St. John’s CWL hosts annual bazaar and bake sale

by Julianna Bonnett

Members of St. John the Evangelist Church Catholic Women’s League (CWL) held their annual Bazaar and Bake Sale event in Woodslee on Sunday at the parish hall, which featured pies, cookies, home made items, antiques, and more for sale.

  President of the St. John’s Catholic Women’s League, Angelle Bisson, said the event has brought a smile to her face each year she has been involved.

  “I love seeing the community come together as one to admire all the antiques and treats,” Bisson said. “Each year gets bigger and bigger and we could not be more happy to see the amazing turn out every time.”

  According to Bisson, all the money they make from the ticket sales and raffle tickets goes towards a charity of their choice.

  “We like to select a charity each year to donate the money to, whether that be towards cancer research, hospice, or something to help our community. We always make sure to give them the best donation possible and keep it local,” Bisson said.

  More than 500 people from the community were present for the event that ran for only one day.

  Linda Bracken, Treasurer for the St. John’s Catholic Women’s League, said the penny raffle they usually have at the event each year is sometimes also called Rosemary’s Raffle.

  “Everyone knows the one booth as the penny raffle table, but we like to call it Rosemary’s raffle,” Bracken said. “There was a lady named Rosemary who started the penny raffle about 30-years ago before anyone else was doing penny raffles and we always like to dedicate the table in her name to thank her for the idea.”

  This CWL will turn 100-years-old in 2020. Bracken, who has been a part of the Catholic Women’s League for the past 50 years, said she can’t wait to celebrate the 100-year anniversary soon.

  “I’m proud of how far our league has come, and seeing it develop the last 50-years has been a blessing.”