Step outside and you’ll likely hear the distant hum of equipment in the fields and grain bin fans working hard to dry down this year’s harvest. For most rural communities in Nebraska, those sounds and a quick glance at the calendar showing “Thanksgiving Day” approaching mean a chance to sit back and relax a little as harvest is either over or nearing its end.
In Elgin, those same sounds and calendar date mean something quite differently. It means the HUGE St. Boniface Thanksgiving Day Bazaar is almost here.
For those not familiar with the annual bazaar, they often question how it can be successful. Well, for 89 years now, it has brought together families, friends and visitors for a delicious meal and entertainment so one would have to say it has been and continues to be very successful. It appears to happen with the greatest of ease, emphasis on the word “appears”. A lot of time and effort on the part of committee members and the St. Boniface parishioners goes into each year’s bazaar.
According to bazaar chairperson Sandy Kallhoff, the planning for each future bazaar begins on the week of the current bazaar and never really ends as the ensuing year unfolds.
“I have ‘suggestion’ sheets on the day of the bazaar for workers to fill out while it’s fresh in their minds,” Kallhoff said Monday morning. The Parish Council, who works with the St. Boniface Altar Society to sponsor the event, also gathers feedback from parishioners and committee members following each bazaar to identify areas that could be improved for both the workers and the attendees.
For the complete story, see the print edition of The Elgin Review
