NORTHFIELD — Two churches will host the return of their traditional holiday fair fundraisers on Saturday after a year’s hiatus amid the COVID-19 pandemic last holiday season.
St. Patrick’s Church will host its traditional Elves Fair in tandem with the Trinitarian Congregational Church’s Holly Berry Fair on Saturday. Activity will be held at both churches along Main Street. The Trinitarian Congregational Church is at 147 Main St., and St. Patrick’s Church is located at 80 Main St.
“Three churches in Northfield used to hold their fairs on the first Saturday in December for years,” said Holly Berry Fair organizer and Trinitarian Congregational Church member Jeanne Closson. “We changed to the first Saturday in November about three years ago, and this year St. Patrick’s decided to join us.”
St. Patrick’s Church will host raffles and vendors for its Elves Fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Joan Patterson, an organizer with the Catholic church, said themed gift baskets will be raffled off and 10 vendors will be selling jewelry, blown glass, paintings and more. There will also be food for sale, including hot dogs, chili, soup and hot chocolate.
Beginning at 10 a.m., the Trinitarian Congregational Church will host the Holly Berry Fair with a “scaled-back look” compared to a normal year to accommodate COVID-19 health safety measures. The church will have a raffle of its own, with prizes including a Christmas tree covered in lottery tickets, gift certificates, a homemade quilt, pottery and more. A “Bake and Candy Sale” will be held until 1 p.m.
From 10 a.m. to noon, a takeout brunch with servings of ham and broccoli or vegetarian quiche, a fruit cup, muffin, breakfast potatoes and orange juice will be offered for $12. Meals must be reserved by Thursday by calling 413-498-5839.
The Holly Berry Fair has been held by the Trinitarian Congregational Church for many years — longer than organizers can recall. Church member Pat Shearer said she remembers attending the fair roughly 50 years ago. Closson said she has been involved with the fair in some capacity since 1967, when she was in seventh grade.
The Holly Berry Fair used to be held with three churches — St. Patrick’s, the Trinitarian Congregational Church and the First Parish Unitarian Church — but the TCC broke off from the group event roughly four years ago. Closson said part of the motivation for starting their own event was the location of the Trinitarian church, which is farther north along Main Street out of the town center.
“The Unitarian and the Catholic church are more in the center of town. The Kiwanis and PTA started also having stuff in the center of town,” Closson explained. “People would park down there and they could walk everywhere. We think we were just too far away.”
She, Shearer and Patterson said they look forward to continuing the tradition of the town holiday fairs in 2021, “especially” after a year’s hiatus. For Saturday’s event, the organizers encourage residents to enjoy the changing colors of the leaves as they take a walk or drive up Main Street to the churches’ festivities.
The holiday fairs are among the biggest fundraising events for the churches each year. Later this month, on Nov. 20, the Trinitarian Congregational Church will hold another fundraising event — its annual apple pie bake sale.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.