Blaine Countians could chose among several holiday bazaars this past weekend. The local bazaars have their roots in the Christmas bazaars, or "Christ child markets," that began in Germany in the late 1200's. Many of those early European bazaars still operate during Advent (from the first Sunday in December to Christmas Eve) and attract millions of visitors, having become a major draw for tourists. While the bazaars in Blaine County are more modest in size and length, they play a major role in raising funds for local non-profits and providing a fun way to get into the holiday spirit with food and gift ideas.

White Clay Immersion School holiday bazaar is newest in area

For the past seven years staff and parents of students at the White Clay Immersion School have held their bazaar at Aaniiih Nakoda College at Fort Belknap. Wozek Chandler, who helped organize this year's event, is the daughter of the late Dr. Lynette Chandler who founded and directed the native language school until her untimely death earlier this year. Wozek said there were 16 vendors offering a variety of food and gift items. Lunch was the school staffs' specialty, "Indian burgers," a grilled beef patty on fry-bread with sandwich trimmings and a side of homemade potato salad.

Proceeds from the bazaar go to help buy Christmas presents and fill other needs for students at the language school. The White Clay Immersion School has been operating for fourteen years.

Chinook's United Methodist Church bazaar began 70 years ago

This holiday event is one of the older bazaars still functioning, having first begun in the late 1940's as a "men's wild game dinner." It's morphed over the decades to a Swiss steak dinner, with trimmings, lots of pie for dessert, a cookie stroll and a silent auction. It's a sit-down dinner prepared and served by members of the church. Organizers say they plan for 200 guests and "hold it at a time that draws the after church crowd on Sunday."

There is a specialization of labor as certain folks tend to prepare certain parts of the meal, desserts and items on the cookie stroll. This year the men of the church prepared the mashed potatoes and other trimmings that went with the steak. Mild weather allowed for a sizable crowd of diners. Equally important was the opportunity to catch up on community news shared at the tables in Wallner Hall.

St. Thomas Catholic Church switches to a new day

In the 30+ year history of St. Thomas's bazaar Karolee Cronk, a long time organizer, has seen several changes. First was moving the bazaar to New Horizons from the church to solve some accessibility issues. And this year the bazaar was held on Sunday instead of the usual Saturday. Chili stew with a large assortment of pie is the featured fare. Several vendors have gift ideas available.

The reason for changing the day, per Cronk and others, was to reduce the amount of competition with other events held on the first Saturday of December. Several organizers said they believed the change helped attendance but they would have to wait until the proceeds were finalized to be sure of the effect from changing the day.