On Saturday, November 16th, Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Braintree, MA, hosted its annual holiday fair. The Holiday Fair is an event in which the church raises money by selling food, raffle tickets, and tables to vendors, giving people the opportunity to enjoy the holiday festivities while helping the church financially. When asked about how the holiday fair benefits the church, the secretary of the church, Kate Tangney, had this to say.
“We look forward to planning and hosting Emmanuel Parish’s Holiday Fair every year,” says Tangney, “it’s a wonderful event that builds fellowship and helps us connect with the greater community, as well as show what Emmanuel has to offer.”
Despite the immense benefits that come with hosting such an event, challenges are bound to occur. Kate Tangney spoke about some of the challenges she faced while putting together this event.
“It’s definitely a lot of work to organize all the food, raffle baskets, and crafters, but a lot of love and care goes into it. We have such a great group of volunteers, and it makes it worthwhile to see all those smiling faces come through our doors” said Tangney.
However, the holiday fair is not only something that the Parish looks forward to, but also the vendors who sell their work at the event. When asked about how the event helps benefit his business, Dylan Lamphere gave us some perspective.
“It was a great experiment,” said Lamphere, “it helps with exposure as well as selling art to make money. The money is great, because I can automatically put it back into my business.”
The Holiday Fair was ultimately a success for all those involved in it, with the community of Emmanuel Episcopal making profit for their church, vendors being able to sell their items, and those who went for the festivities were able to enjoy holiday music and good food.
