Inaugural craft show fundraiser a hit at Butler Catholic School
Christmas music played in the background and the scent of cinnamon candles filled the air Saturday, Nov. 2, in the gymnasium, as cheerful shoppers, vendors, student and parent volunteers, school officials, and even Santa himself participated in the first Butler Catholic School Holiday Market.
Kathy Dudley, director of operations at the school, said Santa made a special trip to Butler for the event to have the children who sat on his knee taste-test candy canes he brought from the North Pole.
Santa told Dudley the elves are trying out a new recipe this year, and Santa wanted to do an informal market analysis on the new flavor during the craft show.
Dudley said the school had its first craft show in the spring, and it was so well-received that another one was planned for the fall.
She said the Saturday after Halloween was intentionally chosen so shoppers could kick off their Christmas shopping and vendors had the opportunity to also sell Thanksgiving-themed items.
Dudley said she tried to select vendors with a wide variety of merchandise.
“It provides our guests with a wide variety of diverse items,” she said.
Freeze-dried candy, crocheted items, sparkling jewelry, cutting boards, customized hand towels, gnomes and other distinct items were available among the craft show’s 42 vendors.
Children entering the show were handed an Elf Trail passport, which they had stamped at the booths of participating vendors.
Completed cards were then turned in, and a drawing was held on a plastic sled full of toys and games.
A concession stand by the Butler Catholic School Athletic Association sold doughnuts, sandwiches, hot pretzels, beverages and other goodies, and a bake sale with delectable items from students’ families also was available to shoppers and vendors.
Shoppers also could bid on one or all of the 30 baskets of donated items in the basket raffle.
Terry and Pat Germanoski, of Butler, attended the school’s first holiday market because they appreciate Butler Catholic School.
“If you meet the (students,) they’re good kids,” Terry said. “They do good work here.”
Terry quickly hit the bake sale table and scooped up a pie, some pepperoni rolls and a few cookies.
Pat said she gravitates toward the knitted and crocheted items at a craft show, as well as artistic items and kitchen accessories.
“Someone over there made a cutting board that’s too pretty to cut on,” she said, pointing to a corner of the gymnasium.
Jen Thompson, of Connoquenessing Township, said she hits holiday craft shows to find special gifts for those on her Christmas list.
She tends to favor holiday items, decor and candles at a craft show. On Saturday, she carried a small bag containing a candle she had purchased.
Cheryl Kihm, of Butler Township, said she and Thompson hit the holiday craft show at American Legion Post 778 in the Lyndora neighborhood of Butler Township before heading to Butler Catholic School.
She always finds herself looking at wooden items and floral decor at craft shows. Kihm prefers spending her holiday money at a craft or vendor show rather than at a mall or big box store.
“I like to support the local entrepreneurs,” she said.
Ruth Bacher, of Connoquenessing Township, started her morning by grabbing some coffee in Butler, where she ran into her friend, Amanda Young, of Center Township.
Bacher asked Young to accompany her and her two young daughters, Aubriella, 9, and Madilynne, 6, to the holiday market at the girls’ school.
“I said ‘All right, I have some time to kill,’” Young said.
Young gravitates toward unique items at craft shows. She purchased a few decadent chocolate-and-pretzel-covered apples.
She is happy to support Butler Catholic School, as she went to Quigley Catholic High School in the years before it closed.
“I’m glad to see Catholic schools thriving,” Young said.
Gabriel Kappler, 13, is an eighth-grader at Butler Catholic School. He and other students served as volunteers Saturday, handing people vendor maps and Elf Trail passports when they entered the gym.
He explained that students must have 40 hours of volunteer service to attend the school.
Gabriel said he is glad his parents decided to send him to Butler Catholic.
“I’m glad to go to Butler Catholic School because it’s a very good way to connect with God outside of church,” he said, “and it offers opportunities that public schools don’t have.”
