Volunteers make church bazaar successful

It was a busy past weekend with the St. Peter's Anglican Church annual Christmas bazaar being held on Saturday, but what a great time we had.

I can safely say this was the most successful bazaar to date, thanks to the generosity of all the volunteers who came out to set-up, man the tables, and assist with the packing and carrying. A huge thanks to organizer Carolyn Alksnis, who always manages to get everything together in record time, and all the helpers in the kitchen and on the floor who were selling those wonderful holiday crafts. It's always good to see familiar faces each year when the bazaar rolls around, not to mention a few local dignitaries like York- Simcoe MP Peter Van Loan, who makes his annual visit to get an early start on Christmas shopping. Congratulations to everyone who helped and donated; those guys are the best.

I had an opportunity to visit with my friend, Don Saunders, at the Around the Corners Studio Tour that took place in the new Cookstown branch of the Innisfil Public Library. What a lovely spot this is, and as a long-time librarian, I can certainly appreciate the feeling of being in a new facility. The artwork and crafts on display were simply magnificent, and I'm proud to say that I walked away with a Joni Saunders original painting, and an outdoor craft that I couldn't resist. I certainly will display both items proudly. What a great weekend.

Churchill library: The Churchill branch manager is Debra Mann. The library is closed on Sunday, Monday and Friday, but open Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 7, Wednesday from 1 to 8, Thursday from 1 to 7, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The telephone number is 456-2671, the email address is churchill@innisfil.on.ca.

Movies ($2 for a ticket, $1 for a snack): Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs will run Dec. 29 at 1 p.m. The most delicious event since macaroni met cheese is inspired by a beloved children's book. The film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain.

PAWS to Read: Children are invited to read and cuddle a specially trained therapy dog from Therapeutic PAWS of Canada. They love to listen to kids reading, making this program perfect for shy, struggling and beginner readers. Register in person or by phone. The event take place Wednesday November 18 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The St. Peter's Anglican Youth Group (COOL) has meetings every Thursday at the church from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The next meeting is Nov. 19th. Participants can be ages eight to 12 years old. For more information on junior or senior youth groups, call the youth coordinator, Pam Gervais, at 796-7264.

Euchre: Bid euchre at St. Peter's Anglican Church on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. Everyone is welcome to drop by any Wednesday and join in the fun. Light refreshments are served. Call 458- 1801 for details.

Euchre at Lefroy United Church: This will run Tuesday afternoons at 1 p.m. Once a month (usually decided one or two weeks before), there will be a pot luck lunch. There is usually around 40 people playing each week. Everyone is welcome to attend. For more information, call the church at 456-2098.

The ABC Club, located at the 25th Sideroad and Innisfil Beach Road, is inviting everyone to their weekly bid euchre and cribbage social time, every Wednesday starting at 11:30 be included. The club is over 40 years old. For more information, contact Evelyn at 431-0607.

St. Peter's Anglican Church is hosting it's third annual free turkey dinner on Friday December 4th, from 5 to 7 p.m. Each year, everyone is invited to join in on fellowship and goodwill, as volunteers offer a complete turkey dinner with all the trimmings. For more information, call 458-1801 or visit www.stpeterschurchill.org.

Smile: Farmer John lived on a quiet rural highway but, as time went by, the traffic slowly built up at an alarming rate. It was so heavy that at least three to six of his chickens were being run over every day. One day, Farmer John called the police station and asked them to do something about the problem. The next day, the Main Road’s workers went out and erected a sign that said, 'Slow, School Crossing'. Three days later, Farmer John called the police again and said it was not working. Still, his chickens were being killed.

Another sign went up reading 'Slow, Children at Play'. That only sped the drivers up, complained Farmer John.

Finally he called the police station again and said, “Can I put up my own sign?”

The policeman agreed. After several days, and no more calls from Farmer John, the policeman decided to call and ask if the sign was working.

“Sure, haven’t had any more dead chicks," said Farmer John.

The policeman decided to drive buy and see the sign; since it might be something they could use to help with traffic. As he approached, he saw the big sign and his jaw dropped. It read 'Nudist Colony Ahead. Watch for Chicks.'

If you have any news or items for this column, please submit them by 5 p.m. on the Sunday before publication. Contact me at 436-9769 or email lagerow@rogers.com.