Saturday, July 28, was overcast. Not too hot and not the perfect day at the beach, but a perfect day for the First Congregational Church of Marion’s Annual Summer Fair.
“The sailors aren’t having a good day, so we hope they’ll come here,” said Connie Pierce, who worked the book sale table.
Hundreds of people came to the fair, which started at 10:00 am and ended at 2:00 pm. People lined up outside the wrought iron fence of the church, waiting for the first crack at the popular elephant table, which featured hundreds of donated items of all types.
In total, there were 17 different stations, including candy, baked goods, cheese, plants, flowers, cotton candy, frozen foods, nautical items and books. Other stations offered children’s activities including face painting, crafts, a bounce house and fishing in a pool for prizes.
A silent auction featured antique furniture, a new Schwinn bicycle, unique prints, gift certificates, one of a kind paintings by local artists, an electronic book reader, an antique tea cup set and a wooden ship model kit.
Lunch was offered all day and included hotdogs, cheeseburgers, lobster rolls, chicken wraps, lemonade, water, ice tea and chips. Music was played while the master of ceremonies, Ken Hanson, encouraged patrons to visit the various stations and enjoy lunch.
For the first time, the organizers of the fair opened the church for anyone who wanted to go inside.
“Some people in Marion have never seen the inside of this beautiful church, so we are giving them the opportunity to see it today … of course, they are welcome any Sunday at 10:00 am, also,” said Bob Jones.
“I’m here with my family and I really like the fair and come every year,” said Sonia Booonstra. “I bought a lawn chair and a terrarium so far.”
Donna Robitaille and her husband stumbled onto the fair while walking around Marion village.
“This is our first time and I bought some tea. This is fun and we’ll mark our calendar to come back next year,” she said.
The fair first started back in the 1920s when the lady quilters ran out of room for their sewing event and brought it outside. People strolled by and asked if the quilts were for sale. The ladies started selling quilts, plants, baked goods, fudge and unwanted household items. Eventually, they decided to have one large sale once a year.
At 2:00 pm, volunteers started cleaning up, with almost everything sold out.
“I’ve been working with the fair for over ten years and this is the first time we’ve run out of food … luckily it’s almost the end of the fair day,” said Jones, who gave the fair a theme of ‘Proud to be an American.’ Many of the volunteers wore red, white and blue clothing.
“Tomorrow we start planning for the 2013 fair,” said Jones, who said the fair was a ‘rousing success.’
By Joan Hartnett-Barry