In yet another change from previous years, the Civic Club has announced there will be numerous opportunities for visitors to win some great prizes at the 47th Annual Antique & Makers Market during Autumn Glory weekend. Event chairperson Jean Tumbarello said that local businesses have been very generous with prize donation, enabling the club to have three days of door prize drawings in addition to a raffle drawing for numerous gift cards prizes.
“For the first time this year, we are going to have a door prize drawn every day at noon. Everyone who pays admission from the time the doors open until 12 noon will be eligible to win. Winners will need to be present to win,” said Tumbarello. “The winner will have a choice of prizes donated by Lowes, Tractor Supply, Oakland Mercantile, The Painted Cupboard, Naylors Hardware & ?????????”
Prizes will be on display in the gym on tables set among the vendors. Items not chosen as a door prize will be used for the raffle drawing.
Raffle tickets will be for sale in the lobby and at the Café checkout during the weekend. Tickets are $2 each or 3 tickets for $5. “We are still putting together the prize packages but we expect to draw about 10 winning tickets on Sunday once the event closes at 3 pm. Winners will need to pick up larger prizes at the Armory by noon on Monday, October 18. Gift card prizes can be mailed or picked up,” said Tumbarello.
Last but not least, there will be a silent auction for a vintage feed sack quilt made in the 1930s/1940s by Gertie Ruby and donated by Pat Moorfoot. “The quilt measures 70 x70 and is in remarkably good condition considering its age and that it was actively used by Gertie’s grandchildren back in the day. It is made almost entirely of feed sack fabric on the front and back; in fact, you can see some of the printing on the feed sacks on the back. It was common for women to use feed sacks to make clothing for children, aprons and quilts. Nothing was wasted,” said Tumbarello. “Manufacturers started printing feed sacks with colorful prints and flowers once they realized women were using the sacks for clothes. This quilt is a good example of the ‘waste nothing’ mentality of the day. The pattern is a ‘crazy quilt’ arrangement. Gertie used what she had leftover from her other projects and just started stitching scraps together. There is no formal pattern. This is truly a one-of-a-kind piece.” The quilt will be on display in the lobby with the silent auction bidding sheet on the table. Bidding starts at $100. The club will also take bids from people who cannot get to the event. From the club’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/civicclubofoakland, send a message to the club. Tumbarello will be monitoring messages during the event and respond to the bidder with current pricing.
With the final preparations ongoing this week, the Civic Club is hoping for good weather and turn out to make the event successful.
“We hope people will feel comfortable attending the event with our guidelines in place. Masks are required for everyone inside the building- no exceptions. If people are not willing to wear a mask, we ask them not to come. We are keeping doors and windows open to have better ventilation inside. It might be chilly inside, depending on the weather,” said Tumbarello. Some vendor spaces have been enlarged a bit to help booth space from getting too crowded with people.
Café organizer and Club President Judi Merriman said soup and sloppy joes have been prepared, bagged, and frozen and will be ready for sale at the café along with home baked sweets. Ladies of the club made the usual amount of food items and there is plenty to sell but be warned that quantities are limited and when it’s gone, it’s gone. “If you want a quart of soup or sloppy joe, come early in the weekend so you are not disappointed,” said Merriman. “We regret that we cannot sell hot food items to enjoy at the event, but we need to minimize the opportunity for people to take their mask off. All the items we sell are to enjoy outside the building or at home.”
The Club charges a $3 admission fee that is good for all days of the event. The admission fees collected are donated back into the community as grants to local non-profit organizations. Visitors will be given a ticket to save in case they want to return to the event another day.
The ladies of the Civic Club want to thank sponsors for their generous contributions to help with expenses related to the Market. Gold sponsors are John Rose, Deep Creek Times, and Green Acres Garden Center. Silver sponsors are Gary R. Ruddell, LLC, First United, and Mountain Top Glass & Mirror. Bronze sponsor is the Garrett Inn. “Their generosity will allow us to give more back to the community and we are very grateful,” said Tumbarello.
