For the 35th consecutive year, Mississippi State University and the Campus Activities Board are ringing in the Christmas season with a unique shopping opportunity.The annual Holiday Bazaar, sponsored by CAB, will take place Nov. 29 and 30 in the Sanderson Center’s main gym and main corridor.
The event will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. the first day and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the second day.
Amy Hester, graduate assistant for CAB, said the bazaar is an arts show and flea market.
The two-day fair will feature an array of products, ranging from food to clothing. An estimated 200 vendors are expected to be on hand from Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee and Arkansas, some of whom have been coming to the bazaar every year for the past 20 years.
“We had 180 vendors last year, and everything has to be homemade: candles, food, jewelry, everything,” said Patrick Young, student director for CAB.
Samantha Musil, assistant director of the Colvard Student Union and CAB adviser, said the bazaar is the ideal place for MSU students to begin their Christmas shopping.
“It’s conveniently located on campus, and I know shopping opportunities are sparse in Starkville. It’s also a great way to support Mississippi locals,” said Musil, who is also assistant director of the Colvard Student Union.
Students who do not have money to spend may not necessarily walk away from the bazaar empty handed because items as low as $2 will be available.
“It’s a great place to shop if you’re on a budget,” Musil said. “You can find some really good prices, but you can also find higher-end items if that’s what you are looking for.”
CAB members will be manning a volunteer booth where anyone present can sign up for free to win one of the many door prizes that will be given out by the hour.
“Every booth donates something from bird feeders to jewelry to pottery,” Young said.
The Holiday Bazaar is one of CAB’s central fundraisers, which helps supplement the organization’s budget.
Members of CAB are responsible for raising $10,000 themselves.
“We charge vendors a rental fee for booth space, which is how we raise our money, and everything they make at the bazaar is theirs to keep,” Musil said.
All of the money raised from the bazaar is either poured back into the school or benefits students directly by allowing free admission to events like Spring Fever, an annual on-campus music festival.
“Whatever money we make adds to our programming budget for the spring and that goes toward the concert and major speakers,” Young said.
Attending the bazaar has become a holiday event that some students have come to look forward to every year.
“There is a lot of versatility and it offers a lot of unique gifts,” said junior biological science major Erin Hyatt.
“The best part is that I do not have to drive two hours to get my Christmas shopping done. I only have to drive two minutes,” she said.
Categories:
Campus Activities Board preps for Holiday Bazaar
Sarah-Dale Simpkins
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November 20, 2007
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