Community Gathers for United Methodist Church Fair

East Meadow's held its 36th Annual Church Fair on Friday and Saturday. The fair features various arts and crafts, jewelry and baked goods, nearly all of which are homemade by the members of the church.

In the past, the parish used the fundraiser as an opportunity to raise money for updates and renovations needed in the church. But, according to Millie Jones, the church's outreach coordinator, the past two years have been rough for the church and proceeds from this fundraiser will primarily go toward bills in order to "keep the doors open."

"It's a wonderful way to get better acquainted with the people who are sitting next to you in the church," said parishioner and East Meadow resident Christa Stock.

Over the past two years, the fair has opened and expanded to outside vendors and this year featured jewelry, silverware sculptures, custom car decals and stickers, as well as children's toys.

In addition to her duties as outreach coordinator, Jones also runs her husband's booth, Strictly by Hand. Strictly by Hand features handmade silverware sculptures created by David Jones, who bends, welds and sculpts former pieces of silverware to function as business cards holders, paperweights or just as unique décor.

"Skewers, hamburger flippers, any kind of silverware you can think of," Jones said of her husband's work. "He uses normal everyday silverware from people's homes and garage sales."

Another booth featured Crystal Creations by Carol, which included custom jewelry designs featuring Swarovski® crystal. The booth was manned by husband and wife team Steven and Carol Kolesar. While Carol says she does most of the designing, Steven helps to create the beautiful displays.

Currently living in Massapequa, Steven is a former East Meadow resident who's been a lifelong parish member at the United Methodist Church. The money they paid for their booth will be donated to the church, and, additionally, Carol plans to voluntarily donate some of the proceeds they make at the fair to the church.

Additionally, the fair continues to feature dolls, wreaths and towels created by church members, as well as cakes and jams made by the women of the parish.

Florence Snyder, a parishioner for 50 years, has worked the fair for nearly 35 years. Snyder works to organize the women every Monday beginning in January to create all the crafts they sell in November.

Snyder says it gives the women, who range in age from mid 60s to early 90s, something to look forward to and it's a great way to keep everyone working together. Each doll can be worked on by up to four or five women.

"Each lady does different things," Snyder said. "Someone embroiders the face, someone else puts the doll together, and then I do the hair for the dolls."

Snyder estimates that over the 35 years the women have created about 800 dolls and says that they sell about 25 of them every year.

The fair also featured a small garage sale of unused donated items, as well as a silent auction. On Saturday morning, the church hosted a pancake breakfast.