— Josie Fullen, the publicity chairwoman for Muskogee New Friends, said she thought the first Craft Bazaar and Chili Fixin’s Lunch sounded like something the club should be a part of.

“Over the last few months, our group has been working on a quilt,” Fullen said. “We decided to raffle the quilt off in our booth at the event.”

The Muskogee County Oklahoma Home and Community Education Group is putting on the event from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today.

It will benefit the Muskogee County 4-H Club by providing a $300 scholarship for one of the members and also give the group funds for its many trips throughout the year.

Gina Stacy, the president of the Helmer Homemaker Group, said the bazaar has 11 booths, each offering something unique.

“We have booths for jewelry, crocheting, sewing, lights, and even holiday-themed booths,” Stacy said. “We all got together this year and decided this would be a good event, and we all enjoy crafts.”

The bazaar will be in the Muskogee County OSU Extension Building at the Muskogee Fairgrounds on Cherokee Street. Booth rental is $25, and tables and chairs will be provided.

In addition to the crafts, there will be homemade chili with all the fixin’s at lunchtime, Stacy said.

“This is something we’d love to try to do yearly,” she said. “So far it’s all worked out really well.”

Fullen said the New Friends Club, which has been a Muskogee institution for the last 60 years, loves helping out with charitable events.

“We saw them needing people to take booths, and we jumped on board,” she said. “One of our members donated money for the booth, and we’ve already started getting calls from people wanting to buy a raffle ticket.”

Stacy said she hoped everyone would come out and support the cause.

“Muskogee is a very hospitable and charitable town,” she said.

“We wanted to do the show earlier in the craft season, and with the weather turning cooler of Friday, a hot bowl of chili might be just the thing to warm people up. We’d love to see everyone interested in crafts, 4-H, and good chili out here on Friday.”

For more information or to reserve a booth, call (918) 686-7200.

If you go



WHAT: Craft Bazaar and Chili Fixin’s Lunch.

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today.

WHERE: Muskogee County OSU Extension Building at the Muskogee Fairgrounds on Cherokee Street.

COST: The bazaar is free. Chili with all the fixin’s is $3.

INFO: (918) 686-7200.