Christmas bazaar helps kick off the holiday shopping season

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November 27, 2009

By Keith Purtell

Jan Mitchell admired earrings for sale Friday at the Christmas Bazaar Arts and Crafts Show in the Muskogee Civic Center.

The event continues today.

“They’re all very well done,” she said about the earrings made from several semi-precious stones and pearls. “I’m buying for Christmas and for myself. There is a lot of nice jewelry here. Everybody has their own little niche. It’s very lovely work.”

Cassandra Gaines, civic center manager, said that 175 people had visited the bazaar between 9 a.m. and noon.

“We have 65 vendors from all over,” she said. “This is the first time the civic center has hosted this event. Other places have done it in the past, and we wanted to keep up the tradition.”

In addition to the wide variety of arts and crafts, there was a pottery-making demonstration and a demonstration of aprons being made by Penny Kampf, coordinator of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. There was also live entertainment both afternoons.

Ann Trzcinski brought her granddaughters, Evie and Taylor, and her grandson, Dalton, to the bazaar to start out the Christmas season.

“We’re most taken by all the hand-painted items and the woodwork,” she said. “We’ll probably be here two hours.”

Dalton said he bought some polished stones and a crystal rose that lights up.

Penny Tarron said she and her daughter Jenna Bolin drove from Tahlequah to visit the bazaar.

“My aunt, Ruby Bebout, is a vendor here,” she said. “She told me to come out. We just got here, and we’ve been looking at some Christmas ornaments for Christmas gifts. They’re wonderful; they’re very pretty.”

Katherine Schoeffler said she brought her granddaughter, Eileen VanKirk, to see the wide variety of arts and crafts.

“Right now we’re looking at necklaces made from dominos,” she said.

Vendor Rita Smith from Mena, Ark., said she sets up her display at similar shows all over the region.

“We have caps and T-shirts,” she said. “The diapers are personalized and are handmade. We get a wide cross section of people coming by to shop.”

Reach Keith Purtell at 684-2925 or kpurtell@muskogeephoenix.com.