KOPUARAHI BAZAAR.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5497, 6 November 1929, Page 2

KOPUARAHI BAZAAR.

AN ATTRACTIVE SALE. SPECTACULAR' STALLS. Better and more attractive, and therefore more successful, bazaars would result if the organisers of the five functions of that nature which are to be held on the Hauraki Plains before Christmas had attended at Kopuarahi on Saturday last and observed the methods employed by the members of the Church of England community in raising their quota of the parochial district’s expenses. Kopuarahi is but a small district, but so whole-heartedly did the promoters of the bazaar enter into their preparations, that before long they were receiving the active assistance of people of all denominations, with the result that Saturday’s bazaar would have done credit to a much larger centre. The sale, which was held in the school, attracted practically everyone in the district, and over £6O was secured.

A maypole dance by children of the Kopuarahi school, under the guidance of Miss M. N. Wilson, entertained the visitors while they assembled foi’ the official opening ceremony, which was performed by Mr W. Bongard, Mayor of Thames.

On the doors being opened the people streamed into the school, and actually stood in amazement at the spectacle presented. Stalls were piled high with drapery and produce, but the finest sight was the sweets stall re sembling more a confectioner’s entry for a window-dressing competition than a shop. Containers for home-made chocolates and toffees had been made in endless variety, and as many people observed, they were alone worth the price asked for the contents and it seemed to be a pity to have to open them. Mrs J. B. McMillan must have spent weeks in their manufacture and a great deal of time in making the great variety of sweets such as she stocks in her Auckland shop. All the confectionery had been made by Mrs McMillan, and though doubts were expressed that such a large quantity could be sold, the stall was practically depleted of its contents during the afternoon. Over 40 packages of sweets made to represent owls and birds, and displayed on the branches of shrubs, were sold in the first rush, and Mrs McMillan and ■ her assistant, Mrs Braithwaite, were besieged With inquiries for more. Business at the drapery stall, where Mesdames Mouldey and Bowen presided, and at the produce and cake stall, where Mrs Deacon and Miss White were the vendors, was not quite so brisk, “but the amount of money handled was substantial.

The afternoon tea department was attended by Mesdames Death and Field and Misses Hudson and Harwood, while ice cream and soft drinks were served by Misses E. Candy and A. Deacon. Miss Wilson was in charge of the children’s fish ponds. There were legalised raffles and competitions of skill, but not so many as to impose a hardship on anyone who cared to enter for everything. The lucky ones were as follows : — Raffles : Tray-cloth, Mr F. Pierce ; cushion, Mrs J. Galloway ; dressed doll, Mrs T. O’Carroll. Competitions : Table-centre, Miss E. Candy ; cushion, Miss G. Hale ; box of chocolates, Mr I. Gifford ; supper-cloth, Miss P. McMillan. Three people were one ounce out in guessing the weight of the cake, and it was divided amongst Mrs E. Harwood and Miss N. Hale, who estimated 91b Boz, and Mrs J. Kerby, whose entry was 91b lOoz. Winners of the cooking competition were Mesdames J. G. Miller for sponge, Braithwaite for fruit cake, and G. H. White first and second for bread. In the evening a dance was held.