adding a purchase at a community bazaar gives in many ways. “Buying here, you also benefit the elementary school too.”
Because most of the crafts are homemade by local people, children can find quality items in their price ranges, Nagl said.
Shopping at a holiday craft show or bazaar “is actually a really good idea for a lot of kids,” she said. “I have my Brownie troop here, so a lot of them have been taking turns going around doing their Christmas shopping.”
One of those Brownies was the daughter of troop leader Aunalee Cornelison, who was working the troop’s bake sale booth.
“My daughter came and asked me for some money,” she said. “I said, ‘For what?’ She told me it was so she could buy me a present. As soon as she comes back, I’ll give her some money.”
In addition to raising money for the troop and the school (each vendor pays a $25 table fee), the Brownies are encouraged to get their holiday shopping out of the way.
“What we do is rotate,” Cornelison said. “We have two out on the floor and three at the table, and the ones on the floor go around, they budget their money and come back. Then they’re like, ‘Look, I got this or my mom,’ or ‘I got this for my dad.’ My daughter did her shopping for her brother and her dad here last year.”
Cassie Bruesch, 9, brought homemade fudge to the sale and did some of her Christmas shopping.
“I already did it,” she said. “I got something for my dad. He’s going to like it.”
Down the road at the Wasilla Senior Center, 85-year-old George Bruce was manning his table loaded with hand-made log cabin bird feeders. A staple at center events, Bruce said he’s always amazed at the quality crafts made by local seniors.
“It’s good for the seniors to do,” Bruce said, adding he’s been making bird feeders for 17 years. “There is some really good stuff here. There are quite a few good craftsmen around the Valley.”
Ranging from $29 to $89, Bruce’s bird feeders are popular, he said. “Everybody loves a bird feeder. They feed mostly the chickadees, and they stay here all winter long. If you have a bird feeder out, you’ll have birds there all winter.”
Jann Murray crafts hand-made Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls. Although more old-fashioned than the dolls children are used to today, her work generates interest and sparks memories.
“Lots of people are saying they like them, but not buying yet,” Murray said. “A lot of people see them and say, ‘I remember when my grandmother made me this and that.’”
Murray likes that her table at the sale helps benefit the local senior center, which has had some financial problems over the past year. In addition to the $25 table fees, the center also receives 10 percent of the vendors’ sale (unless the vendor is a senior, in which case the 10 percent cut is not taken).
“I know this benefits the seniors and you can get some new ideas for things (to give as gifts) you would never think of buying at a department store,” she said.
One of those items would be the birch bark baskets made by Robert Douthit of Leeward Studio in Wasilla. As patrons peruse the crafts, Douthit works diligently stitching a basket. Along with partner Sandra Falknor Chandler, a painter, Douthit likes holiday bazaars and fairs.
“We want to support the Wasilla Senior Center because we live here and because they’re having a bit of difficulty here right now,” he said.
Back at Iditarod, Candice Nagl also professed an affinity for local workmanship.
Without events like the Iditarod bazaar or senior center sale, the holidays “would be very commercial,” she said. “I think it would be boring.”
Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.
IF YOU GO
• The Wasilla Senior Center will host the Valley Senior Holiday Craft Fair today from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This fair features handcrafted and Alaska made
items from various Valley vendors such as needlework, wood crafts, paintings, jewelry, baked goods and more. Free admission. Call 376-3104 for more details or visit www.alaskaseniors.com.
• St. David’s Episcopal Church is having a Christmas Craft and Bake Sale on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be hand-made ornaments, decorations and baked goods. The church is at Mile 2.2 Fishhook Road in Wasilla.
• A holiday bazaar will be held at Espresso Cafe in the mini-mall across from Wal-Mart. Shop for handmade items including fiber-art scarves, unique jewelry, original artwork, prints and more. It’s Saturday and Nov. 15 from noon to 4 p.m.
• Trinity Lutheran Church at 10355 E Palmer-Wasilla Highway will host its 6th annual Christmas Bazaar on Dec. 5 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Homemade crafts and bake goods will be featured. There will be Christmas music and refreshments.
Comments
1 comment(s)Zoann Murphy wrote on Nov 8, 2009 1:03 PM: