Holiday Bazaar is Saturday at the YMCA of Emporia-Greensville | Community

Black Friday is only a week away from officially kicking off the Christmas shopping season — except for those who begin the mad dash for gifts this Saturday at the 18th annual Holiday Bazaar.

The Greensville County Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee event at the Family YMCA of Emporia-Greensville is an annual hit with local early Christmas shoppers. The five-hour smorgasbord of holiday activity begins at 9 a.m. and runs until 2 p.m. It’s an opportunity to get a good chunk of your holiday shopping done at one site and get in front of the shopping crowd as the calendar moves closer to Christmas day.

“It has grown every year since we started hosting the event,” Southeast District Women’s Farm Bureau Leadership Committee Leader Susan Harrell said. “We generally have 30-35 vendors selling items such as makeup, wreaths, candles. Just about anything you are looking for we’ll have under one roof.”

The Greensville 4H girls supply plenty of assistance to the vendors for the Holiday Bazaar. The 4Hers help bring the vendors’ goods into the building. After 5 p.m., the 4H support continues transporting the unsold goods back to the vendors’ vehicles.

What about the kids? They’ll have plenty of activities in place to keep them occupied. A Craft Corner is in place for the children. Santa will be on-site at 9 a.m. with a photographer to capture that Christmas spirit as the holiday season moves into full throttle. Ole’ St. Nick will hang around until 1 p.m. to receive that Christmas wish list and fill the YMCA with the Christmas spirit.

The Holiday Bazaar itself is about the kids. The proceeds raised by the non-profit Greensville County Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee go to the Ag in the Classroom program and the non-profit Family YMCA. Ag in the Classroom, or VITC, is a program teaching children about agriculture and how the food from farmers gets to the store shelves.

Five hours is a long time for perusing through crafts and other items for hungry shoppers. They’ll have time to take a break and replenish. The Fountain Creek Women with a Purpose plays a significant role at the Bazaar selling various baked goods. Bojangles is heading the lunch at Saturday’s Bazaar.

The food gives that smorgasbord addition to make the 18th Annual Greensville County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee Holiday Bazaar the perfect start to the 2022 Christmas shopping season. The Family YMCA of Emporia-Greensville is at 212 Weaver Ave., Emporia.

It’s the Saturday before Thanksgiving, so early holiday shoppers will get a head start on their counterparts in the gift-buying department at the 18th annual Greensville County Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee Holiday Bazaar.