Bazaar-Hopping Day

It will soon be bazaar-hopping day in the tri-county area.

On Saturday, Nov. 14, many churches and other local organizations will hold their annual Christmas and holiday bazaars, offering shoppers the opportunity to find homemade food and baked goods, search through craft and flea market items and win prizes all in the same place at the same time.

The most prominent of the Christmas bazaars is at Saint Peter United Church of Christ (UCC), 1920 Ridge Road (Route 23), Knauertown, which has held a bazaar annually for at least 60 years. The church will hold its bazaar from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Many GPS services list the church's address as being in Pottstown.

"It's one of our annual fundraising events for the church," said Marcia Bittner, one of the organizers of the event. "Originally, it started small in the church basement. ... We always do it the second Saturday in November, and it's the same day that a number of churches in our area hold their Christmas bazaars."

The bazaar will feature seven outside vendors, which will sell everything from "artsy crafty objects" to honey and pumpkin pies.

"Our women's group makes apple crisps," Bittner said. "We also make homemade candy; we call them St. Peter's sweets."

Breakfast and lunch will also be served throughout the day. Different types of breakfast sandwiches and scrambled eggs will be served in the morning, while lunch will be soup, grilled cheese and hot dogs.

The bazaar also presents the opportunity to win more than 30 unique themed baskets, which will include knitted or crocheted items, wreaths, themed holiday items for Thanksgiving and Christmas, prosecco, tea and more.

"We're also going to have one that's Harley Davidson (themed)," Bittner said. "We have a new member, and he actually is moving. He said, 'I have all this Harley collectible stuff,' so he brought that in last Sunday."

Saint Peter UCC traces its history back to the early 19th century, when early German and Swiss immigrants built the church after fleeing their homelands due to religious persecution. This year marks the church's 210th anniversary. The church recently completed an extensive outside renovation project to repair its steeple; this year's bazaar will go toward replenishing the church's funds after the project.

"It's a small church, probably holds about 100 people," Bittner explained. "We raised money to have the work done, and it's made such an improvement. But now we've got to kind of replenish some of our funds."

The church can be reached at 610-469-9690 or stpeterknauertown@gmail.com. The church's website is http://www.stpeterucc.org. Services are held at 10:30 a.m. every Sunday; holy communion is offered on the first Sunday of the month.

Brownback's UCC, 640 Ridge Road (Route 23), Spring City, will hold its bazaar on the same day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cedarville United Methodist Church (UMC), 1092 Laurelwood Road, Pottstown, will host its bazaar on the same day and at the same time as Brownback's.

Tel Hai Retirement Community will also host its bazaar on that Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., located at 4000 Tree Line Drive, Honey Brook.

"There's a number of people who come every year, and they said they come because they want to support the local churches and local businesses, and they always find something unique and different when they come to our Christmas bazaar," Bittner said.

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