CONWAY — Fun, fellowship and good food never seem to get old, even after a century.
The 103rd annual St. Joseph School Bazaar in Conway will be Friday and Saturday and will feature an old-fashioned midway. The auction is scheduled for a week later on Aug. 8.
Greg Moix, chairman of the event’s executive committee, said the midway will include fun for the entire family.
“We’ve really tried to go back to the midway; we’re trying to do a better job to make it attractive for parents,” he said.
The midway is a longtime tradition, and with it comes games that have been enjoyed for years. Activities include a basketball shoot, a cake stand, a ham-and-bacon stand, bingo, a fish pond, Plinko, the Country Store, an animal fair to win stuffed animals, a ring toss and a goldfish throw, which is not what it sounds like — participants throw a pingpong ball into a goldfish bowl to win a prize.
Jonathon Strack, who is in charge of this year’s midway, said the grounds will open about 5:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday “and go as long as people are spending money.”
Strack, 33, said the Country Store is one of the older booths. It was gone for a few years, but it was brought back in 2012.
“A lot of those have been there as long as I can remember,” he said. At the Country Store booth, festivalgoers buy a paddle with a number on it, spin a wheel and — based on what number the wheel lands on — win food, such as a watermelon or sausage.
“I have young children; my favorite is their favorite, the fish pond,” he said. Participants throw a fishing line over a wall and “hook” a prize.
Strack said he also enjoys it when his children play in the bounce house, “because they burn energy and sleep better.”
One of the highlights of the bazaar each year is a raffle with the grand prize of a vehicle. A new 2014 Ford F-150 4x4 SuperCrew truck is being raffled this year. The drawing will be held at the close of the midway Saturday, but the lucky ticket holder doesn’t have to be present to win.
Moix said that although it’s not a 2015 truck, bazaar organizers got a “a heck of a deal, “and it’s more “loaded” than vehicles in the past. The second prize is a 50-inch Haier television, and the third prize is a Yeti Roadie 20 cooler.
He said it’s truly a random drawing, and winners have included people from out of town who have come and bought a ticket the night of the bazaar, as well as local people who buy tickets ahead of time.
Raffle tickets are $2 each, six for $10, 18 for $20 and 100 for $100. Tickets are available at several locations in Conway, as well as the St. Joseph Parish office, 1115 College Ave., (501) 327-6568. Tickets also will be sold at the midway.
The food is a popular part of the event, organizers said, and pounds of pasta have been sold through the years.
Boxed lunches will be available from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday in the Parish Hall Dining Room. The tried-and-true menu is homemade spaghetti noodles with marinara sauce, sausage, green beans and a roll for $9, and desserts for $1 each. The family-style evening meal, held from 5-8 p.m. Friday in the Parish Hall, is more homemade spaghetti, plus fried chicken, sauerkraut, a tossed Italian salad, sausage, green beans and a roll for $13 for adults and $9 for children.
This is the third year that the bazaar committee has split the dates for the midway and auction, Moix said. It’s all a big undertaking.
“We’ve taken the approach that we’re trying to put together a business that we’ll run for two days,” Moix said, laughing.
The indoor St. Joseph Flea Market, which is open
year-round, will be open extended hours on Friday — from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. — and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. It’s on the school grounds on College Avenue.
Silent and live auctions are a vital part of the annual event, the private school’s biggest fundraiser.
Doors for the auction will open at 6 p.m. Aug. 8 at the Parish Hall. Participants must be 21 to attend. The theme of this year’s auction is Anchors Away! Cruisin’ for Our Kids.
Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door. Food and drinks are included in the ticket price.
Lisa Gamble, chairwoman of this year’s auction committee, said she is excited about many of the packages and gifts donated this year.
Raffle tickets will be sold at the auction for a package that includes two kayaks, oars, life vests and a Yeti cooler. Only 100 tickets will be offered at $50 each. Called a “reverse drawing,” names will be drawn throughout the evening to eliminate entrants, Gamble said.
“The last person standing wins — the last ticket drawn is the winner,” she said. “It just kind of keeps it fun through the night.”
Jewelry from Fletcher Smith’s Jewelers and Dayer Jewelers will be featured. A guided duck hunt is on the list, and “that’s one of the big things everyone wanted this year,” she said, as well as a dove hunt. An original coffee table was donated by parishioner and woodworker Lucas Strack.
The silent auction includes a Titleist Golf Tour bag donated by professional golfer Bryce Molder, formerly of Conway.
“I thought that was a pretty neat thing,” she said. Also available will be gift certificates to restaurants and a variety of other items, Gamble said. “All of the classes at St. Joseph donate auction items, so there are lots of neat things that all the classes have donated,” she said.
Moix said the auction is “a good chance to socialize, visit and get great bargains on things donated, and, hopefully, we’ll get some good bidding wars.”
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.