What makes our Bazaar so special?

The Bazaar as we know it started when a small group of parents met to figure out how to raise money for Outdoor School in 2015 for Estacada Middle School, our original beneficiary. The first bazaar was a collaboration between the City of Estacada Parks and Recreation Department's Art in the Park. It had a great turn out with warm summer weather. It was a student vendor only event but the outpouring of support was encouraging. The next year it was suggested that we do it again indoors. It was suggested we hold the Bazaar before Christmas like the Holiday Bazaar that happened for MANY years at Estacada High School. That original bazaar supported the fire department and was a beloved event for the community. Many of our vendors were a part of that original Bazaar. Eventually the fire department couldn't find volunteers to continue to put on the bazaar and it died away around 2008. Our goal was to resurrect this cherished tradition to support our students.

Each year we love hearing the stories about those earlier days of cake walks and games, friends and family spending their day at the school, and supporting the community. We are so excited that each year we get a few steps closer to what it was.

Our first year, Homemade For The Holidays were at Clackamas River Elementary and we have a wonderful turn out. The most memorable part of that year was a group of wonderful 5th grade girls joining together, with the help of their moms, to raise money for their friend's mom fighting breast cancer. Those sweet girls raised $700! It was the beginning of a wonderful journey.

The next year we were able to move to Estacada High School. It was so fun to have vendors tell us that their booth was in the same location as it was all those years ago. We loved seeing friends reconnect and community members thank us for bringing the Bazaar back to Estacada.

Eventually we partnered with Estacada Food Bank to raise donations and supplies for the School Pantry. This is a special branch of the food bank specific to students and families in the district where they can find help and support, regardless of income. It has been a great blessing to many of our students. We sell raffle tickets and accept donations at the door for raffle prizes mostly donated by our amazing vendors. Our students continue to help with these donations, the carnival, and often at the School Pantry.

We have had a small carnival, run by students from the middle school, that provides some fun for our younger visitors. We have frequently been able to have Santa join us and volunteer photographers for family pictures with the Big Guy. We've been able to support the Culinary Arts class at the High School, and numerous youth organizations from Youth Cheer to an High School Art Sale. Numerous High School Students are able to meet their community service graduation requirement by helping vendors set up and take down, selling raffle tickets, and setting up advertising.

This year we begin transitioning the Bazaar into the hands of SAFACT, so we can continue to support our look students and so we can sustain this tradition for a long time into the future. SAFACT’s mission is to provide a safe party for our graduating seniors. We provide food, games, prizes, and activities all in a drug and alcohol-free environment. This requires a lot of support from our families and our community at large. All monies go directly towards funding this annual event which is completely planned and run by volunteers. We aim to send each senior with one great prize for starting their new adult life. Your help doesn’t just help them have fun, it saves lives.