Local civic group to host Annual Winter Festival
Those looking for a good old-fashioned country breakfast and great bargains will find them later this weekend at the St. James City Civic Center.
Sponsored by the St. James City Civic Association, the annual Winter Festival will take place Saturday from 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the St. James City Civic Center, located at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Lemon Street in St. James City.
The morning will feature a big country-style breakfast with scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits and sausage gravy, pancakes, toast, coffee and tea for the very reasonable price of $5 each from 8-10:30 a.m.
Shoppers can begin browsing the dozens of vendor tables both indoors and outdoors at the Civic Center beginning at 7:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. According to Naomi Brewer, rummage sale organizer, the sale will feature a lot of new items including small household items, decorative pieces, dishes, jewelry, plants, tools and more.
Music will be provided throughout the event by Frank Tuma with his uplifting island melodies.
Proceeds from the breakfast and rummage sale will help to defray costs associated with building up keep and operations, as well as benefiting island charities supported by the St. James City Civic Association.
Both the breakfast and rummage sale are open to the public and those interested in lending a hand with the breakfast can call Bill Brabbs at 283-8484 or BJ Austin at 283-6145. To help with the rummage sale or for information, call Naomi Brewer at 283-4298.
The fun continues at the St. James Civic Center when the association hosts an Island Art Expo. The juried Art Expo will showcase the talents of Greater Pine Island artists and entries can include fine art, sculptures, pottery, jewelry, photographs, metal art, mixed media and other handcrafted works of art. Only items that are handcrafted and created by the artist will be accepted.
Applications for submissions are available through Feb. 5 with a $15 non-refundable jury fee which must accompany each submission. Two or three photographs of the artist’s work are also required at the time the submission is placed. Notice of acceptance into the Art Expo will be mailed by Feb. 12. Also a 10 percent commission will be collected for all art sold at the close of the show.
The Art Expo will take place Feb. 28, with an artist opening reception when visitors to the show can “meet and greet” the artists from 7-10 p.m. The viewing hours on Feb. 29 at the St. James City Civic Center will take place from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Both days of the expo are open to the public with no admission fee. To pick up an application for submissions, stop in at the St. James City Civic Center or call association president Mary Ann Harms at 283-9337. Vendor spots are still available and to reserve a spot, call John Nyhus at 283-9306.
For more information about the St. James City Civic Association and other activities at the center, visit: www.sjccapi.org.
The St. James City Civic Center is located at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Lemon Street in St. James City.