St. Mary's holds annual bazaar

By BRYAN HELLIOS

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Hurley — The streets of Hurley were packed as the smell of food and the sound of music by Shawn Kitto and Ray Haapala drew in crowds of people during St. Mary’s Church Bazaar on Sunday.

Nancy Sturgul, chairperson for the bazaar committee, said the event is the church’s largest fundraiser of the year.

The money raised goes to help people throughout the community as well as items needed for the church, she said.

“We try to help where we can,” she said.

Dubbed as an old time church social, the event offered participants an opportunity to meet up with friends, play games and a chance to win prizes.

Although the bazaar is a church event, Sturgul said the festival is open to all.

“Everybody is welcome to attend,” she said. “We never turn anyone away for any reason.”

The event hosted games for children where every child walked away with a prize. The Knights of Columbus had a giveaway of two bikes, one for girls and the other for boys. Raffles and “Tiny paddles for Jesus” kept the adults entertained and helped raise additional funds for the church.

Barb Laguna, member of the church, volunteered to collect donations for a wide assortment of bakery items which filled up a few tables.

“Its all profit for the needs of the parish,” she said as a young boy selected a plate of cookies and dropped a couple dollars into the basket.

The event had many volunteers, including children who Laguna said come because they want to help out the parish.

“It’s a good thing for the little ones to learn to give of themselves,” she said.

Shannon Bebeau came to the event to play bingo and enjoy the festivities. She won an entire bag full of prizes during an intense game, but having never played bingo before, she said it was a little stressful because the announcer, Tom Lundgren, was calling the numbers so fast.

Bebeau said she comes to the bazaar every year because “you get to see everyone in town.”

Father Frank Kordek said getting everybody from town and the surrounding areas together makes the community strong. He said people come because they can get a good meal for a fair price and to give thanks for the past.

“It’s a time to reconnect, give thanks and to maybe dream a little bit about what else we can do together,” he said.